2021
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Land Acknowledgement Statement
Ollie Watts Davis, DMA
Suzanne and William Allen Distinguished Professor of Music
Professor of Voice
University Scholar
Provost Fellow
University of Illinois Black Chorus, Artistic Director and Conductor
University of Illinois School of Music
I would like to begin today by recognizing and acknowledging that we are on the lands of the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, Wea, Miami, Mascoutin, Odawa, Sauk, Mesquaki, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Chickasaw Nations. These lands were the traditional territory of these Native Nations prior to their forced removal; these lands continue to carry the stories of these Nations and their struggles for survival and identity.
As a land-grant institution, the University of Illinois has a particular responsibility to acknowledge the peoples of these lands, as well as the histories of dispossession that have allowed for the growth of this institution for the past 150 years. We are also obligated to reflect on and actively address these histories and the role that this university has played in shaping them. This acknowledgement and the centering of Native peoples is a start as we move forward for the next 150 years.
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Remarks from
the Provost
In the following pages, I present this year’s teaching award recipients. Teaching and learning unite all of us together in the central mission of this great university. And, after the past year, our commitment and resolve to this objective has evolved and taken on new meaning. Our campus community has succeeded in our effort to continue to offer a world-class education while simultaneously enduring a global pandemic. To our esteemed recipients, family members, colleagues, department heads and deans—I applaud and thank you for your sacrifices and extraordinary efforts during this unprecedented time. Together, we have reimagined higher education and the possibilities are indeed boundless.
Of course, behind every success is the tireless imagination and effort of those who continue to push forward despite adversity. The individuals honored on the following pages have distinguished records as teachers, advisors, and mentors. They are recognized for excellence by their peers, and perhaps most importantly, by their students. They share a deep commitment to student learning and demonstrate devotion to this goal through long hours of hard work, dedication to student welfare, and true respect for our very bright and very talented undergraduate and graduate students.
This year’s recipients are passionate about their role on campus, and about the subject matter they teach—whether creating comfortable environments to challenge perceived norms, encouraging students to think of themselves as professionals-in-training, or creating inclusive and transformative learning environments by emphasizing diverse perspectives and sources of information—it is evident they care deeply about their students.
As we celebrate teaching excellence at the University of Illinois, we owe our success to our faculty: to our tenure track faculty, instructors and lecturers, teaching and research professors, clinical professors and to our aspiring faculty, our teaching assistants. We also owe our success to our outstanding staff, who make it possible to deliver world class teaching through their support of curriculum, instruction, technology, advising, and mentoring.
And we owe our success to our students, who make our jobs worthwhile and whose successes remind us that we make a difference.
As evidenced by the past year, the work we celebrate has consequences far beyond the classroom and diploma. We have even more reason, then, to applaud the energy, devotion to students, passion for teaching, wisdom, and careful consideration of how to promote learning that this year’s recipients have devoted to our future.
Andreas Cangellaris
vice chancellor for academic affairs & provost
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Awards
Graduate & Professional Teaching Awards
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.
Among her many talents, Tania Ionin is a master teacher, and has demonstrated sustained excellence in both classroom instruction and graduate student mentoring. In each of these venues she has developed a distinctive style as an approachable and stimulating expert, who is deeply knowledgeable in her areas of expertise while connecting with students through solid and effective guidance.
Silvinia Montrul on Tania Ionin
Louis K.C. Chan on Scott Weisbenner
Hi, my name is Louis Chan and I am the Chair of the Department of Finance at Gies College of Business. It is my great pleasure to have this opportunity to talk about Scott Weisbenner and explain why he so richly deserves this award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. Scott is the William G. Karnes professor in merges and acquisitions in the Department of Finance. I am constantly impressed and inspired by Scott’s continual efforts to engage students into their own learning and become active participants in their education. Scott’s name has appeared on the list of teachers ranked as excellent in nearly every semester that he has taught since he started at Illinois. He has as well been on the forefront of changes in the field of business education. He was the first professor in our college to develop a MOOC, a massive open online course. So of course, he has also been a leader in developing the finance content in the Gies College of Business’ Online iMBA program. This effort has involved a great deal of preparatory work that has to accommodate students from a variety of backgrounds and different skill sets, but the results have been outstanding. He regularly adjusts the synchronous and asynchronous portion to this course, always with the intent of making it more engaging for the students. Anyone who has watched Scott teach knows the humor he brings to the material. This humor, however, in no way hides his enthusiasm for the subject matter. This excitement and humor make for a truly enjoyable experience for the students, as many of his evaluations attest. I believe that the best teachers recognize the potential in their students, challenge them to hone and develop their skills and ultimately help them view the world in a new way so that they can tackle tough problems. Scott Weisbenner is the living embodiment of this view. He represents what all good teachers seek to emulate. So from all of your colleagues in the Department of Finance, Scott, congratulations on this tremendous achievement.
