The School of Arts and Sciences announces the following recipients of its 2023 teaching awards:

Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching

This year’s recipients of SAS’s highest teaching honor are Coren Apicella, associate professor of psychology, and Timothy Rommen, Davidson Kennedy Professor in the College and professor of music and Africana Studies. The Ira H. Abrams Award was established in 1983 and recognizes teaching that is intellectually challenging and exceptionally coherent. The award honors faculty who embody high standards of integrity and fairness, have a strong commitment to learning, and are open to new ideas.

Dr. Apicella’s courses, including Social Psychology, are among the most in-demand in her department. She is known for her “high enthusiasm and passion for the subject matter, which clearly rubs off on her students.” Whether in a lecture course with hundreds of students or a small group honors course, she provides an engaging and approachable learning environment in which “students learn how to evaluate facts and discover truths on their own by mastering the scientific method.”

The ability to make students feel at home is a trait shared by the other Abrams Award winner, Timothy Rommen. Colleagues praise his courses on world music, ethnomusicology, and the music of the Caribbean for “his ability to combine scholarship with music-making—and in doing so to ground and humanize the study of music in ways that invite people in.” He is a devoted mentor who has worked with a wide range of students and sponsored scores of independent studies.

Dennis M. DeTurck Award for Innovation in Teaching    

Tobias Baumgart, professor of chemistry, is the 2023 recipient of the Dennis M. DeTurck Award for Innovation in Teaching. This award, which is named after Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor and former College of Arts and Sciences dean Dennis DeTurck, recognizes exceptional creativity and innovation in instruction.

Dr. Baumgart has been reimagining curricula since his arrival at Penn in 2005. He was the creator of the honors track in chemistry, which has become a “cornerstone” of the department’s curricula. Physical chemistry is the most recent class to benefit from his adventurous approach to pedagogy. Widely considered one of the most difficult classes in the department, Dr. Baumgart presents the difficult subject matter with an energy and enthusiasm. Students now describe the class as “stimulating and fun.”

Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Affiliated Faculty

Maria Alley, senior lecturer in Russian and East European Studies, and Anthony Cirri, lecturer in chemistry, are the recipients of this award, which recognizes contributions to undergraduate education made by the school’s non-standing faculty.

Dr. Alley teaches Russian language and culture courses. Her colleagues call her a “pedagogical phenomenon.” She takes the dread out of language acquisition by creating an environment that is “warm and comfortable.” Her discussion-based classes, personalization of lessons and seemingly endless availability for her students have made her an educator with a profound impact both inside and outside the classroom.

Since he began teaching at Penn in 2020, Anthony Cirri has made important contributions to the Chemistry department in a short period of time. Dr. Cirri transformed introduction to general chemistry, centering the course on molecular orbital theory, making the course work more approachable, and preparing students well for the second course in the sequence. Students also praise his “challenging yet thought-provoking recitation problem sets.”

Dean’s Award for Mentorship of Undergraduate Research

This year SAS honors Rebecca Waller, assistant professor of psychology, with the Dean’s Award for Mentorship of Undergraduate Research. The award is given in recognition of faculty members who have excelled in nurturing undergraduate students’ desires and abilities to conduct meaningful research. Dr. Waller teaches the mentored research course and supervises the independent studies for the psychology honors program. With a focus on socioemotional development and child psychopathology, her lab is described as a “home base” where she strongly encourages students to develop their own research ideas. Her “rigorous and innovative research practice” has helped her students win the department’s Morris Vitales Award for Excellence in Psychological Research award for three consecutive years. Many of her students have gone on to attain research associate positions at outstanding universities.

Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by an Assistant Professor

This award recognizes a member of the junior faculty who demonstrates unusual promise as an educator. This year SAS honors Sarah Gronningsater, assistant professor of history. Her renowned course, history of American law to 1877, is routinely over-enrolled and many students describe it as their favorite class offered by the department. “Professor G,” as she is affectionately called by her undergraduates, makes her students feel “seen and acknowledged,” even in a class of 80.

Liberal and Professional Studies Award for Distinguished Teaching in Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Programs

Megan Ruth Elliot, a lecturer in two programs in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, is the recipient of this award which recognizes teaching in LPS’s undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs. Known for teaching biochemistry, she has “indefatigable enthusiasm for teaching” which is contagious. A student reflects, “Of all the professors I have had in the program, she is by far the one that has left the biggest impact on my education.”

Liberal and Professional Studies Award for Distinguished Teaching in Professional Graduate Programs

Martin Seligman, Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology, is the recipient of this award, which recognizes teaching excellence in LPS graduate programs. He is honored for his teaching in the Master of Positive Psychology program. A colleague reflected, “his class provides a unique balance between foundational perspectives and research in positive psychology and cutting-edge work that he and others are leading.” One student said, “I’ve never felt more valued as a student in any course.”

Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Graduate Students

This award recognizes graduate students for teaching that is intellectually rigorous and has a considerable impact on undergraduate students. This year’s awardees are:

• Connor Cassady, Mathematics
• Lourdes Contreras, French and Francophone, Italian, and Germanic Studies
• Cheryl Hagan, History and Sociology of Science
• Jesse Hamilton, Philosophy
• Oualid Merzouga, Mathematics
• Clancy Murray, Political Science
• Keith (KC) O’Hara, History
• Peter Satterthwaite, Ancient History
• Cassandra Vu, Chemistry
• Jacqueline Wallis, Philosophy