Boston University Professor Ashley Mears began her teaching career as a graduate student at New York University. She led a number of lectures, a stepping stone she described as nerve wracking.
“I remember very well being completely out of sorts because I was so nervous and having those nightmares where you’re missing your notes and standing before the classroom and chaos is breaking out,” she said.
Mears, who teaches sociology at BU, was nominated for the Questia’s Most Valuable Professor award, voting for which ends Sunday. The winning professor will have three $2,500 scholarships created in his or her name.
Shauna Ward, a College of Arts and Sciences and College of Communication sophomore, nominated Mears for the award. The professor, she said, influenced her decision to acquire a degree in sociology.
“Professor Mears takes the time to know every single student’s name and engage them all in discussion,” Ward said. “She isn’t afraid to bring up controversial topics in sociology, but she covers them with care.”
Since coming to BU in 2008, Mears has taught six classes, with more than 100 students in the intro-level course for sociology to fewer than 20 students in courses such as “Culture, Market and Inequality.” Regardless of the size of the class, she said she tries to memorize her students’ names.
“[In a large classroom] it’s very easy for students to just feel like they show up and there’s this professor who just pontificates from a distance,” Mears said. “It’s a very distant relationship from the material that we learn, and sociology is a very personal kind of science.”
While Mears specializes in the sociology of popular culture, she has only taught a seminar on it once. Instead, she regularly teaches the introductory course.
“I got into the introduction because I like to give lectures,” she said. “I want to make the seminars good, but we have [about 20 students] in a seminar, and that’s a lot of people to include in a conversation. The lectures are my forte.”
Nancy Ammerman, chair of the sociology department, said Mears has been a great addition to the classroom. Her ability to incorporate media and current events to help students grasp sociological concepts makes her a “remarkable classroom teacher.”
“We have been delighted to have such a gifted teacher introducing BU students to sociology,” Ammerman said in an email interview.
Mears is known in the academic community for her doctoral thesis turned book, “Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model,” in which she studied modeling from a sociological standpoint.
Mears modeled when she was studying for her undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia. While pursuing her graduate degree at NYU, she was scouted by a modeling agency and decided to turn the opportunity into research.
“I was a part of [the modeling] but also an outsider,” Mears said. “When I signed up the second time around I was very much thinking about myself as a researcher, and I was doing it for myself.”
Mears said although some have suggested she teach the book in her Introduction to Sociology class for personal financial gains, she has yet to do so.
“In the end,” she said, “[the money] would probably only be enough for like a pizza party for the class.”
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