The UC received more than 175 nominations for the award, the highest number ever.
Students and their nominated teachers began their evening with a reception in the Eliot House Junior Common Room which was followed by dinner and a performance by the Harvard Krokodiloes.
Before giving out the awards, Levenson Award organizers Ali Ahsan David D. Kane, resident tutor of Eliot House, was nominated for his work in sophomore tutorial. "Why is so much of the teaching at Harvard horrible? Because Harvard does almost nothing outside dinner to reward teaching," Kane said. "Every hour I spend teaching sections, grading papers, meeting with students, is an hour that I don't spend working on my dissertation," he added. Kane was nominated by his sophomore tutorial student, Amit Tiwari '97, who praised him for making tutorial a "free, open forum for ideas" by eliminating participation as part of the grade. "What separates Dave from all the other TFs I know is that he puts his heart into the class," said Tiwari. "Dave really cares about students." Last night was also an opportunity for the Council, which runs, decides and gives out the Levenson awards, to announce their new award for "service to the student body." The award honors supervisory employees of the Harvard community for their willingness to help and respond to students. Among the nominees for the Coucil award for Excellence in Service to the Student Body were library, dining hall and transportation services staff. The 1997 recipient was Harvard shuttle driver Richie Aufiero. All nominees for the new service award will have a letter sent to their supervisor from the Council informing them of the nomination