by Elaine Fernandes for Daijiworld News Network

USA, Mar 14: Margaret Usha D’Silva, Professor of Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Louisville is one of the ten faculty members chosen  for the  prestigious 2006 Presidential Exemplary Multicultural Teaching Award. 

It is worthy to mention that she is the only Indian in the list. This award is given as a recognition for the demonstrated excellence in teaching and scholarship through the use of teaching strategies and practices that empower learning styles of all students from diverse global perspectives, language construction and disabilities styles; culturally pluralistic and socially constructed ideals; and course content and processes that incorporate multicultural and global perspectives.
 
Margaret has been consistently mentoring undergraduate students on research projects that address issues of race, culture, gender and class in communication contexts. Projects include analyses of conflict between established residents and Vietnamese refugees in Louisville, ethical dimension of cochlear implants for the deaf and race relations on the U of L campus. She challenges her students to recognize how their understandings of international issues such as the Palestine/Israeli conflict are socially constructed in limited ways by the typical frames in the American media and popular culture. D’Silva revised the communication department’s “Intercultural Communications” course by incorporating cultural diversity content and creating an online version to meet the writing and cultural diversity curriculum requirements.
 
Margaret is the eldest child of six siblings born to  Late Ambrose and Irene D' Silva of Cordel in Kulshekar Parish. Her mother Irene  recently retired as a teacher and is popularly known as Irene Teacher.
 
Margaret was the President of the St. Agnes College in Mangalore and went on to pursue her  Phd.  She has always been a brilliant student, topping her studies and winning many prizes in her student days. She is also an excellent orator.
 
She is married to Murali Rao and resides in the US with her two sons.