CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fourteen faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, four academic professionals and five teaching assistants will be honored for excellence in teaching and advising Monday (April 28) at the annual Instructional Awards banquet in the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.
Faculty winners of the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching are Dorothy L. Espelage, educational psychology; Kimiko Gunji, art and design; Craig Koslofsky, history; Richard S. Laugesen, mathematics; and Edward McAuley, kinesiology.
Instructional staff winners of the award are Donna J. Charlevoix, atmospheric sciences; Peter S. Sheldon, advertising; and Robert C. Steltman, English.
Graduate teaching assistants who will receive the award are Tobias Barske, Germanic languages and literatures; Trent W. Maurer, human and community development; James Nelligan, history; Srinivasan Sitaraman, political science; and Catherine M. Waitinas, English.
Jonathan Hale Foreman, professor of veterinary clinical medicine, and Laurie Reynolds, professor of law, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching.
The awards recognizes professors and graduate teaching assistants who display consistently excellent performance in the classroom, take innovative approaches to teaching, positively affect the lives of their students, and make other contributions to improved instruction, including influencing the curriculum.
Faculty members who are selected for the award receive $5,000 and a $3,000 raise; instructional staff members receive $4,000 and a $1,500 raise; graduate teaching assistants receive $3,500 and a $1,000 increase in their stipends.
Others to be honored at the banquet:
Steven Helle, professor of journalism, and Arlette I. Willis, professor of curriculum and instruction, will be recognized as Distinguished Teacher/Scholars. The program promotes excellence in teaching by honoring and supporting outstanding faculty members who take an active role in enhancing teaching and learning on the UI campus. During the past year, these honorees utilized their skills to mentor other faculty members. They will retain the title of University Distinguished Teacher/Scholar throughout their Illinois careers.
Christine A. Jenkins, professor of library and information science, will receive the Award for Excellence in Off-Campus Teaching, which provides $4,000 to the recipient.
Yi Lu, professor of chemistry, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research, a $2,000 award designed to foster and reward excellence in involving and guiding undergraduate students in scholarly research.
Matthew Lessig, professor of English, and Rosalie Shaul Schmitt, academic adviser in education, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Advising Undergraduate Students, which provides $2,000 to each recipient.
Darrel J. Kesler, professor of animal sciences, will receive the Campus Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Instruction, which provides $2,000 to the recipient.
Elisabeth Oltheten, professor of finance, will receive the Campus Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Instruction Using Educational Technologies. The award provides $2,000 to the recipient.
