CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Faculty and staff members and graduate teaching assistants at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this spring were honored for excellence in teaching, mentoring and advising, collectively known as 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:
Andrew Gaedtke, English, is “an instructor who excels at every level of our curriculum.” Current and former students testify to his willingness to teach outside of the classroom by serving as both sounding board and unofficial adviser. Gaedtke took an active role in the departmentwide expansion of the undergraduate curriculum to create a literature and science track; he broadened the reach and appeal of that track by adding the medical humanities to existing courses in science studies and the environmental humanities.
Rana Hogarth, history, “uses the history classroom to transform – in the most profound ways – her students’ lives, often by drawing on her own path-breaking research into how the production of scientific knowledge has informed the construction of racial ideologies in the modern West. Given the current political climate, Dr. Hogarth’s pedagogical contributions to our students’ academic, professional and personal growth are both timely and critical.” Students regularly use the word “empowering” to describe their experience in her classes.
Zoi Rapti, mathematics, creates “an inviting, nurturing environment where students are encouraged to ask questions, and where she makes every attempt to make the material accessible. This is a result of obvious careful attention to detail in lecture preparation and delivery, but more importantly, keen awareness of the students’ level of understanding.” She supervises a diverse group of undergraduate students on various research projects nearly every semester, and also leads independent reading courses to help students comprehend the relevant material.
David Rivier, cell and developmental biology, makes complex molecular biology ideas and concepts comprehensible, and emphasizes the discovery process. He pioneered a method of creating video lectures that utilizes inexpensive devices and software that allow a single instructor to produce high-quality videos in any classroom. The availability of videos as a complement to face-to-face lectures has a significant impact on student learning. Rivier “is an educator and mentor who cares deeply about his students and their learning.”
Brian Walters, classics, “is an outstanding and inspiring teacher who puts enormous effort into course design, materials, teaching research, responding to student writing and mentoring.” Walters’ students are actively engaged in his lectures and discussions. Part of what makes class discussion work so well is his extensive use of low-stakes writing assignments such as student journals. Walters draws on students’ journal comments to stimulate discussion, demonstrating that he takes their intellectual participation seriously and respects their ideas.
Specialized faculty members honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching:
Wade Fagen-Ulmschneider, computer science, builds mechanisms through which students take ownership of their learning by going beyond the scripted assignments and applying their newly acquired skills in creative and innovative ways. He reinforces that their learning has value and that they should be proud of their accomplishments. Fagen-Ulmschneider also excels in course design, be it in redesigning and updating an existing course or creating a new course from scratch. He loves data visualization, creativity and applying creativity to deeply technical learning.
Aldo Manfroi, mathematics, breaks through barriers to freshman and sophomore students’ full participation in class by using a variety of techniques. He makes it a point to relate to his students on a personal level, greeting and conversing with individual students and engaging them throughout the lecture. Manfroi encourages students to ask questions – which he welcomes in a number of formats – and provides ample time to address those questions in a thorough and caring manner.
Mary Ramey, communication, believes student learning improves with personal investment and engagement. By connecting course content to students’ diverse experiences, Ramey effectively guides students through discussions of challenging topics. “From her daily positive attitude, to her emails congratulating me on my exam scores, Dr. Ramey has always gone above and beyond the duties that being a professor entail,” a student wrote. “She is not here just to lecture us, but to inspire us to do great things.”
Michael Stewart, geology, teaches geochemistry, Earth history and mineralogy. As geology’s lead field instructor, he runs international field trips and a summer field course in Utah. Michael “is very dedicated to undergraduate teaching and he develops a close rapport with students. His office is very commonly occupied with students intensely working on problem sets or having thoughtful discussions. He is very proud of his role as the central person in the geology undergrad program and he owns that role.”
Paul Stoddard, agricultural and consumer economics, is a leader in developing methods to involve students and in creating classroom environments conducive to engaged learning. His novel methods are the foundation for a learning environment that inspires students to capitalize on their individual capabilities and take ownership of their intellectual outcomes. He guides students to consider all facets of issues, to avoid simplified thinking and reliance on routine, and to realize that asking great questions is as important as learning to develop answers.
Teaching assistants honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching:
Brianna Anderson, human development and family studies, “is an enthusiastic, committed and caring teacher who is also organized, intentional and fiercely principled about applying good practice in her work with students. In a department that is fortunate to have outstanding teachers, Ms. Anderson stands out among our best.” “Requests for Brianna as a TA have become so common in HDFS that many of us joke that we just need to clone her. She is that good!”
Elizabeth Field, mathematics, made contributions through taking on the administrative responsibilities in classes of more than 1,500 students; mentoring undergraduate students in research projects; designing instructional material and teaching students incarcerated at Danville Correctional Facility; and designing and running training sessions for over 140 mathematics teaching assistants. “Elizabeth’s dedication to mathematics education inside and out of the classroom and at a variety of levels is unparalleled. She is the embodiment of excellence in undergraduate education.” She served as head TA for three semesters.
Teresa Greppi, Spanish and Portuguese, is truly exceptional, both in her student evaluations and in the range of courses that she has been called upon to staff. She “is essentially a go-to resource that can be placed in whatever teaching context is most in need of her talents.” Greppi draws on her scholarly expertise and her pedagogical skills to offer an uncommonly transformative learning experience. She also served as a TA in gender and women’s studies, a highly competitive position.
Christiaan Hazlett, computer science, “consistently goes above and beyond expectations because of his clear desire to help students succeed and feel supported.” His discussion sections help students feel like large classes are a bit smaller, through building relationships with the course staff and with each other. Hazlett “does an amazing job during these discussion sections, patiently explaining topics and helpfully answering students’ questions. He has created an inviting and warm environment in his discussion section and earned the trust of many students.”