Louis K.C. Chan on Scott Weisbenner
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Graduate Student Mentoring Awards
This award recognizes faculty 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.
Supriya Prasanth on Jie Chen
I’m Supriya Prasanth, head of Cell and Developmental Biology. I’d like to congratulate Professor Jie Chen for the Campus Award in Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring. Jie’s mentoring is extraordinary and her commitment to graduate education and mentoring are unparalleled. Several past and present students provided their overwhelming support and gratitude for Jie’s mentorship. Jie’s unrelenting commitment towards her students, and the ability to provide quality and quantity time to each and every student has been critical in nurturing these students. She has struck an exemplary balance. She has achieved what most graduate mentors struggle to attain. That is how to push the students to think critically and at the same time teach them to design and execute experiments effectively. Being a successful female scientist, at the same time being a mother, she has been instrumental in helping young men and women alike on how to balance their professional and personal life. It is indeed gratifying to see that so many of her students have done exceptionally well professionally and they continue to maintain close ties with their parent lab. She has a motto, that the health and sanity of our students is the most important, is a testament to her commitment as a kind and considerate mentor. She is a role model for students and faculty. And everyone wants to emulate her ability to be an effective mentor. There’s so much to be learned from her. Thanks Jie for being an excellent mentor and a phenomenon colleague. And congratulations.
Supriya Prasanth on Jie Chen
Andrew Leakey on Stephen Long
I’m delighted to congratulate Professor Stephen Long for receiving the campus award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring. Steve has always cared deeply about students he supervises. He achieves that goal by really getting to know everyone personally. Creating what is truly a research group family. This is just part of a bigger effort to continually search out opportunities for his students. Whether it’s for fellowships, conference opportunities, grants or jobs. The letters from his former students that accompanied his nomination emphasize this care. The camaraderie they felt with Steve and as one of them said, “his seemingly endless energy for science that is contagious”. That included stories of data collection before dawn at field sites around the world. Weekend zoom calls to help students hit deadlines during the COVID-19 pandemic and the occasional all night writing session. This was best summarized by one former student as an unwavering belief in and commitment to his team. We all thank Steve for the positive impact of his mentoring across many departments on the UIUC campus. It will continue for many years more around the world as former long labbers do their best to emulate their mentor. Thank you, Steve.
Andrew Leakey on Stephen Long
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UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AWARDS
tenure stream FACULTY
This award recognizes sustained excellence in and innovative approaches to undergraduate teaching and contributions beyond classroom instruction that have an overall positive impact on undergraduate student learning. Honorees are represented from three employee categories: Faculty, Specialized Faculty, and Teaching Assistants.
Marc Herrtzman on Terri Barnes
I’m Mark Herrtzman and on behalf of the Department of History, I’m so happy to present, help present this amazing award to a truly amazing professor and not to mention colleague, scholar, friend, Terri Barnes. In this very short time that we have, I just want to use two quick examples to explain what an amazing professor Terri is. So the first one is from a Zoom lecture that she recorded this year that is about what she calls “girly girl” culture. The and she talks about the history and current day reality of the multi-billion dollar industry that has exploded around Disney princesses. And during the lecture she looks at the camera and she says, “I like teaching. because when you’re a teacher, you can do fun stuff like go to your local grocery store and see if you can find any princess themed chicken soup.” And then lo and behold, during the pandemic, Terri goes, she does, does she does just that. She goes to the grocery and she goes through the aisles and finds what ends up being rows and rows, aisles of princess themed chicken soup, of all things. And then from there she draws really important and fascinating lessons about the history of this industry and the real impact of the gendering of things that are seemingly is as simple and daily as chicken soup. Second example, just her impact on students is amazing. And I want to just read a few lines from a really great letter of nomination that we got from a former student. The student said, “Professor Barnes’ counsel to put in both the legwork and the contemplation necessary to reach beyond conventional narratives as well as her thoughtful critique helped me grow as a scholar and as a person. I now employ the analytical acumen and reflective thinking that Professor Barnes model for history students on a daily basis as a public defender. I sift through Byzantine factual scenarios, developed theories to describe complex behavior and dispute flawed opposing accounts in order to protect my clients constitutional rights.” And I will conclude there, I can think of no better way than to honor Terri than with the words of her own students. Congratulations, Terri, we’re so lucky to have you as our colleague.
