CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Faculty and staff members and graduate teaching assistants at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this spring were honored for excellence in teaching, mentoring and advising, collectively known as the Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction.
The Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching recognizes sustained excellence and innovative approaches in undergraduate teaching and contributions beyond classroom instruction that have an overall positive impact on undergraduate student learning. Honorees are represented in three employee categories – faculty, specialized faculty and teaching assistants – and each receives a monetary award.
Faculty members honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, as described by their nominators:
Terri Barnes, history, is a celebrated scholar of gender, culture and politics in southern Africa. Drawing on her pathbreaking scholarship on gender and history while also ranging far beyond it, Barnes delivers historical context and insight to help students make sense of their worlds. With her students, Barnes explores watershed geopolitical moments as well as everyday experiences such as decoding the highly gendered, consumer-targeted labeling of cans of chicken soup at the grocery store.
Amanda Ciafone, media and cinema studies, honed her classroom skills teaching large 500-student classes as well as smaller seminars, requiring an impressive range of pedagogical approaches and methodologies. Ciafone is committed to regularly examining the broader curriculum to ensure students’ academic, professional and personal goals are met and challenged. She brings her keen attention to emergent curricular needs and the needs of students from different backgrounds – including underrepresented and historically marginalized students – to innovate a critical, publicly engaged education at Illinois.
Paul Davidson, agricultural and biological engineering, incorporates active learning into his courses to stimulate participation in small settings and conducts classroom debates – even in his large classes. He has been a faculty mentor for an Engineers Without Borders project in Guatemala, in which students designed a new drinking water system for a small community in the mountains. He also has led a USDA-funded fellowship program called Wildlife Engineers Co-managing Agriculture and Nature that includes a four-week study-abroad program in South Africa.
Michael Donohoe, accountancy, draws on his professional experience to provide students with a broad view of tax policy and regulation that pays equal attention to the taxpayer and the government. In addition to bringing a highly effective approach to the classroom, Donohoe has made substantial contributions to the accountancy core curriculum, teaching and overhauling two rigorous undergraduate courses. He also developed an income tax-themed, immersive study abroad trip in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and he created a popular massive open online course on business entity taxation.
Ryan Shosted, linguistics, presents clear, well-organized, substantive lectures, taking care to define each concept and illustrate each with a concrete example; the illustrations often come in the form of physical models he created from clay and plaster of Paris. In 2019, Shosted introduced an undergraduate course on the writing, grammar and culture of the Hittites. This unique course has been extremely popular, filling to capacity for the spring 2021 semester on the first day of enrollment.
Specialized faculty members honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching:
Jenny Amos, bioengineering, develops innovative assessment methods that demonstrate the preparedness of students for their chosen careers. In meeting the challenge of training students with broad – yet robust – skills in engineering analysis, computation and biological laboratory techniques, Amos is creating truly integrated learning experiences and strengthening the systems-engineering curriculum with real-world biomedical problems gleaned from stakeholders. Her curriculum-building efforts are careful to examine issues of race and gender in aspiring to achieve the most diverse student body possible.
Kathleen Ditewig-Morris, communication, brings a unique perspective derived from decades of experience as a corporate communication professional. By introducing students to the concepts behind interviewing, writing, ethics and self-presentation, and asking them to apply those concepts to the kinds of interactions they likely will encounter in workplaces, Ditewig-Morris reinforces both the practical elements of professional communication and the foundational principles behind them. She has successfully revamped the interviewing and business communication curriculum and substantially reinvigorated the department's internship program.
Michael Raycraft, recreation, sport and tourism, is an inspiring classroom instructor who has sustained excellence and innovation in undergraduate teaching for over two decades. His presentation style, newsworthy professional symposiums, and once-in-a-lifetime offcampus career development excursions are well known in Huff Hall and students are uniquely prepared for success in RST and related industries.
Sarah Richardson, animal sciences, continually tries new methods, tools and techniques to improve teaching and learning. During the pandemic, she expertly navigated the necessary changes to her courses and offered guidance to colleagues as they faced similar adjustments. Richardson demonstrates an admirable amount of patience and compassion for students, and never runs out of empathy for their individual situations. Before the pandemic, she hosted weekly sessions to share helpful study tips with students, followed by dedicated study time with their peers in a relaxed and supportive environment.
