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OSU German professor earns national teaching award

Success of one-of-a-kind online program puts Heiduschke in limelight

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Sebastian Heiduschke, a professor of German at Oregon State University, has been selected to receive a national teaching award from the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG).

Sebastian Heiduschke and other OSU foreign language professors talk about their love for teaching online.

Heiduschke was honored with the German Embassy Teacher of Excellence Award for his role in the creation of Oregon State’s online German bachelor’s program, delivered by OSU Ecampus. The award recognizes “outstanding, up-and-coming teachers” who have started a new program or revitalized an existing one.

“This award acknowledges the hard work done at OSU to find alternatives to face-to-face learning for students unable to come to campus,” said Heiduschke, who is the online German program coordinator. “This honor belongs to the German faculty who have worked diligently over the past five years to make the vision of an online degree reality.”

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Tyler Hansen
520-312-1276

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Sebastian Heiduschke
541-737-3957

A native of Bamberg, Germany, Heiduschke played a key role in launching the program in 2012. Revitalizing Oregon State’s German program, he said, was only possible by shifting attention to online delivery to reach students who were not yet attending OSU.

Heiduschke, whose teaching specialty is German cinema, says OSU is still the only university in the United States with a completely online German major. There are about 140 students admitted to the program.

“There is still room to grow, and of course we hope to replicate the success of the online program on our current project – the revision of OSU’s on-campus German program,” he said.

The award will allow him to travel to Germany for a two-week professional development course. In January 2017, he will go on sabbatical for a research project in Namibia.