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Di Donato receives Outstanding German Educator Award

07/22/2010

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Robert Di Donato

Robert Di Donato, Miami University professor in the department of German, Russian, and East Asian languages, is the recipient of the 2010 Outstanding German Educator Award at the college/university level, from the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG).

This award is given in recognition of personal innovation, talent, and leadership, which reflect uncommon excellence. Recipients are nominated by their colleagues in recognition of service to the language teaching profession; participation in professional organizations; contribution to German language education; and continued growth as a German educator.

Outstanding German Educator award winners also receive the Friedrich Gerstäcker Travel Grant, sponsored by the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation in Berlin, Germany. The grant supports travel to Germany in 2011.

The presentation ceremony will take place on Nov. 20, during the AATG's annual meeting in Boston.

Di Donato came to Miami in 1987 and currently is acting chair of the department of Spanish and Portuguese. His work is concentrated mainly in the area of foreign language methodology and teacher education.

In 2000, he created the PBS series, “Fokus Deutsch,” the first televised German course made in the United States. He is the co-author of Deutsch: Na Klar! and The Big Yellow Book of German Verbs (2005). He also is the chief academic and series developer of the college text series Fokus Deutsch and the high-school text series AufDeutsch.