Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Nineteen to be honored for excellence in teaching, advising

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Ten faculty members, four academic professionals and five graduate teaching assistants at the University of Illinois will be honored April 29 for excellence in teaching and advising. The honors will be presented during a reception at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.

Faculty members honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching are Carla Cáceres, animal biology; Rosa Milagros Santos, special education; Kim Graber, kinesiology and community health; Mark Leff, history; and Bruce Reznick, mathematics.

Instructional staff members to receive the award are lecturers John Griswold, English, and Marina Miletic, chemical and biomolecular engineering; and teaching associate Katherine Wahl, mathematics.

Graduate teaching assistants who will receive the award are Michelle Birkett, educational psychology; Julia Jamieson, music; Shabnam Javdani, psychology; Samantha Looker, English; and Mary Ramey, communication.

The awards recognize professors, instructional staff members 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 selected for the awards receive $5,000; instructional staff members receive $4,000; graduate teaching assistants receive $3,500.

Other award winners to be honored:

Charlotte Mattax Moersch, a professor of music, and Petros Sofronis, a professor of mechanical science and engineering, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. Each receives $5,000.

Michael Twidale, a professor of library and information science, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Off-Campus Teaching, which provides the recipient with $5,000.

David Ruzic, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research. The $2,000 award is designed to foster and reward excellence in involving and guiding undergraduate students in scholarly research.

Robert Skirvin, a professor of natural resources and environmental sciences, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Mentoring Graduate Students, which provides the recipient with $2,000.

Robert Steltman, an academic adviser in English, will receive the Campus Award for Excellence in Advising Undergraduate Students, which provides the recipient with $2,000.

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