Marc Herrtzman on Terri Barnes
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CL Cole on Amanda Ciafone
This is CL Cole, Department head and professor of Media and Cinema Studies. It’s my pleasure to congratulate Amanda Ciafone, associate professor of Media and Cinema Studies, on her well-deserved Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. While there are many wonderfully smart and committed professors on campus, Professor Ciafone is among our most outstanding. Professor Ciafone’s teaching portfolio impressively demonstrates her strong and successful commitment to teaching excellence. For example, as an assistant professor, Professor Ciafone led the redesign and reformatting of MACS largest course, MACS 100, Introduction to Popular TV and Movies. Under her leadership, the course enrollment moved from 300 to a high of 600 students. She introduced challenging material on race, gender, and politics, and introduced a media literacy that went beyond critical media consumption to critical media production. To facilitate additional engaged student learning, she oversaw the development of small discussion sections and to ensure their success, Professor Ciafone created a media pedagogy practicum for graduate students who were teaching MACS 100. For the graduate students, this was a rare but much needed opportunity to systematically and critically reflect on learning how to teach and how to think about teaching. In addition to redesigning and reformatting individual courses, Professor Ciafone has shared the department’s courses in curriculum committee, oversaw the redesign and reformatting of the departments major. The result was the departments relatively new thematic pathways model, a model that invites students to conscientiously participate in building their undergraduate Media Studies curriculum. The range and intensity for contributions has extended from the classroom to the department, to the college. Amanda’s keen sense of recognizing emergent needs and the needs of students from different backgrounds, including under-represented, and historically marginalized students make her accomplishments all the more relevant and valuable. Congratulations again, Amanda.
CL Cole on Amanda Ciafone
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Ronaldo Maghirang on Paul Davidson
Hello, I’m Ronaldo Maghirang, Head of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. It is an honor to provide remarks for Dr. Paul Davidson, recipient of the award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Since joining our department in 2014, Dr. Davidson established himself as an excellent teacher and mentor to students, outstanding researcher, and model department citizen. He has demonstrated the real ability to teach, conduct research and provide service at a very high level, as well as to integrate all three activities into a highly comprehensive and visible form. Dr. Davidson is highly respected and well sought teacher and advisor for our academic programs. He is passionate about mentoring students in co-curricular and international learning opportunities. For example, he has been a mentor for Engineers Without Borders since 2014, traveling to Guatemala twice with students to design drinking water system for a small community. Also, he has led the study abroad program to South Africa since 2015. Many student participants have commended that these study abroad programs had been the highlight of their entire college career. Indeed, Dr. Davidson embodies the university’s commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching. He has been a great ambassador for the department and the college. He is a professional role model and inspires students to succeed in their career. Finally, I’m extremely grateful to Dr. Davidson for all the work that he does in the pursuit of our department vision to be a preeminent Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department in the nation. Thank you.
Ronaldo Maghirang on Paul Davidson
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Theo Sougiannis on Michael Donohoe
Hi, my name is Theo Sougiannis and I’m the Head of accountancy at Gies College of Business. It is my distinct honor to talk about Michael Donahoe, recipient of this year’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching award. I can say without hesitation that Michael is extremely deserving of this recognition. Michael is an associate professor and the Associate Head of the Department of Accountancy here at the University of Illinois. Since arriving on the University of Illinois campus in 2011, he has distinguished himself in the excellence of his teaching. He is consistently among the highest rated faculty members in our Department of Accountancy by undergraduates in both the online and face-to-face environments. Michael has a wonderful rapport with his students and they clearly recognize his commitment to their learning. Michael has been a leader in developing new opportunities for teaching students. He developed a study abroad trip to the US and British Virgin Islands that focused on income tax and tax havens. This has been very popular with students, as it certainly will be when such programs are again possible. He was one of the first people anywhere to create a MOOC, a massive online open course, on business entity taxation for the Coursera platform. To date, this course has attracted over 10,000 learners. Michael’s excellence as a teacher is well-known. His name regularly appears on the list of teachers ranked as excellent by their students. And he is often ranked as outstanding on that list. In 2013, he received the Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Illinois Student Senate and in 2018, the Illinois CPA society gave him the Outstanding Educator Award. Also in 2018, he was named one of the top 50 undergraduate business professors by Poets and Quants magazine, a nationally recognized honor. This award is another tribute to a man dedicated to the education of future business leaders.
