Professor draws students' praise

Some professors change the way students see the world.
For many at UNM, that professor may be Stephen Alley.

As the psychology department’s only full-time lecturer, Alley forms meaningful student-teacher relationships at the University, student Carolina Ortega said. She said Alley encourages students to contact him often.

“He goes above and beyond what is needed to teach,” she said. “He takes the time to interact and get to know his students on a more personal level.”

And with Alley’s class load, that is not an easy task.
On any given week, Alley works with nearly 500 students. A small group often clusters by his east-wing office at Logan Hall, waiting to chat about class concerns.

To demonstrate his open-door policy, Alley often humorously places a welcome mat outside his office, said Jane Ellen Smith, the psychology department chair.

“That is my favorite,” she said. “Not only is he a good instructor, knowledge-wise, but also he’s passionate about what he does. He’s very welcoming, (and) he’s such a unique person.”

Faculty members share these sentiments, said Ronald Yeo, the former chair who hired Alley as a full-time lecturer four years ago.
“Having a lecturer in the department has been very beneficial, particularly because it’s Steve,” he said. “(He) is perhaps the most naturally gifted teacher I’ve ever run across.”
Still, Alley has his detractors.

One of Alley’s former students, Corinne Lykins, said the professor is approachable and concerned with his students, but his teaching style is overrated.

“He wasn’t the worst professor I’ve ever had, but I don’t think he really deserves a lot of the praise he’s been getting,” she said. “If you love Carl Rogers and the softer side of psychology, which some people do, then he’s your kind of professor.”
Yet for a lot of students, Alley is their kind of professor.

This past year, Alley’s commendations include Best Teacher at UNM (by UNM Student’s Choice 2009), and he was the spring 2010 psychology department graduation speaker.

The latter was a task Alley said challenged him. He tailored the speech to his audience, just like his lectures. Doing so required him to e-mail hundreds of soon-to-be graduates and find out what they believed is important to their undergraduate success.
Alley said he plans to provide students with an enriching educational experience.

“I love applying the knowledge that other people are generating,” he said. “I love teaching, and look forward to teaching. (In the next five years), I would like to be doing exactly what I’m doing now, and I’d like to be doing it even better.”