CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign each year presents Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction to exceptional faculty and staff members, graduate teaching assistants and advisors campuswide. The recipients were honored at a March 25 ceremony.
Awardees are cited for sustained excellence and innovation in undergraduate and graduate teaching, undergraduate and graduate advising and mentoring, online teaching and research guidance. The Office of the Provost sponsors the awards. Learn more about each honoree as excerpted from their nominators.
EXCELLENCE IN GRADUATE STUDENT MENTORING
Marcelo Garcia, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Mariselle Meléndez, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese and the director of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, are the recipients of the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring, presented to tenure-system or specialized faculty members at Illinois who have taught on the Urbana campus for at least five years.
Garcia’s advising style is both innovative and independence-building, empowering students to grow as confident, self‑directed scholars. Guided by the principle that “Learning is for life,” he aims to provide his students with critical thinking skills, the ability to pursue difficult work and ethical considerations in their research endeavors. He supports students as they pursue meaningful research and, later, successful careers around the world.
Meléndez’s approach to mentoring includes understanding, adaptability, clarity and a genuine investment in her students’ success. A first-generation student herself, Meléndez sees mentoring as a responsibility to carve a path for others and lead by example. She has shaped generations of scholars of Latin America and helped to cultivate their professional development. She individually guides each graduate student and encourages them to learn from and collaborate with one another.
EXCELLENCE IN GUIDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Political science professor Avital Livny and chemistry professor Joaquin Rodríguez‑López are the recipients of the Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research, which is designed to foster and reward excellence in involving and guiding undergraduate students in scholarly research.
Livny believes that research empowers students to find their voices, build confidence and collaborate meaningfully. To make research accessible to all students, she redesigned the curriculum into a sequence that combines methods training with faculty apprenticeships. She also revised the senior honors seminar, creating new structures that support students as they develop thesis projects.
Rodríguez‑López cares about results but cares even more about the growth of the student who produces those results. His philosophy is simple: research should first and foremost feed your curiosity and enjoyment of science. He pushes students to think critically while supporting them with patience and empathy. His enthusiasm instills a thrill for discovery that outweighs the fear of failure.
EXCELLENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING
The Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising is designed to foster and reward excellence in involving and guiding undergraduate students in scholarly research.
La Tanya Cobb, the associate director for undergraduate student services in the School of Architecture, reminds students that no two academic or career journeys are identical, encouraging them to define their individual success. She supports building inclusive communities and has created opportunities for emerging leaders. She treats student perspectives with respect and seriousness, modeling an advising philosophy that empowers students as collaborators in shaping their education.
Bryan Dunne, a teaching assistant professor of astronomy, creates clear and supportive pathways for student success across four majors. Through his innovative ASTR 199 course, proactive outreach and deep commitment to equity, he has strengthened recruitment, retention and graduate placement. Dunne helps students clarify their goals and collaborates with them to build academic plans that reflect their aspirations.
EXCELLENCE IN GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL TEACHING
The Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching recognizes contributions to graduate or professional learners beyond classroom instruction. Tenure-system faculty and specialized faculty are eligible.
Animal sciences professor Maria Cattai de Godoy is a trailblazer in developing online offerings of successful in-person courses. She applies her creativity, teaching and research experiences to bring together students, encouraging in-depth dialogues through live sessions and student discussion board assignments. She believes it’s important to not only teach students how to be competent scholars and professionals, but also how to be good citizens. Using real-world exercises, she shows them how to apply their knowledge to improve the society that they live in.
Civil and environmental engineering professor Mani Golparvar-Fard has advised numerous graduate students who now serve as faculty at leading universities, senior researchers at major technology firms and founders of successful startups. His innovative teaching includes team‑based collaboration and problem‑driven inquiry to provide students with both deep technical expertise and strong managerial, entrepreneurial and social perspectives.
EXCELLENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING
Faculty, specialized faculty and teaching assistants are eligible for the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
Teaching Assistants
Aderiyike Aguda, a graduate student in chemical and biomolecular engineering, adapts her teaching style to the students’ needs and the course content. She is committed to equipping students with the technical knowledge required for academic and professional success while inspiring curiosity and excitement. She strives to help students connect theory with real-world content, which she believes is key to deepening understanding.
A graduate student in communication, Kirsten Pool is committed to helping students achieve their goals by communicating regularly with them. An innovative instructor, she incorporates podcasts, documentaries, TED Talks, scholarly readings, interactive quizzes and student‑led discussions into her classes. She strives to cultivate confidence by fostering an environment where students feel safe taking intellectual risks.
Cassidy Short, a graduate student instructor in English, challenges and supports her students in equal measure. She is committed to fulfilling the promise of a liberal arts education as she works with students from different disciplines and backgrounds and varying levels of experience and confidence. Her goal is to empower her students to recognize their own authority as writers and thinkers.
