On April 3, Princeton Review and RateMyProfessors.com released a book listing the top 300 professors in the country. The Princeton Review, which specializes in standardized test preparation, often releases lists of the top colleges in the country and top twenty lists such as ‘Party Schools’ and ‘Best Career Services.’

RateMyProfesors.com is a free ranking website where students can anonymously rank professors at least 7,500 schools based on helpfulness, clarity and easiness.

RateMyProfessors.com has released its own top ten lists before, but this is the first time they have partnered with Princeton Review to release a more comprehensive list.

Among the 300 listed, two Gustavus professors made the cut. Associate Professor of Political Science Richard Leitch and Professor of Biology John Lammert both were included. Both professors have received the Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching at Gustavus: Lammert in 1988 and Leitch in 2008.

Likewise, both professors are published authors. Lammert released Techniques in Microbiology: A Student Handbook in 2007 and Leitch is co-author of Japan’s Role in the Post-Cold War World published in 1995.

Lammert has been a faculty member since 1982. He specializes in immunology and microbiology and also teaches BIO-101 Principles of Biology, January Interim classes and special topics courses.

Lammert participated in Dancing with the Profs in 2010. He has a rating of 4.8 in overall quality on RateMyProfessors.com from 34 reviews.

On the site, a former student said, “Dr. Lammert is the smartest man I know. He is brilliant and really knows what he is teaching and has a passion for it.”

Another student said, “He’s one of those rare profs who will remember every student’s name out of a class of 90+.”

“Dr. Lammert is a very organized and efficient professor. He makes the best use of my time and his. He is extraordinarily brilliant…and available to students,” Senior Rachel Haugo said.

“He also keeps the mood light and silly. He jokes around with students all the time and makes me laugh every time we are in lab. Dr. Lammert is very deserving of this award.”

Professor Leitch has worked at Gustavus since 1996. He has a background in East Asian Studies and his PhD in Political Science;  he teaches courses at Gustavus in both Japanese Studies and Political Science, as well as Peace Studies.

Other courses Leitch has taught include:  Environmental Politics, Analyzing Japan, International Relations and Comparative Politics.

Leitch was also the student-chosen Swenson-Bunn Award winner for Teaching Excellence at Gustavus in 2000 and has an overall rating of 4.1 on RateMyProfessors.com from 41 ratings.

A former student wrote, “A joy in the classroom, [he] gives his life to teach students. Gustavus is very lucky to have him.”

Another said, “Amazing, passionate, and if any faults, maybe too dedicated to teaching.”

“The level of enthusiasm Professor Leitch brings to the classroom is what sets him apart from the average educator.  The guy seems to radiate energy, keeping students engaged and attentive.  It’s as if he never has a bad day: I don’t know how he does it,” Senior Nils Anderson said.

To select the professors, Princeton Review first chose 1,000 colleges that consistently rated their professors highly in their surveys. Then, incorporating RateMyProfessors.com data, the list was compiled of the top 1,000 professors at those schools. The editors then received input from administrators and students and made the final decisions of who to place on the list.