 Robert Burns Upon recommendation of students and faculty in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design, Kansas State University is privileged to acknowledge the outstanding record in undergraduate teaching of Professor Donald J. Watts. Don is a superb teacher in both the classroom and the studio. He crafts and delivers course materials that actively engage students in the process of discovery and that almost effortlessly raise students' awareness of the subtlety and complexity of the task at hand. He provides rigorous guidance involving both encouragement and intellectual challenge which helps his students realize significant insight. A lifetime of diverse international experience and scholarship also enables Don to facilitate innovative alternative learning situations. As faculty coordinator for more than a decade of third-year architectural design studios, Don has played a central role in shaping the form and substance of that critically important period of design instruction. Demonstrating his profound commitment to and concern for his students, Don readily and patiently makes himself available to his students whenever, wherever, and however long they need him. It is apparent to those who know him that Don genuinely cares about the future of his profession and strives to better prepare his students to embark upon their own architectural journeys. Working quietly and diligently, Don provides a standard of commitment to excellence in teaching which is truly inspiring to his colleagues, challenging and rewarding to his students, and sincerely appreciated by all. |