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School of Arts and Sciences 2022 Teaching Awards

The School of Arts and Sciences announces the following recipients of its 2022 teaching awards:

Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching

caption: Toni Bowerscaption: Rudra SilThis year’s recipients of SAS’s highest teaching honor are Toni Bowers, a professor of English, and Rudra Sil, a professor of political science. Created in 1983, the Ira H. Abrams Award 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.

Since her arrival at Penn in 1991, Dr. Bowers has taught generations of Penn students, sharing with them her deep knowledge of and passion for eighteenth-century British fiction and drama. According to her colleagues, Dr. Bowers is a masterful teacher who both models and communicates a deep excitement about other worlds and times; the kind of teacher who can alter the course of a student’s life by example and encouragement. The department chair notes that Dr. Bowers’s legacy as a teacher is evidenced by her mentorship of several other celebrated teachers in her department, including another Abrams award winner.

Dr. Sil’s valuable contributions to teaching and mentoring range from his leadership of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business to his stellar teaching of Russian and comparative politics, his acclaimed undergraduate and graduate seminars, and his long history of nurturing mentorship of both graduate and undergraduate research. A faculty colleague exclaimed, “there is, in short, no dimension of teaching — seminar leading, course lecturing, undergraduate and graduate thesis advising, departmental and university administration—in which Rudy Sil has not excelled, consistently and repeatedly, for more than two decades.”

Dennis M. DeTurck Award for Innovation in Teaching

caption: Grace Sanders Johnsoncaption: Mecky Pohlschrödercaption: Sukaina HirjiThis award, which is named after Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor and former Dean of the College in SAS Dennis DeTurck, recognizes exceptional creativity and innovation in instruction. The 2022 recipient is Grace Sanders Johnson, an assistant professor of Africana studies. Dr. Sanders Johnson brings extraordinary creativity and a penchant for interdisciplinarity and collaborative spirit to her teaching. A student describes the inventive structure of her course “Ships: Modalities of Black Freedom and Escape”—which included theorizing, sewing, dyeing fabric, photography, obtaining a boating license, and sailing—as “a journey where I bonded with peers and harnessed the various devices in the course to re-imagine freedom as a form of art.”

Dean’s Award for Mentorship of Undergraduate Research

This award, which recognizes faculty members who have excelled in nurturing undergraduate students’ desires and abilities to conduct meaningful research, goes to Mechthild “Mecky” Pohlschröder, a professor of biology. For many years, Dr. Pohlschröder has worked to enhance participation of a diverse group of students in biology and STEM, and she recently founded the Penn Freshmen Exposure to Research in Biological Sciences (PennFERBS) program, which aims to achieve educational equity through the integration, establishment, and retention of traditionally underrepresented students in lab research. 

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. The 2022 recipient is Sukaina Hirji, an assistant professor of philosophy. Colleagues and students describe Dr. Hirji as an educator who has deeply reflected on how to foster a meaningful and inclusive approach to teaching philosophy, one who strives to break down the barriers of access to philosophy for women and students of color through careful scaffolding that allows students of all backgrounds in philosophy to feel confident in her classroom.

Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Affiliated Faculty

caption: Robert Johnsoncaption: Rupa PillaiRobert Johnson, a senior lecturer in physics and astronomy, and Rupa Pillai, a senior lecturer in Asian American studies, are the recipients of this award, which recognizes the contributions to undergraduate education made by the school’s associated faculty. 

Dr. Johnson’s students praise his ability to connect with them, especially during the pandemic, with “a sense of enthusiasm and caring that was invaluable to me, a student who was generally isolated from campus and my other peers and professors,” says one, while another explains that “Dr. Johnson managed to make the class very appropriate and suited to the difficult circumstances while still making it rigorous, challenging, and enjoyable.”

In addition to bringing her cutting-edge research – including new methodologies in mapping and digital access – into the classroom, Dr. Pillai creates “an intellectually rich and warm space for students to advance and test their ideas,” according to one faculty colleague who observed her class. Dr. Pillai’s students agree, including one who states, “her course gave me confidence to stand up for myself and others like me.”

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

caption: Sukalpa Basucaption: Lauren RussellThe recipient of this award, which recognizes teaching excellence in LPS undergraduate programs, is Sukalpa Basu, a lecturer and advisor in the pre-health post-baccalaureate program. Highlighting Dr. Basu’s keen dedication to making her challenging courses in physics and calculus accessible to all learners, a student said, “my last physics class was in high school over ten years ago, and I never imagined physics could be this straightforward and understandable. I fully credit Dr. Basu with providing me, and all her students, with the tools we need to study the physical world.”

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

The recipient of this award, which recognizes teaching excellence in LPS graduate programs, is associate professor of practice Lauren Russell, who teaches three core courses for the master of public administration program at the Fels Institute of Government. Dr. Russell is praised as a vital contributor to the Fels academic program and curriculum, and for her dedication to helping students succeed. According to the director of the Fels Institute, Dr. Russell “exemplifies the qualities of a master teacher...this is reflected in her thoughtful planning, her communication with students, her clear and compelling instruction, and her timely and effective feedback for students.”

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:

  • Nana Adjeiwaa-Manu, Sociology
  • Francesca Bolfo, History of Art
  • Erin Busch, Music
  • Joseph Coppola, English
  • Devin Daniels, English
  • Abigail Dym, Political Science 
  • Angelina Eimannsberger, Comparative Literature
  • Christopher Fritschi, Chemistry
  • Julian Gould, Mathematics
  • Alicia Meyer, English 
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