We would like to give one of our professors the praise of which he is well-deserved.
Congratulations to Rupert Nacoste for winning the 2013 Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. Thanks to his hard work inside and outside of the classroom, he has been named the best teacher at N.C. State for the 2012-13 school year.
Barring its tuition cost decisions and misrepresentation issues, the BOG got this one right.
Nacoste has taught at N.C. State since 1988. His list of accomplishments include time as vice provost for Diversity and African American Affairs from 2000-02, an admission to the Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 1994 and the Alumni Distinguished award in 1999. He is undoubtedly qualified.
RateMyProfessor.com, known for hosting brutal comments about N.C. State professors, contains nothing but extreme praise for Nacoste. N.C. State professors average a 3.7 out of 5 on the site. Nacoste has a 4.5, and comments often include “life-changing,” “amazing” and “the best.”
Our favorite comment came from someone who was too excited to wait for the semester to end:
“I’ve only had him for like, 1 month, but this guy is awesome.”
Despite N.C. State’s recent attempts to redefine the University as a mainly technical school, Nacoste’s psychology courses are part of the liberal arts programs to which Gov. Pat McCrory recently proposed cuts in funding. This makes the award even more laudable, as the Board of Governors deemed Nacoste the best professor from N.C. State as a whole, not just the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
In addition to his academic achievements, Nacoste is a strong supporter of civil rights and social justice. His research on interpersonal relationships and modern racial tensions has led him to publish multiple essays on what he calls “neo-diversity.” His classes, often called tough or intense, include his thoughts on the false claim that we live in a post-racist United States, and he challenges his students to confront prejudice on campus and within their personal lives. He seeks to genuinely educate students about these tough topics.
“Wherever we are in America, we have to learn to interact with each other as individuals, not as representatives of a group,” Nacoste recently wrote in a guest column in Technician. “If you try to interact with someone as a representative of a group, that interaction will go bad because your strategy will require that you rely on stereotypes.”
We greatly respect Nacoste and completely support the Board of Governors in their decision to recognize him with this award. He is a model of both academic excellence — through the respect he garners from students — and civil rights activism — through his willingness to promote diversity and thoughtfully discuss hard topics.
So Nacoste, this goes out to you. Who Dat?
