David Raybin is one of the best professors around at exemplifying the ideals of a teacher who continues to teach and inspire students and teachers, President Bill Perry said.

Raybin was one of the first faculty members Perry met during his first fall semester at Eastern in 2007 and his committed passion for teaching was instantly apparent, Perry said.

“He spoke to me about the importance of enabling each faculty member to be the best mentor and scholar they can be, so I knew then that he had this really strong focus on his teaching and his scholarship,” Perry said.

After 30 years of teaching in Eastern’s English department, Raybin was named the 2011 Illinois Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Raybin was one of 27 state winners across the nation who received the award, out of 300 professors who were nominated.

Bonnie Irwin, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, said at the Nov. 18 Board of Trustees meeting that this is the first time an Eastern faculty member has received this award.

One of the criteria for the award is to demonstrate excellence in contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession.

“This is where David truly excels as he is very generous with his colleagues,” Irwin said. “When I first approached him about nominating him for this award, he immediately started brainstorming which of his colleagues I should nominate, and that is a sign of David’s humility and his desire to bring others up.”

Raybin also organized the EIU Literature Conference for about 20 years and National Endowment for the Humanities seminars for high school and college teachers to teach on Geoffrey Chaucer, Irwin said.

“He has won just about every award Eastern has to offer in the field of teaching as well as nine of our achievement contribution awards over the last 23 years,” Irwin said.

Raybin was named Distinguished Honors Faculty Member in 1993, Professor Laureate in 2002, and Distinguished Faculty Member in 2011.

Perry said he found out right away that Raybin has a great depth of knowledge about Chaucer.

“You can just feel the excitement in his voice by the way he talks about Chaucer, especially with the ‘Canterbury Tales,'” Perry said.

Raybin said he decided to be a teacher because he wanted to share his delight in good books and intriguing ideas with others.

“I enjoy greatly the joint effort at learning that marks a good class, along with the one-on-one of working with individual students on ideas and problems,” Raybin said. “I especially like watching and contributing as students challenge their thinking and improve their skills.”

Raybin said he wants his students to improve their understanding of what they read and become more accomplished, satisfied writers.

“I hope my students will be informed, caring, and compassionate citizens who think about improving the lives of those less fortunate than themselves,” Raybin said.

He came to Eastern because he thinks students at a state university should have the opportunities for intellectual growth available to students at elite private universities, Raybin said.

“I have been happy here from the moment I arrived, in part because I have always liked the students and in part because I have had many good friends and superb colleagues both in my department and across the university,” Raybin said.

Irwin recited what Raybin wrote in his personal statement for the award that when he walked into his first college classroom in August 1981, he felt like a child who had been given the key to a candy store, and the room was filled with possibilities that all promised to be good.

“I would say 30 years later he still brings that same passion and enjoyment to his teaching, which is why his students love him,” Irwin said.

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].