Introducing
Dr. Ingrid Bianca Byerly
.
Endorsements from Colleagues
Compiled from Originals
by S. Wortham
Martworth Consulting
2004
Dr. Judith Ruderman
Vice-Provost of Academic Affairs, Duke
Ingrid’s student evaluations are so
uniformly glowing that I can honestly say that, as former director of the Duke
Summer session, I have never received any that were finer.
She has the wonderful knack of
conveying both her knowledge and her enthusiasm to her students, and even
better, of empowering than to learn and to want to learn even more. She
considers it her responsibility to help students discover how to conduct
research, to take notes, to study for tests, to write papers – to master the
technique, that is, of being the best student one can be. Students react well
to this kind of nurturing, to be sure. It did not surprise me to learn that
Ingrid had been asked by the family of a student who took his own life to say a
few words at his memorial service. This young man had on the whole felt
isolated and alone, but he had found in Ingrid a bright ray of caring that his
parents knew about and appreciated. At his funeral, which I attended, Ingrid
spoke eloquently of our need to be attentive to one another, and to acknowledge
the uniqueness of every individual, Her remarks said volumes to me about her
own philosophy of teaching, and of life.
Dr. Ernestine Friedl
Professor Emeritus and Former Dean of Arts and Sciences, Duke
University.
Ingrid is not a run-of-the-mill
scholar. She has enormous intellectual curiosity, which enlivens all her
encounters. She possesses a quality of mind and spirit rarely encountered. Her
stress on the Academy as a provider of a culture and structure to promote the
life-long learning of undergraduates, graduates and professors as well is new
and important. It is new because it requires us to analyze how in the
contemporary setting of credentialism we can activate the forces leading to
learning for wisdom. It is important because it stresses the importance of a
conscious, sophisticated knowledge of the social structures and cultures within
which we academics have learnt to operate. Her collection of data on teaching
and learning in South Africa, England, and the United States provides her with
the material for a rich cross-cultural analysis of institutions, teachers and
learners. Her skills at learning from others have been honed on her jobs as
interviewer. Her teaching abilities as attested by her students and her
theoretical sophistication, as attested by her prize-winning research in
musicology, are ideal combination for her research. Her ideas offer the best
description I have seen of how to go about working on a degree. Give yourselves
a treat.
Prof. William Mack O’Barr
Chair, Department of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University
Ingrid is meticulous in her approach as
researcher. Her enthusiasm for her project is contagious. Students have given
her highest evaluations. Fellow graduate students have looked to her as a
model, and faculty enjoy working with her.
Dani Mitchell
Training Manager, Institute of Personnel Management, South Africa
Ingrid has that rare ability to challenge and ‘stretch’ students,
while always displaying empathy and support for them. She is an excellent
trainer, combining very good interpersonal skills with sound educational
content. She has the ability to communicate honestly and at the same time,
appropriately, with all levels in an organization. A highly intelligent and
talented individual, Ingrid is imaginative in the solution of educational
problems, and able to find outlets for creativity.
I have had the priviledge of ‘seeing
her in action’ on a number of occasions and with very diverse groups of people.
Her two particular strengths are her ability to deal with highly sensitive
issues in a relaxed but also very perceptive manner, and her ability to treat
all individuals (regardless of sex, age, race or status) in exactly the same
way, with a natural ease, confident assertiveness and a charming sense of
humour.
Peggy Ahrens
Senior Lecturer, Pretoria Tech, SA
For Ingrid, teaching and learning is
more than a career, it is an all-consuming passion. According to her pupils,
Ingrid puts the fun back into learning. Her exceptional communication skills
allow her to relate to a wide spectrum of people from diverse cultural and
traditional backgrounds. Ingrid’s greatest gift is to inspire her audiences.
Tessa Richardson,
Director, Regent Courses
Head Office, London.
In her teaching Ingrid is both
innovative and inspiring. She uses published materials and her own ideas
equally creatively and is able to produce the maximum progress from her
students. She is well versed in current methodology and able to adopt an
eclectic approach herself. She has always captured and maintained her students’
interest – not an easy task when presented with adolescents from a variety of
backgrounds internationally. The
empathy she displays for each individual alike ensures that she more than
delivers what is required in terms of syllabus and general ethos of courses.
She establishes an equally good rapport with both staff and students, and has
always gained the respect of those she worked with. She can swing programs from
the largest disasters to the biggest successes. She is also always available to
give individual attention to students’ problems when needed, while maintaining
the discipline essential to courses of the size and nature she takes on. She is
a natural leader, yet able to interact well on all levels. She possesses a good
sense of humour, and her buoyant personality makes her an asset to any team.
Cyril Molyneux
Former Regent Course Director, Oxford, England
Ingrid is a highly professional and
gifted teacher. Her greatest attribute is her extraordinary ability to
communicate freely and appropriately with people of any kind. Her personal
adaptability is quite exceptional, and she displays a determination to deal
with individuals, both staff and students alike, in an open and honest way. She
possesses that rare quality of remaining completely unaffected by the status of
others, being neither intimidated by her superiors, nor intimidating those
under her supervision. Her dealing with others is respectful, fair and natural
at all times. Her inspired teaching methods and infectious sense of humour make
her popular with her colleagues, as well as her classes, while at the same time
her obviously sensitive and unselfish nature draw to her those more uneasy. Her
classes are always well organized and immaculately disciplined, and yet also
had a dynamic, happy and stimulating atmosphere. Her students know exactly what
is expected of them, and respond enthusiastically to the demands of each
project.