Ana Olguin, curriculum and instruction, is “an extraordinarily resourceful and dedicated teacher, supporting and inspiring students in the early childhood program to be educators who understand developmentally appropriate teaching, are culturally sustaining of their students and willing to build partnerships with families.” She was instrumental in the redesign of the early childhood teacher education program and in working through subsequent changes in key program staff, and also is “an exemplary teaching assistant and member of our broader educational community.”
Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, kinesiology and community health, and Paris Smaragdis, computer science, 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.
Lara-Cinisomo “has succeeded in graduate teaching largely because of her innovative teaching approach and vision. Her course has become one of the most popular with graduate students because they know she will be prepared and engaging in the classroom.” One of the few investigators focused on mental health among racial and ethnic minorities, Lara-Cinisomo is highly sought by graduate students from various disciplines and institutions. By mentoring students with a range of skills and interests, she reaches young scholars throughout the world.
Smaragdis takes an interdisciplinary approach to teaching. His courses often include material from psychology, the arts and physics, providing greater context for the material – such as a machine learning course in which he discusses how mathematical processes are often mimicked in human evolution and perception. By showing how the same algorithms can be used in music analysis, stock price modeling or finger tracking on a screen, he helps students develop a well-rounded understanding of the material and how it relates to real-world applications.
Sarita Adve, computer science, and Chi-Fang Wu, social work, 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.
Adve takes an approach to mentoring rooted in the belief that every student can succeed with the right environment and mentoring, but that every student is different and has their own needs. Her students often comment on her customized mentoring that adapts to the requirements of individual students. In all of her mentoring techniques and philosophy, one signal comes through loud and clear: she truly cares about her students and invests a tremendous amount of effort into the success of each of them.
Wu demonstrates great vision and excellent organizational skills that have allowed her to elevate the social work doctoral program. She puts forth continuing effort, care and innovative strategies to create an environment for students that is rigorous yet supportive and caring, and to improve both their overall learning experiences and professional development activities. She is a great role model for faculty members through her own modeling of mentoring and by better structuring mentoring opportunities and expectations for faculty members.
Jennifer Hardesty, human development and family studies, and Darko Marinov, computer science, 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.
Hardesty fosters student success by creating new opportunities around core areas such as undergraduate research experiences or writing skills; mentoring undergraduates as emerging leaders and professionals; and ensuring the curriculum remains current, challenging and relevant to the career and educational aspirations of HDFS students. She has provided oversight of HDFS courses and curriculum, assisted with creating recruitment materials, met with prospective undergraduates and assisted with the process of awards for HDFS undergraduates.
Marinov consistently recruits undergraduate students to work in his research group. A researcher in the area of software engineering, he structures his team to enable undergraduate students to play influential roles in a variety of projects. Marinov has a personal commitment to these students so that they feel empowered not only to learn what it means to be a successful researcher but also to make significant contributions to the larger research community.
Dawn Bohn, food science and human nutrition, 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.
Bohn is the director of the off-campus Master of Science in Food Science Program. She serves as the adviser to approximately 100 degree-seeking students every year; works with all of the FSHN faculty members who teach in the program to deliver their courses and set curriculum; stays connected with the alumni of the program and their companies; markets the program to prospective students; and implements strategies to continuously grow and improve the program.
Neil Baer, communication, and Becky Meline, nuclear, plasma, and radiological engineering, 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.
Baer encourages students to be future-oriented, and they trust him to help them work through important life and career decisions. As one of the anonymous students in the LAS survey wrote, “Neil has not only provided me with helpful academic advice throughout my past year and a half at the University of Illinois, but he has also supported me in making the best decisions regarding my future. I am truly so lucky to have such an incredibly charismatic adviser.”
Meline has advised every undergraduate student who has entered NPRE since 2004. While the program has an active faculty undergraduate advising system in which each undergrad has an individual faculty adviser, Meline is the first and last stop in the advising process. Every semester she addresses and resolves specific student course issues, and, in many cases, personal matters. Meline is completely adept at handling these situations with the best interests of the students at heart.
Kenneth Cuno, history; Ane Icardo Isasa, Spanish and Portuguese; Charles “Stretch” Ledford, journalism; and Eman Saadah, linguistics; 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.
Cuno is a scholar and professor of the modern Middle East, focusing on social, economic and legal history. His extensive research has unearthed critical historical details about marriage and family in the Middle East. Cuno works closely with students on improving their historical writing capabilities and strengthening their capacity to be direct, concise and accurate. His template for teaching encourages students to read texts critically and provides the opportunity to engage with literature as a means for understanding culture.
Icardo Isasa teaches a variety of courses. Students overwhelmingly highlight Icardo Isasa’s ability to cater and design the teaching methodologies to best fit the aptitudes of students to succeed. She sets the bar of expectation high, but with an enthusiasm and love for Spanish and teaching that makes it accessible. Her students remark on her charisma and friendliness in the classroom as carrying over to their broader life experiences in a way that makes her a lifelong mentor.
Ledford is a highly praised educator and critically acclaimed multimedia journalist. His experience in the field and continued excellence as a professional in the industry outside of the classroom enables him to provide students with a unique perspective that enhances their career development. Ledford is dedicated to building shared community – both in his creative endeavors and in his classroom. Students applaud him for his dedication to supporting student success in his courses and beyond.
Saadah makes the challenge of learning a language such as Arabic seem simple and attainable. Her passion for the Arabic language and culture is infectious and visible in all aspects of her teaching. Saadah invests deeply within her students through constant efforts to formulate personal relationships, acting as a mentor throughout their language journey. Students laud Saadah’s willingness to go to out of her way to show that she cares for their success; they consider that feature an attribute that distinguishes her.