Theo Sougiannis on Michael Donohoe
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Professor Shosted has been, without a doubt, an outstanding teacher; committed to his craft, to his students, and to the subject matter – the study of sounds! The myriad of teaching evaluations from his peers over the years have uniformly concluded that he has a rare gift of communicating faithfully to the students his passion for linguistics. We are indeed very fortunate to have Shosted among our ranks, one who is able to teach a range of undergraduate courses for us and introduce undergraduate students to the wonders of linguistics with his passion, rigor and care.
Rakesh Bhatt on Ryan Shosted
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SPECIALIZED FACULTY
UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AWARDS
Brad Sutton on Jenny Amos
The bioengineering department and I are extremely proud of the accomplishments of Dr. Jenny Amos and are excited that she is the recipient of this award. I’m Brad Sutton and it is my pleasure to tell you just a few of those amazing things that she is doing to improve both student learning and improve the teaching of her colleagues in the department and across campus. First, she’s developed and taught 11 courses in the undergraduate bioengineering curriculum. She then handed these courses off to many junior faculty whom she trains to teach them effectively. It’s not just the creation of many impactful courses, Jenny has been an integral driver of the development of our curriculum and she’s led us through our initial ABET Accreditation. Professor Amos does not shy away from the challenge of creating new curriculum. She designs the courses and assessment programs to evaluate the success of the program. She has generated and transformed educational programs twice in her short time on campus. Both in helping to establish the bioengineering curriculum through several curriculum revisions and she was one of the initial faculty members in the new engineering driven Carle Illinois College of Medicine. She served in leadership roles as the entire set of courses were being developed at the intersection of medicine and engineering. Under her expert guidance, the myriad of learning objectives, courses, evaluations, even individual quiz and exam questions, are tied together to provide data to understand where students are excelling and more importantly, where they are struggling and the instructor needs to spend more time. She develops her courses and assessment strategies to create intrinsic motivation in students through grand challenge problems, frequent feedback for just-in-time instruction, and enabling students to take ownership of their learning, leveraging the instructor as a facilitator of all this. After receiving several Grainger College of Engineering teaching awards and ASPE Teacher of the Year Award and being inducted as a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, I’m very happy that she’s being recognized with the Campus Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. In summary, Dr. Amos is an innovator and world leader in the development and integration of assessment methods and biomedical engineering education. But most of all, I can say that Jenny has had such a profound impact on the way that I, along with many others, think and approach teaching. Along with demonstrating the excitement that comes from being able to see and measure students as they learn and become engaged in their field, in their world. So congratulations Jenny, this award is well-deserved.
Brad Sutton on Jenny Amos
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Cara Finnegan on Kate Ditewig-Morris
My name is Cara Finnegan and I am the Associate Head in the Department of Communication in the College of LAS. My colleagues and I were thrilled to learn that Kate Ditewig-Morris is being awarded this year for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. In her time in our department, Kate has brought her decades of corporate communication experience, together with her training and communication theory, to successfully overhaul our business communication curriculum and our internship program. Kate’s success as a teacher is the result of her deep passion for students, and especially her desire to give them the skills that they need so that they can really come to think of themselves as professionals in training. As one of her student nominators put it, “Kate’s teaching style, encouragement, and valuable assignments have motivated me to put forth my best effort as both a student and a professional.” The Department of Communication is so grateful for Kate’s skill, her energy, and especially her commitment to our students. And we congratulate her on this award.
