a member of the Music
Department faculty, was
awarded the 2010 UNC
Board of Governors Award for
Teaching Excellence.
A medallion
representing the award was
presented during Spring
Commencement by Dr.
Cheryl Marvileane Locklear
'75, a member of the Board of
Governors.
Dr. Maisonpierre joined
the faculty in 1985 and
campuses, the board selects 17 of the most outstanding faculty to
receive the annual award.
As the recipient of UNC's top teaching award, Dr. Maisonpierre
is humbled. It is the 16th annual award, and the first time it has
gone to a member of the Music Department.
"I am honored to be the recipient," she said.
What stands out about Dr. Maisonpierre, her colleagues say, is
her boundless enthusiasm for teaching music and playing piano.
"I'll never lose my enthusiasm for teaching or playing," she
said.
Colleagues offered praise for the performer and the teacher.
Dr. Mark Canada, professor and chair of the English and Theatre
Department, recently observed one of her classes.
"Anyone who has heard her play the piano knows of Dr.
Maisonpierre's mastery of her art," Dr. Canada said. "This
opportunity showed me that she was not only a fine pianist, but a
brilliant teacher."
Dr. Maisonpierre's students also have been effusive in their
praise of her teaching, including former student Tommy Cox.
of Graduate Studies, was elected to the Richmond
County School Board. In June, the 20-year
education professional and self-professed political
novice, was sworn into office and will serve a
four-year term. Dr. Aiken earned a master's degree
in education from UNCP and a Ph.D. from UNC-
Chapel Hill. She joined the faculty in 1994 and has
had a varied and distinguished career that includes
pioneering online teaching.
gifted teacher," Cox said. "She is a highly motivated professional
who knows how to motivate her students to strive for excellence
both in the lecture hall and in person."
Former student Maren Walter concurred.
"Dr. Maisonpierre created a feeling of community and
encouragement among students in her classes and those of us
who made up the piano department," Walter said. "Her love of
people, optimism and enthusiasm were infectious during daily
interactions with her and during classes."
Music theory and piano performance are demanding and
complex subjects to teach or learn, and Dr. Maisonpierre has a
special affinity for the rigors of the discipline. Mathematics was
her first love, she said.
"I believe that the most important thing I can do as a teacher
is to give my students a firm foundation upon which to build,"
she said. "I think this is especially true in the field of music, and
specifically in the two areas on which I am currently focused
piano and music theory.
"If students understand every step of the process, they
will be successful and then they can take the next step," Dr.
Maisonpierre continued. "There is a connection or sequence that
demands step-by-step learning.
"I've believed this since I began teaching Kindermusik and
Suzuki piano to very young students," she said. "As a teacher,
I sometimes feel like a detective learning which step a student
missed."
In piano performance, Dr. Maisonpierre's theory of teaching
and learning is similar.
"Often students learn to play a piece, and it may be a
beautiful piece that they have played over and over," she said.
"There is no guarantee they can transfer what they learned to
another piece.
"We are not teaching them to play a piece but to play
classical music," Dr. Maisonpierre said. "We are teaching them