Scott Ricketts, English, has a strong ability to connect with students. He is attuned to their differences and allows them to know him as a person. Ricketts’ students are adept at describing the mechanisms by which they have become better writers, perhaps because his teaching is itself so attentive to process and to the demystification of writing as a “talent,” one that can seem very elusive if you don’t know how to break it down into its component parts.
Teaching assistants honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching:
Leah Becker, English, relies on a conversational approach to create a truly open, collaborative classroom. Her creative assignments help students find a way to connect. In addition to providing an inclusive learning environment for English majors, she inspires students firmly rooted in other disciplines to engage with the humanities. Many of her students wrote about the care she showed for them in times of need, her awareness of the problems they were facing and her follow-through when it came to providing support.
Ander Beristain Murillo, Spanish and Portuguese, creates a classroom environment that is enriching for the students. His teaching shows engagement with the needs of undergraduate students, both academically and as individuals. By focusing his teaching on collaboration with and between his students, he encourages students to learn from each other. Beristain Murillo does this by ensuring that his students develop socio-linguistic awareness and he prompts them to examine not only their own language practices, but the language practices of their classmates.
Emily Blevins, psychology, has taught a variety of courses including traditional lectures, discussion-based advanced seminars and an interactive project-based course. Across course sizes and settings, Emily aims to build a classroom environment where students know one another and are known by their instructor. She incorporates student input to create lesson plans that are both supportive and challenging. To promote inclusivity in her teaching, Emily models an appreciation for students’ lived experiences and helps students build skills in authentic, respectful dialogue.
Karie Brown-Tess, curriculum and instruction, uses a variety of group-based learning approaches. Her students find that learning is not about collecting information, but about growing as a person. Students create documentaries, children’s books, podcasts and other ways of educating people about social justice-related issues. Authors from the community supported students in developing mixed-media with specific text to reach a layered audience. Her network in the local community creates an environment where students feel they are making a broader impact.
Jone Vicente Urrutia, Spanish and Portuguese, approaches teaching as a chance to have great fun, and her students are quick to join her, learning along the way. Her approach has been especially effective in creating an inclusive and transformative learning environment. Vicente Urrutia’s teaching philosophy and activities consistently emphasize diverse perspectives and sources of information. By drawing connections between knowledge from Spanish- and Basque-speaking communities, she encourages students to be more intellectually curious and discover what they can learn by fostering intercultural competence.
Tania Ionin, linguistics, and Scott Weisbenner, finance, received the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. Recipients of this award are honored for sustained excellence and innovation in graduate or professional teaching and their contributions to graduate or professional learning beyond classroom instruction.
Ionin has developed a distinctive style as an approachable and stimulating expert who connects with students through solid and effective guidance. In Ionin’s graduate courses, students read primary research literature, learn about research methods and produce their own original research – with many class projects eventually growing into presentations at international conferences. This speaks to the level of sophistication that Ionin’s students achieve in understanding core research questions and methods in second language acquisition and experimental linguistics, and also to an ability to nurture independent scholars.
Weisbenner approaches teaching as a process of continual, incremental improvement, and encourages students to be active participants in their own learning. This strategy of ongoing innovation requires deep reflection on core learning objectives, sensitivity to what students require at different stages of their education, and awareness of what works to achieve these objectives. Weisbenner’s success is a measure of his ability as a scholar to distill cutting-edge research findings to interpret current events and topical issues.
Jie Chen, cell and developmental biology, and Stephen Long, plant biology and crop sciences, received the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring. This award recognizes faculty members for their sustained excellence in graduate student mentoring, innovative approaches to graduate advising, and their impact on graduate student scholarship and professional development. The award is co-sponsored by the Graduate College.
Chen pushes students to think critically while also teaching them to effectively design and execute experiments. Chen's motto that the health and sanity of her students is paramount is a testament to her commitment as a kind and considerate mentor. A successful female scientist and a parent, she has been instrumental in helping young men and women balance their professional and personal lives.
