Dr. John Slosar, associate professor of social service, was named this year’s recipient of the Nancy McNeir Ring Award.

The award, presented annually since 1966, is given to the outstanding faculty member of the year as chosen by members of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society.

“I am very excited about being selected to receive the Nancy McNeir Ring Award,” Slosar said. “I consider it to be a very special honor. I also realize that there are many other faculty at Saint Louis University who are just as deserving of this award, and it is really on behalf of all those faculty that I will be accepting award. I am also grateful and proud of the students who nominated me and were able to convince Alpha Sigma Nu that I was deserving of the Ring Award.”

A nomination letter recommending Slosar as the recipient described him as a “dedicated and caring professor” with an “unparalleled commitment to students and their learning.

“Perhaps the best measure of Dr. Slosar’s efforts would be the number of students that have graduated from SLU and gone on to have great careers, a commitment to social justice and wonderful family lives,” the letter stated. “His efforts therefore serve both the practical purpose of furthering careers, and the important aim of nourishing students’ spirits and making us better people.”

Slosar came to SLU as an assistant professor in the School of Social Service in 1971. He was promoted to the rank of associate professor and granted tenure in 1977. Slosar also served as director of admissions in the School of Social Service for two years and played a prominent role in establishing the Faculty Senate at SLU. He served as the senate’s first president in 1979 and is currently serving now as its 14th president in its 20th year.

The award is presented each year in memory of Miss Ring, who served as the University’s first Dean of Women. In her 25 years in that position, she devoted herself to the welfare of students.

The award honors faculty members who display a special dedication to students. The recipients “enrich education, both in and outside the classroom, by giving their time to building strong student-faculty relationships, and in the Jesuit tradition, by being concerned with the whole student,” stated Alpha Sigma Nu President Shannon Slingsby in a message to the SLU community.

Previous award winners include student organization advisors, teachers and departmental leaders who go beyond being a faculty member.

From student nominations submitted, Slosar was chosen by members of Alpha Sigma Nu as the 2000 Nancy McNeir Ring Award recipient. The award is the only student-sponsored teaching award that encompasses all campuses and schools of SLU.