Cara Finnegan on Kate Ditewig-Morris
Bill Stewart on Michael Raycraft
Hello, My name is Bill Stewart, I’d like to congratulate Dr. Michael Raycraft for winning the campus award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Dr. Raycraft is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism. There are so many reasons why he’s an extraordinary teacher and mentor of undergraduate students. The one I find most inspiring is that he’s able to keep in touch with our students, engage them while they’re on campus, in their classroom and then after they graduate and go on to lead their life of impact. He does this with such ease, with such comfort, which is such a joy ability. And he does it in ways that he’s actually redefined the way that our Department engages our current students with our alumni and industry professionals we’ve come to know. We are truly lucky to have someone of the caliber of Mike Raycraft as a teacher in our department and on campus. Congratulations Mike.
Bill Stewart on Michael Raycraft
Amy Fischer-Brown on Sarah Richardson
Sarah Richardson, Senior Instructor in Animal Sciences, is a trusted resource for students as they navigate career paths. Sarah helps them in courses and also by creating and guiding them through unique experiential learning, through internships, domestic study tours, and study abroad. She demonstrates leadership and efforts to promote and respect diversity. Beyond Animal Sciences, students across campus recognize her most often for ‘Companion Animals in Society’, a large general education course in cultural studies/western comparative. Many also enjoy ‘Human Animal Interactions’, her Gen Ed course in social sciences. Students in Sarah’s classes know that they are in a safe learning space where they will be offered patience, compassion, and empathy, along with a well-organized and highly effective pedagogical approach. In eight years as a specialized faculty member, Sarah has not once NOT appeared on the list of teachers ranked as excellent by their students. We are proud to have her on our team at Animal Sciences and are so pleased for her to be recognized with the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
Amy Fischer-Brown on Sarah Richardson
Anna Ivy on Scott Ricketts
I’m honored to be introducing Scott Ricketts, Senior Lecturer in the Department of English. First, a glowing student testimonial. “I have never and will never take a course that will boost my writing capabilities as much as BTW 250 with Scott Ricketts.” This is a student who took Scott’s advanced composition course, ‘Principles of Business Communication’ and whose growth and confidence and subsequent academic success is a testament to the vital role teachers like Scott play on this campus. Scott’s presentation of material, his framing up questions, his skilled classroom management and above all, his confidence in and development of students abilities have made him an unforgettable teacher. Scott has taught many hundreds of students over the years, all in small discussion and workshop based classes, requiring a great deal of attention to individual need. He has helped his students become better writers and critics by requiring them to listen carefully to each other and to themselves. In this way, they become more sensitive to nuance, more adaptable, more aware of the possibilities for self-expression, even within academic and bureaucratic forms that might otherwise feel stifling. Scott’s classroom exercises and assignments all emphasize the development of a flexible and imaginative approach to communication. And his ability to model not just the skill but the pleasure to be had from this lively give-and-take process is one of his greatest assets. Scott’s colleagues are admiring of the balance he achieves between ease and rigor. Or as one of them puts it a healthy mix of intra-personal banter and firm authority, which creates an environment in which students feel comfortable challenging perceived norms while trusting in the guidance he provides. Even during the early disruptions of the pandemic, Scott managed to keep students focused, attentive and feeling secure. Probably because of all the work he’s put in over the years to design courses that are both structured and flexible. It is a testament to Scott’s dedication and consistency that he shepherded his students so well through this transition to remote learning, determined as ever to include them fully in every stage of the process. Scott has been described as in all respects, a valued colleague, professional, committed, and tireless in taking on service work above and beyond what is strictly been his job description and most importantly, an inspiring teacher. Congratulations Scott on this well-deserved award.
Anna Ivy on Scott Ricketts
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UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AWARDS
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Anna Ivy on Leah Becker
I’m honored to present to you, Leah Becker, graduate teaching assistant in the Department of English. Described by faculty as organized, engaged, and enthusiastic, and by students as someone with a remarkable ability to build trusting relationships and a welcoming environment, Leah is particularly adept at helping first-year students develop writing skills that will serve them all their days. Students say that Leah has a way of making assignments feel like conversations. And that is exactly the purpose that our freshman composition classes are meant to serve. To help students take charge of their own writing as a means of communication, not just a means to an “A”, so that they can begin to participate in the conversations going on all around them. Leah’s investment in the class as a community of people working together to create something of value expresses itself in a variety of ways and it starts on day one. One student recalls how adamant Leah was about making sure she knew how to pronounce all of her students names. “As someone with an uncommon name that has been butchered by my teachers as long as I can remember”, she says “it was encouraging to come into class the following day and hear my name said perfectly.” Leah’s approach to introduction set a standard for active listening in the classroom and the students faith in that commitment was worn out. The student says, “she asked thorough questions and gave us time to actually respond in a way that didn’t feel rushed. And after a few periods you could see and even feel how this affected all of us. Leah Becker made sure to create an environment where we felt our opinions, insights, and understandings mattered and were heard.” Many students have told us about the care Leah has shown for them in times of need. One student recalls that in the spring of 2020 after classes went remote, “Leah was always there and ready to help with anything the students needed. We still held classes. We always would. And to be completely honest, it became a stable point in my life. Leah was consistent and kept her standards while also being compassionate and understanding. We as students, were so fortunate in having a strong class community to begin with, one that could survive the transition to remote learning.” We are so fortunate to have her as an instructor in the English department. Congratulations Leah on this well-deserved award.