A doctoral candidate in classics, Amy Vandervelde creates engaging activities for recitation sections that bring ancient myths to life. She constantly changes her classes based on student feedback, incorporating review games in the style of “Jeopardy” and visits to an open-air theater to experience a Greek tragedy. She gives students the space to ask questions and tries to create a truly welcoming teaching environment
Vincent Villalobos, a graduate student in mathematics, invites students to take part in active learning without the fear of being wrong. Villalobos makes complex ideas understandable and engaging, actively seeks feedback and adjusts lessons on the fly. Their goal is to provide clear communication of ideas, demonstrate empathy to students, promote collaboration and share their knowledge and passion for math.
Specialized Faculty
A senior lecturer in earth science and environmental change, Max Christie is an innovative teacher who consistently employs new techniques. He uses cinematic depictions of the geosciences in movies as prompts for students to examine the scientific accuracy in the portrayal of natural hazards. His courses emphasize observation, hypothesis testing and reflection in order to help students learn to think like geologists, communicate scientific ideas clearly and engage in the process of scientific inquiry.
A teaching professor in theatre, Cynthia Kocher revised the graduate and undergraduate curriculum to update contemporary practices and ensure greater equity and accessibility. She created experiential learning opportunities to enable students to study in New York, Chicago and London. Her goals are to teach students how to collaborate, think critically and strategically, find their voice, listen to all stakeholders, prioritize and work to find a path forward for all those involved in a project.
John Kotnarowski, a senior lecturer in linguistics, has the ability to connect with students, create a productive learning community and motivate students to develop their writing skills. He constantly refines curricula to keep his courses current, rigorous and accessible for hundreds of international undergraduates each year. He aims to deepen his understanding of the craft of writing and helps his students do the same.
As a teaching professor in nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering, Leon Liebenberg fosters systems of literacy, social awareness and creative confidence through guided self-directed learning, systems thinking and whole-brain engagement. Students express ideas through diverse formats, including zines, infographics, narratives, policy papers with companion blogposts and performance-based work, encouraging both analytical and imaginative thinking while developing the ability to communicate complex sustainability challenges in meaningful and impactful ways.
Industrial and enterprise systems engineering teaching professor Chrysafis Vogiatzis has identified areas where new technologies can transform the educational process. He redesigned one course to a flipped classroom, enabling students to work collaboratively and employ critical thinking skills to tackle practical challenges. His consistent use of lecture concepts and hands-on practice make complex materials accessible to students of varying backgrounds.
Tenure-System Faculty
Speech and hearing sciences professor Mary Flaherty fosters critical thinking, empathy and professional identity among her students as she inspires curiosity. She emphasizes self-regulated learning, information literacy and active engagement in her classes. Flaherty incorporate instructional methods such as “Concept Checks,” in-class application tasks and analyses of contemporary clinical and research questions.
History professor Marc Hertzman uses his classroom as a space for collaborative inquiry where students work through challenging ideas, connect the past to the present, and develop an intellectual voice through argument and evidence. He incorporates technology, multimedia and texts to create a welcoming environment for debate and reflection.
Dance professor C. Kemal Nance is a preeminent scholar and practitioner of neo-African diasporic dance. He is committed to diversifying the curriculum by incorporating a dynamic system that produces artists who are trained in diverse movements and are knowledgeable about the cultures where these movements originate. Nance’s emphasis on etiquette, respect and effort gives each student a strong foundation. He emphasizes the importance of being informed and intentional as dancers.
Also recognized for excellence in guiding undergraduate research, Rodríguez‑López teaches and tests distinct techniques in weeklong modules, replacing midterm exams with weekly evaluations. He uses inverted-classroom activities to engage students and to expose them to practical applications of the content. He breaks down complex concepts into accessible, engaging lessons. His method of using real-world applications, visual aids and clear step-by-step explanations makes material not only understandable but also appealing to students.
English professor Corey Van Landingham’s courses in creative writing are both reading and writing intensive as she aims to present students with examples of texts as they become fluent in the practice of a writing workshop. She encourages students to succeed and also to experiment in the act of creating work. Van Landingham provides detailed and thoughtful feedback, providing her students with the necessary skills and confidence in their abilities.
EXCELLENCE IN ONLINE TEACHING
Faculty members who have taught at least three credit-bearing online courses over the past five years are eligible for the Excellence in Online Teaching award.
Christy Bazan, an adjunct faculty member in health and kinesiology, presents online courses that are rigorous, engaging and supportive. She uses personalized outreach and early interventions to support students before challenges become barriers. Her goal is to create online learning environments that inspire growth, foster connections with peers and prepare students to engage thoughtfully in an increasingly interconnected world.
Astronomy professor Leslie Looney pioneered a new standard in online STEM education through purpose-built astronomy courses that reach thousands of students annually, transform learning and engagement at scale and dismantle barriers to participation. He communicates expectations clearly, provides timely and constructive feedback and actively engages with students through discussion boards and announcements, resulting in high levels of student engagement and motivation.
Editor’s note:
Contact Stephanie Henry, slhenry@illinois.edu, for more information.
