UCLA's Teofilo F. Ruiz awarded the National Humanities Medal, President Obama has announced

Inside Higher Ed thismorning pointed me to a news item from last Friday: Teofilo Ruiz, a professor of history and of Spanish andPortuguese at UCLA – whose unusual faculty webpage photo appears at left - wasawarded a National Humanities Medal according to a White House announcement.  The actual awarding of the medal will takeplace today.

Excerpt from the officialprofile released by the White House: 

Ruizhas also earned accolades for his teaching, including being named U.S.professor of the year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement ofTeaching in 1995 and receiving UCLA’s Distinguished Teacher Award in 2008. Hedescribes his teaching style as “frantic, hectic.” As a graduate student, Ruizadmired professors like Carl Schorske, who could deliver an elegantwell-crafted lecture from behind a podium. “I can’t do that. It’s not in myabilities,” he says. “I engage the students by combining the personal with thescholarly.”

He also doesn’t use notes. “I can’t explain howit happens. I walk into the classroom. I am in an absolute panic even afterthirty-nine years of doing this. And then something possesses me for one hourand fifteen minutes and I cannot stop. I am like the Energizer Bunny.”

Full story on Ruiz and othermedal winners in Inside Higher Ed at: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/02/13/obama-announces-2011-national-humanities-medals#ixzz1mHNQqATJ 

White House announcement at http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/20120210.html

Profile of Prof. Ruiz as part of the announcement at http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/2011_Medalists.html#No7

UCLA announcement at http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-wins-national-humanities-228694.aspx