Distinguished Faculty: Kass recognized for mentoring students who conduct meaningful research

Last year, David Kass hit his first home run in a recreational softball game. One of his former students was on the opposing team and, after the game, the young man approached Kass and thanked him for being such a great professor.

RESEARCH MENTOR: David Kass, an EMU associate biology professor, poses in his biology lab in Mark Jefferson. Kass was the recent recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Faculty Award for Research II (four or more years) and has mentored 43 undergraduate and graduate students since he came to EMU in 1996.

"One of my teammates (who didn't hear the conversation) thought he'd come over to congratulate me on the home run," said Kass, 49, an Eastern Michigan University associate biology professor. "This was a whole lot better."

Teaching doesn't come all that easily to Kass. A self-described introvert in an extrovert's job, his success as a teacher has come, in large part, through his passion as a researcher.

Kass, recipient of the 2009 Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Award for Research II (four or more years) has mentored 43 undergraduate and graduate students since he came to EMU in 1996, giving them meaningful experience in major research projects while pushing for new knowledge about genome dynamics.

"I was, first of all, honored that our department nominated me," Kass said, pointing out that the only award he'd ever won prior to the Collins Award was second place for a presentation as a graduate student at the University of South Carolina. "We've got some great people in our department, so it's a super huge honor. I can't even put it into words, the fact that I won something among my peers ... This is huge for me. I'm still on 'cloud nine.'"

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