Michael Lane
Principal Consultant,
PE Corporate Services,
South Africa.
As a leading consultant in cross-cultural
synergy in South Africa, Ingrid’s intellectual and analytical ability is beyond
question. She uses her empathy to research her audience extremely effectively
and has excellent communication skills in dealing with both groups and
individuals. A true professional, with a strong drive, coupled with an
outstanding commitment to her field of study. She applies this motivation, on
both an academic and practical level, extremely effectively.
She has what could best be described as
a mission- a need to train and develop others.
Prof. Alan Solomon
Professor Emeritus, Dept, of Music, Pretoria University, South
Africa
Ingrid is one of those rare individuals
who combine a vast capacity for idealism, inspiration, originality and
enthusiasm with the intellectual discipline that invariably produces
academically meticulous work. She shows an unwavering dedication to her subject
both unique and universally important. She can inspire and enthuse every
student she encounters, by a genuine interest in their work. Her work, like her
personality, reveals a vibrant intellect and an ebullient sense of humour
experienced and appreciated by all who know her. She is a great communicator
and her charismatic yet compassionate nature creates an instant rapport with everyone
who meets her.
Ingrid is one of the most
intellectually integrated individuals I have ever met, possessing an analytical
insight into people and situations, which makes her an ideal researcher and
educator.
A truly unique individual, with a
special genius for that which absorbs her.
Prof. Alexei Yurchak
Assistant Professor,
Department of Anthropology, Berkeley
In her presentations in Russia, and my
class at Berkeley, Ingrid has revealed a passionate emotional investment in her
subject. She can engage different audiences and bring about lively discussion.
Ingrid is an empathetic person, who is always keen to help others.
Prof. Claudia Strauss
Former PhD. Adviser,
Department of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University
Ingrid is a gifted fieldworker, able to
draw out a wide range of people, even on sensitive subjects.
Dr. Alexander Silbiger
Former Director of Graduate Studies, Music Department, Duke
University
Ingrid is as eloquent in her speech as
in her writing, discoursing about her subject with confidence and enthusiasm.
Wim Spronk
Former Head of Department, Audio-Visual Unit, Education and
Training, South Africa
Ingrid has a dynamic style and an
ability to get the best out of her students. She is also in great demand as a
guest lecturer, co-coordinator and chief facilitator for (South African)
institutions.
She is always popular with her students
and colleagues at every conceivable level.
Marcia Blackstone Maull
Former Performance Instructor
New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra
Ingrid’s intellectual curiosity and
artistic talents make her an outstanding student.
She has great
strength of character.
Shigeru Takaoka
General Manager, Human Resources, Nippon Steel, Japan
On our students’ summer courses in Oxford… Ingrid is an excellent
teacher and personality, and a very intellectual and a good member in business
and academic discussions. She has excellent communication skills and everybody
willingly listens to her by any means in any situation. She is fair and treats
everyone equally, understanding the differences of various cultural groups
Vusi M. Nkosi.
Education and Training Manager: South Africa
Ingrid has a high intellectual ability and possesses and analytical
mind. She is sensitive to other people’s feelings, and shows empathy in dealing
with others;
a major strength in her particular area of expertise. She ranks
tops in her field. She is the best person I know to bring people to a new level
of awareness. Her greatest attribute is that she recognizes and develops the
aptitudes, capabilities and capacity of others.
Prof. Jan Ewald
Professor, Department of History, Duke University
Ingrid is a most engaged member of the
scholarly community. She does not hesitate to take a controversial position;
yet is never contentious or argumentative. Open to new ideas, she forms clear
opinions and supports them adequately.
Dr. Chabani Manganyi
Senior Research Fellow,
African Studies Inst.
Witwatersrand Univ. South Africa
Ingrid has outstanding interpersonal
skill, demonstrating initiative and ability. As a member of the
under-represented minorities in business, Ingrid displays a constant interest
in the advancement of these groups in the business world. We are in dire need
of people with her dedication and interest.
Dr. Willem Steenkamp
Professor Emeritus, U.
Western Cape, South Africa
Ingrid has a spontaneous and warm
relationship with people, wide interests, a profound general knowledge and
clear and critical thinking. She is an independent thinker, a critical scholar,
and a sensitive and perceptive observer with the maturity, drive and initiative
to create and develop interpersonal situations for other to become aware of
mutual needs.
Allyson Roberts
Former Teacher Trainer,
International House, London
Her mature approach and self-critical stance enables her to
effectively apply to her students what she has learnt. Her presentations reveal
meticulous planning and organizational skills, and she shows genuine interest
in her students. Her warm and outgoing personality enables her to develop a good
rapport in the classroom.
Fiona Bailey
Former Course Director,
Regent Course, Oxford.
Ingrid’s students are well challenged,
but know exactly what is expected of them. She has an exciting and stimulating
teaching style, and all her students looked forward to her classes.
Peter Norfolk-Brown
Former Course Director, Regent Course, Oxford
A teacher of outstanding ability with a
natural and instinctive rapport with her students
Dr. Katherine Barret-Gaines:
PhD. Stanford University
Ingrid Byerly is the kind of professor,
scholar, mother, spouse, friend, and human that I want to be.