Steven J. Fluharty, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Andrew Binns, interim dean of the College, announce the following recipients of the School’s 2017 teaching awards, to be presented on Thursday, April 27 at an awards reception that is open to the University community. The reception will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall.

Marie Gottschalk

Evelyn Thomson

Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching

This year’s recipients of SAS’s highest teaching honor are Marie Gottschalk, professor of political science, and Evelyn Thomson, associate professor of physics and astronomy. Created in 1983, the Ira H. Abrams Award recognizes teaching that is intellectually challenging and exceptionally coherent and honors faculty who embody high standards of integrity and fairness, have a strong commitment to learning and are open to new ideas.

Over the past two decades, Dr. Gottschalk has channeled her highly-lauded research into pedagogical strategies and materials that leave a lasting impression on students. Her courses on criminal justice and related policy domains are known for their “real-world significance” and long-term impact. One student explains, “Professor Gottschalk’s devoted and demanding teaching on mass incarceration defined my undergraduate experience and led me to pursue a PhD in political science.”

As the key to Dr. Thomson’s success, her faculty colleagues cite a powerful combination: tireless work to improve her teaching techniques and “a deep intuition for what the students do and do not understand.” A colleague notes, “She really connects with the students, even in large introductory classes, and instinctively grasps their view of the work. This is an enviable skill, and one we should all strive for.” 

David Kim

Dean’s Award for Innovation in Teaching

This award recognizes exceptional creativity and innovation in instruction. The 2017 recipient is David Kim, assistant professor of history of art. Dr. Kim is praised for encouraging his departmental teaching culture into new areas, including object-oriented learning in a global framework. A student describes his inventive approach as “seeking to revitalize the close study of works of art as material objects in an era of increasing digital mediation. Dr. Kim expects students to study both works of art and primary documents deeply, and to not take either for granted as self-evident or transparent. In turn, Dr. Kim’s approach emphasizes the global dimensions of early modern European art, an awareness of which is critical for the future of the discipline.”

Herman Beavers

Dean’s Award for Mentorship of Undergraduate Research

This award recognizes faculty members who have excelled in nurturing undergraduate students’ desires and abilities to conduct meaningful research. This year SAS honors Herman Beavers, professor of English and Africana studies. For nearly three decades, Dr. Beavers has fostered a wide range of research topics, always encouraging his students “to delve deeper.” He does so through a commitment to give feedback on student work, whether it is critical essays or poetry. Many students specifically point to his detailed and lengthy comments as driving them to undertake more in-depth research projects. Dr. Beavers is quite simply, in the words of one recent graduate, “an exceptional professor.”

Cullen Blake

Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by an Assistant Professor

This award, which recognizes a member of the junior faculty who demonstrates unusual promise as an educator, is presented to Cullen Blake, assistant professor of physics and astronomy. As a faculty colleague notes, “what sets him apart is how he epitomizes the argument for an undergraduate education at a research university. Our students don’t just hear a story of how knowledge is accumulated, but instead learn about it first-hand, from a researcher who spends the rest of his life developing new ways to search for habitable worlds orbiting stars other than our own. His excitement about this science is highly contagious.”

Julia Bloch

Oscar Montoya

Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Affiliated Faculty

Julia Bloch, director of the creative writing program, and Oscar Montoya, lecturer in foreign languages in the department of romance languages, are the recipients of this award, which recognizes the contributions to undergraduate education made by the School’s non-standing faculty.

Dr. Bloch’s students speak of her courses as transformative, inspiring experiences that stay with them for a long time. One student explains, “she takes the time to understand her students, and recognizes the importance of cultivating an environment where people can write about the most sensitive and important topics.”

A student describes Dr. Montoya’s high level of engagement and “exceptional” classroom presence in a particularly challenging Spanish literature course: “He pushed us to find ways to articulate our impressions and to think analytically about which experiences underscored our points of view.”

Judith McLean

LPS Award for Distinguished Teaching in Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Programs

Judith McLean, lecturer in the biological basis of behavior program, is the recipient of this award, which recognizes outstanding teaching in LPS’s undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs. A former neurobiology student describes the impact of Dr. McLean’s teaching: “She introduced me to the fascinating world that lies at the nexus between brain and behavior, yet it is her transcendent teaching ability and warm-hearted demeanor that has enabled me to explore that world confidently.”

James Pawelski

LPS Award for Distinguished Teaching in Professional Graduate Programs

The recipient of the College of Liberal and Professional Studies Award for Distinguished Teaching in Professional Graduate Programs, which recognizes teaching excellence in LPS graduate programs, is James Pawelski,  director of education and senior scholar in the Positive Psychology Center.  

A Positive Psychology Center colleague notes, “James’s outstanding teaching is a large part of the reason the Master of Applied Psychology Program has been so successful. Students particularly value his passion, innovation, and knowledge, along with the care he gives both to his teaching and to each member of the class.”

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:

Erica Boetefuer, Biology

Florian Breitkopf, Germanic Languages and Literatures

Brian Chao, Political Science

Lee Ann Custer, History of Art

Travis Lau, English

Asja Radja, Physics and Astronomy

Ariel Resnikoff, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory

Nathaniel Shils, Political Science

Hee Yoon, Applied Mathematics and Computational Science

Mary Zaborskis, English