Long has an extraordinary record of mentoring a diverse group of graduate students. His group’s field research often involves long days combining strenuous physical effort with high-level intellectual engagement from in silico design, laboratory realization of the design and field testing. When you sit in the audience for a research presentation from Long or one of his team, however, you see photographs of grimy but shining smiles at the end of each day. And Long may be out there working with the team, even for data collection that starts before dawn.
Denise Loyd, business administration, and Helen Nguyen, civil and environmental engineering, received the Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research, which rewards faculty members for their excellence in involving and guiding undergraduate students in scholarly research, having a positive impact on student scholarship or intellectual development, and for their innovative approaches to guiding undergraduate research.
Loyd researches team diversity and effectiveness. She draws from her own research in strategically and consistently engaging in team research with undergraduates. Loyd’s mentoring approach incorporates techniques including an apprentice model, in which doctoral students help direct some student research assistants, and more-advanced research assistants help direct less-experienced ones. In helping explain details, guide and answer questions for less-experienced students, the more-advanced students gain knowledge and confidence in their ability to navigate research.
Nguyen gives students a robust research experience over multiple semesters that emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to research within community engagement contexts. A former student lauds Nguyen’s ability to inspire and mentor undergraduate students to work at an advanced level far beyond a bachelor’s level. Undergraduate student reflections on international projects in Guatemala and Nepal show that these multidisciplinary experiences fundamentally changed their trajectories by inspiring them to be solution finders in their current studies and future endeavors.
John C. Hart, computer science, received the Campus Award for Excellence in Online and Distance Teaching. This award honors excellence and innovation in online or distance teaching; contributions to student learning through innovative uses of technology; creativity in course development and instruction; and for having a positive influence on the quality, extent and development of a department’s online/distance program.
Hart made an indelible mark on the development of a professional workforce in computer and data science by conceptualizing, designing and implementing the widely successful online Master of Computer Science in Data Science degree track, which has since expanded to enroll students in a more general Master of Computer Science degree. Now in its fifth year, the program currently enrolls over 1,200 students and is the second-largest graduate degree offering on campus.
Barbara Anderson, human development and family studies, and Merissa Milton, physics, received the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising. Recipients of this award are recognized for their excellence in and innovative approaches to undergraduate advising, and for having had a major impact on undergraduate students and their intellectual development through sustained academic advising relationships.
Anderson goes well beyond helping students with checklists of required courses and credits. She treats undergraduates with tremendous respect, interacting with each student as an individual with unique needs, concerns and circumstances that extend beyond courses. Some students face personal struggles and emergencies; using sensitivity and expertise that stem not only from her warm-hearted nature but also from her training in social work and HDFS, Anderson offers these students safe and caring guidance, support and mentorship.
Milton begins working with every physics major during the summer before they matriculate. She develops a customized academic plan with each student. Through mandatory advising and close contact, she works with students to continually update their plans. As students approach graduation, Milton engages with them to address degree requirements and placement. Many students stay in contact with Milton after graduation and tap her for advice and help as they progress through the early stages of their careers.
Salvatore Callesano, Spanish and Portuguese, Andrew Greenlee, urban and regional planning, and Nicola Sharpe, law, received the Illinois Student Government Teaching Excellence Award, which recognizes instructors for outstanding performance both in and out of the classroom. Honorees have demonstrated a commitment to teaching and to students in every capacity of their experience at Illinois.
According to a student nominator: “Professor Callesano is always prepared and organized. He wants class to be a fun environment so we are comfortable asking any questions we need as well as using the chat function in Zoom to ask questions, give responses or add any comments – both funny and serious. He ensures us students that his class is about talking and using bilingualism without having the fear of making a mistake, as we must learn through practice.”
Greenlee makes sure that his students understand the material by creating comprehensive exercises, developing his own website with all class materials and providing opportunities to meet with students individually. In the community, he was selected to conduct research on housing inequality and its impacts on the COVID-19 response, and his research has identified ways that planners can better advocate for long-term housing affordability and housing stability to protect low-income and minority communities from future crises.
Sharpe supports students beyond the classroom and course material by “doing everything she can to see her students employed.” According to a student nominator, she is different because of “how much she cares about her students and how patient she is … (the) College of Law has many brilliant professors … but Professor Sharpe stands out as she really sits down with you to make sure you understand. I have taken three courses with her for a reason – she is simply a fantastic professor.”