CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Faculty and staff members and graduate teaching assistants at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this week 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:
Daniel Leon, classics, comes up with assignments and activities that bring his subject matter to life for students. This might be as simple as redesigning introductory Greek classes to emphasize creative-writing assignments instead of exams. Leon often brings his students to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library to give them a concrete sense of what goes into the preservation of texts in an ancient language and to help them see that their studies are part of a larger cultural endeavor.
Amanda Mabry-Flynn, advertising, teaches brand and advertising strategy using culturally relevant examples and collaborative activities. Her flexibility, empathy and organization have positively impacted students’ learning and lives, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mabry-Flynn studies representation in advertising imagery, especially related to ethics and effects, with discussions of identity and intersectionality. She recognizes that students entering the advertising industry must understand and reflect on decisions about who is targeted and who is not – and the ways in which advertising portrayals affect individuals and society.
Stephanie Sanders-Smith, Education, is an exceptionally prepared and engaging instructor. She integrates broad issues of early childhood education with specific educational questions, creating stimulating pedagogical experiences that make abstract ideas come alive for her students. In addition to her course load, Sanders-Smith has redesigned the ECE program, reinvigorating it with new and revised courses that make learning relatable for students. She is an integral member of the instructional community as well as a leader across her multiple roles in Education.
Andiara Schwingel, kinesiology and community health, is committed to access and inclusion. Schwingel’s Aging and Diversity Laboratory is dedicated to the study of health equity among historically underrepresented populations. As a Latinx scholar who has studied the health consequences of immigration on four continents, she infuses these themes in her teaching. Her courses in women’s health, gerontology and international health are popular with domestic and international students of color; many of these students subsequently join her research group.
Alex Shakar, English, was lauded by many of his creative writing students for his skill in handling the pedagogical challenges of the COVID-19 era, which one student called "the Stygian, existential garbage heap of 2021." Multiple students related accounts of Shakar’s response to losing his Zoom connection during a blizzard – rather than leave his students in the lurch, he ventured out into the storm, located an internet hotspot and proceeded to teach the rest of the class via cellphone.
Specialized faculty members honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching:
Joseph Barich, industrial and enterprise systems engineering, achieved over 10 years of consistent excellence in teaching the Engineering Law course he designed, including multiple department-level awards. Barich also supports student entrepreneurship efforts by founding and directing the Intellectual Property Clinic as a joint effort with the College of Law to provide patent and trademark services for student startups. At the request of the Grainger College of Engineering’s Technology Entrepreneur Center, Barich developed the highly regarded course Startups: Incorporation, Funding, Contracts, and Intellectual Property.
Jeff Frame, atmospheric sciences, “eats, sleeps and breathes weather.” His passion for explaining, discussing and communicating weather is unbounded, and that passion extends to every student he teaches. His office is a revolving door of undergraduates who feed off his enthusiasm. He continually challenges them to be fascinated by the power of nature yet remain quantitative in their reasoning so that they can become competent scientists. Frame knows all students by first name as individuals, not just names on a roster.
Raquel Castro Goebel, Spanish and Portuguese, teaches all levels of Portuguese language, as well as culture courses. An enthusiastic and caring instructor who has the best interests of students and the Portuguese program in mind, she inspires students by promoting engaging and transformative learning experiences. Her collaboration with campus, community and government units enriches our campus. Goebel designs meaningful activities for a diverse audience on contemporary topics, motivating students to feel comfortable using the language – regardless of their proficiency level.
April Hoffmeister, mathematics, handles some of the department’s most difficult pedagogical challenges, including pre-calculus courses and courses for future elementary, middle and high school educators. Her classroom style creates a more intimate learning environment, as she frequently stops to check in with her students, gives them opportunities to attempt examples on their own and moves away from the podium to interact with all areas of the room. Hoffmeister’s teaching style makes a 50-minute lecture class feel like a short, small classroom experience.
Eric C. Larson, business administration, has demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching at all levels. He displays a high level of dexterity in a wide array of topics, including IT strategy, social media strategy, client consulting practicum courses and business analytics. Larson has demonstrated excellence in case-based strategy courses, client practicums and mathematical classes. Without any prompt from the department, he developed a textbook for a new business analytics course that he had created and made the “nextbook” available to students at no cost.
Teaching assistants honored with the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching:
Marta Albiol Tapia, food science and human nutrition, extends her passion for teaching into the scholarship of teaching and learning. As a teaching assistant, she published a research paper on how being aware of professional success skills – such as communication and leadership skills – and aligning them to the assignments in the course allow students to learn these skills more effectively. Confidence in the skills increased significantly after students had been presented with opportunities to practice and discuss the skills in groups.
Emiliana Cofell, materials science and engineering, works to advance undergraduate education and diversity. She has mentored undergraduates in her research, was a founding member and graduate representative of the department’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, has led or co-organized the department’s summer camps for three years, and developed kits to introduce under-resourced high school students to materials science. A forceful mentor and advocate for women and students from underrepresented groups, Cofell truly exemplifies deep dedication to and sustained excellence in undergraduate teaching.
Cody Jones, evolution, ecology and behavior, is an innovative teacher who often draws upon on-the-spot examples, metaphors and analogies to relate complex information. In explaining Fick's Law of Diffusion, a concept for which students often struggle, he borrowed a student's binder and asked students to compare the thickness of the paper inside of it to the binder’s protective plastic sheet. The thickness is the same. However, they are different materials with different diffusion coefficients, so water diffuses through them at different rates.
Gabe Malo, gender and women's studies, believes that being able to think and express ideas in a safe space is a precious commodity, and works hard to produce that environment for his students. Malo relates to students as people with vast potential, each of whom is like a puzzle with a solution. In this difficult world, where the mental health and the very lives of students are so often at risk, Malo teaches like someone’s life may depend on it.
