Students say prof is a ‘gem’

Duvall-Early ranks 23rd nationally on Web site’s first-ever ranking

By Holly Fournier, contributing writer
Posted on November 1, 2007

RateMyProfessors.com recently released its first-ever faculty rankings based on student input from around the country, and JMU is ranked 11th.

The site singled out psychology professor Kimberly Duvall-Early as the 23rd-best professor in the nation.

“I was floored,” said Duvall-Early, or “Professor DE,” as she is referred to by her students.

Duvall-Early teaches Lifespan of Human Development and is also a psychology preparation advisor.  She has taught at JMU on and off since 1988, and said she was inspired to teach by former JMU psychology professor James Benedict.

“He encouraged me to give [teaching] a try,” she said.  “Dr. Benedict believed in me and helped me to find new abilities that I never knew I had.”

Students seem just as excited about Duvall-Early as she was about her mentor.

“I am so glad I got a spot in Prof DE’s class,” one site patron said.  “I have tried for [two] semesters!”

Students used the site to elaborate on just what makes their psychology professor worthy of the high marks given to her.

“She uses real life examples that are informative and entertaining,” notes one student, “She’s a gem at JMU.”

Duvall-Early echoes many of the students’ sentiments.

“My goal is to develop a rapport with my students,” she said.  “I let [my students] know me [through] personal anecdotes.  They love my stories.”

Duvall-Early insists that it is the atmosphere of JMU that allows her to succeed as a teacher.

“I feel so very fortunate to be able to do what I love, in a supportive department, at an incredible university,” she said.  “There are so many unbelievable professors in the psychology department…I teach among the best of the best.”

Duvall-Early said that she also tries to show her students respect, as she thinks that coming from a teacher it is almost priceless.

“I make sure that I always treat my students the way I want to be treated,” she said.

Former students point to this as one of the main reasons they enjoyed their semester in Duvall-Early’s classroom.

“Professor DE was so sweet,” one said.  “She cares a lot about her students and the class was great.”

Duvall-Early, however, cautions the reliability of sites like RateMyProfessors.com. 

“The sampling is a bit skewed,” she said.  “Only really happy or really unhappy students tend to rate their professors on this site.  I am just very fortunate that my skew went in a positive direction.”