Julia Spielmann, psychology, is a strong advocate for increasing diversity, equity and inclusion through undergraduate teaching and instruction. Her research uses psychological science to investigate social and political issues that frequently seem intractable, such as gender inequality. Julia views research and teaching as being intertwined, and she carries an equally strong desire for progressive change. Aside from her instruction on campus, she works with individuals incarcerated at the Danville Correctional Center who are undergraduate students at the university through the Education Justice Project.
Toni Liechty, recreation, sport and tourism, and Ken Schweizer, materials science and engineering, 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.
Liechty employs strategies to connect with professional practice and engages graduate students in creative ways to extend learning beyond the classroom. Many of her class assignments entail students reviewing each other’s work and providing commentary to one another. In this way, students steer the learning agenda in the directions of their interests. Liechty integrates scholarship across the major, breaking down traditional disciplinary barriers and facilitating learning processes across otherwise distinct literature streams.
Schweizer reaches students in a manner similar to the way classical literature and music continue to touch our minds – even centuries after they were written or composed. Schweizer’s teaching inspires graduate students across diverse science and engineering disciplines and educational backgrounds. The inspiration originates from the deep scholarship that he empowers during lectures. In 30 years of instruction, his record speaks to his marvelous capability to keep reinventing and innovating the courses, and to his devotion and passion for teaching.
Stephen Boppart, electrical and computer engineering, and bioengineering, and Brian Ogolsky, human development and family studies, 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.
Boppart has developed a prestigious research group focusing on optical biomedical imaging technologies. As a graduate student mentor, he listens to, encourages, gives honest feedback to and wholeheartedly supports his mentees. He creates a well-balanced and diverse working environment to cultivate professional excellence, creativity, innovation and joy in scientific research. A Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, he fulfills an active leadership role in education and mentoring across campus. In addition to providing great leadership, he is an excellent teacher.
Ogolsky is an exceptional mentor to graduate students as they develop into researchers and professionals. He is masterful at adjusting his mentorship style to fit the needs of individual students. His graduate students in advanced research methods and advanced statistical analysis courses might openly disagree with and critique information they read in advance or that is presented in class, learning how to be critical consumers of knowledge – a skill that is important now more than ever.
Kristin Hoganson, history, and Michael Lembeck, aerospace 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.
Hoganson, a scholar of U.S. foreign relations, encourages students to engage with historical research in ways that empower them to become well-informed global citizens, an especially important practice in an era of misleading information, divisiveness and profound uncertainty. Hoganson uses humor to bring home her points – whether through taping video trailers or by singing pirate songs with her students to show that sea shanties and other forms of popular culture can be revealing historical sources.
Lembeck returned to campus after a career in government and industry with a unique, student-first approach to guiding undergraduate researchers. Lembeck might show up in the lab at 2 a.m. to support students with pizza and chocolates, and he recognizes that every committed student is uniquely capable of contributing to a project – but may lack experience. He shows students that on a complex technical project executed in the “real world,” mistakes happen, you learn from them and you move on.
Florencia Henshaw, Spanish and Portuguese, 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.
Henshaw has significantly advanced the department’s online teaching mission. The director of advanced Spanish and interim director of the Foreign Language Teacher Education program, Henshaw has pioneered and implemented several online initiatives that have transformed the way educators think about technology integration. Her commitment to high-quality online instruction is reflected in both her meticulous course design and the caring disposition with which she supports graduate and undergraduate students. Henshaw’s innovative work has benefited students in her program and colleagues in other institutions.
Paul Davidson, agricultural and biological engineering, and Amy O'Neill, kinesiology and community health, 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.
Davidson is an outstanding teacher and mentor to undergraduate and graduate students, has developed a translational research program on addressing water quality challenges, and has demonstrated an excellent record of service and public engagement. Davidson has provided leadership in curriculum development, academic advising and career advising. He is also a faculty mentor for an Engineers Without Borders project in Guatemala, and since 2015 has led a four-week study abroad program to South Africa.
O'Neill demonstrates sustained excellence in undergraduate advising, has a major impact on undergraduate students and their intellectual development through sustained academic advising relationships, uses innovative approaches to undergraduate advising and makes significant contributions to the academic advising profession. O'Neill advises a caseload of approximately 300 students, offering one-on-one career and required academic advising to each student every semester. She understands undergraduate students well, especially those from diverse backgrounds.
Jose Atiles, sociology; José Ignacio Hualde, Spanish and Portuguese, and linguistics; Marisa Peacock, advertising; and Christian Ray, chemistry, 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.
Atiles focuses his research and publications on the sociolegal, criminological and political philosophical implications of U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico. Atiles is known for his commitment to inclusive teaching and strives to engage each student with class materials that are relevant to current sociological issues. He ensures that all students have the opportunity to participate in intellectually stimulating discussions. His students appreciate his extensive feedback, engagement with student work beyond a course’s end, and dedication to help them navigate through the sociology program.
Hualde has taught at Illinois for 33 years and has directed 26 doctoral dissertations.
Peacock “went above and beyond to make sure students had access to real world opportunities, relevant and useful course material, in addition to being an incredibly empathetic professor,” her student nominator wrote. “She is passionate about education in a sense where she wants her students to learn, not just for a grade or for a degree. Additionally, she has a deep sense of compassion for her students and always checks in with us mentally.”
Ray was nominated by a student who he helped to improve on exams. The relationship was strengthened when two of the student’s relatives succumbed to cancer. “During this time, (professor) Ray was very supportive to me, which I really appreciate. He allowed me to take the time I needed to say my final goodbyes to them and grieve, with no questions asked,” the student wrote.