Anna Ivy on Leah Becker
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Dara Goldman on Ander Beristain-Murillo
Hello, My name is Dara Goldman and I would like to speak to you about Ander Beristain Murillo who has received the award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching this year. As you may note, if you’re listening to all of these files, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese has amazing TAs. I mean, we are truly blessed with just an embarrassment of riches and extraordinary talent. But even within that pool, some of our graduate students truly stand out in terms of their commitment to and just extraordinary abilities in the classroom. So Ander is a perfect example of exactly that. He is someone that is widely recognized throughout the department as an extraordinary student and instructor. One of my colleagues basically said, if you want something done, not just well, but better than you could have imagined, you should ask Ander. He is not only one of our most accomplished TAs, but he has taught a broad range of courses and has been incredibly successful in all of them. We see that in the, the evaluations he receives, but also in not just the praise from his students, but the, the evidence of students going on to take further courses and becoming more involved with the department. And not only has he been an extraordinary asset for the Spanish program, but he really has done wonders for our Basque program from his native land of the Basque country. So congratulations Ander. This is very well-deserved and a real tribute to the best that our department has to offer.
Dara Goldman on Ander Beristain-Murillo
Nathan Todd on Emily Blevins
Hello, It is my pleasure to say a few words for Emily Blevins in regards to this Award for Teaching Excellence. First, Emily is truly student-centered in the teaching that she does, whether it’s working with RAs in my lab, or the stories I’ve heard about her work with students in the classroom. She really seeks to understand where students are in their learning process and to then provide the scaffolding, support, and encouragement for them to then learn and to move forward and to grow. She really sees and recognizes the potential in all students. And take me to it takes the extra effort and makes the extra effort to really find that, to understand that and then to help that grow. So our university is very fortunate to have Emily contributing to us and to our students through her, her teaching efforts. Emily, thank you so much for all that you do for our students. It’s deeply appreciated. Thank you.
Nathan Todd on Emily Blevins
Rochelle Gutierrez on Karie Brown-Tess
It’s a great honor to celebrate the award for teaching for Karie Brown Tess. She’s an amazing instructor and has been working in the College of Education for a number of years. I’m thinking in particular about the work she’s done in EDU 202, called Social Justice, Schooling and Society. And in that class, students are required to create a social justice project that lives beyond them. And they create documentaries, children’s books, podcasts, and other ways of educating people about justice issues in our community. And in that respect, Karie has gone above and beyond the students in supporting them in their projects. For example, for students who’ve created books, she invites there, she invites authors from the community, people she knows who can give feedback during our mock sessions so that students can learn how to pair good artwork with specific text or develop a layered audience. She taps into her network in the local community to create an environment where students feel they’re not just completing a course assignment, but they’re actually trying to meet the standard of the industry. In terms of helping respect with respect to online courses, she’s also helped move CI 430, which is a math methods course into an online format. And despite all the challenges that we saw in a pandemic, Karie was the kind of person who got responses from students that showed that she had taken gone that extra mile and taking that extra care. From one student, they wrote “If we had extra questions or wanted to talk with her about class, she would always make sure that she had time to hear us and help us navigate through the semester so that we could have a little more time for ourselves and balance the coursework and problems we were dealing with. She always made sure that when we were having a rough semester, we knew we weren’t alone and even sent us a letter to make sure that we knew that there was someone there to support us. She was encouraging and someone that inspired me to want to become a better version of myself so that I could become a better teacher like her.” And Karie does this kind of work, again, not just for her own students, but she’s constantly reaching out to help support other teaching assistants and graduate students in general. She’s done so many activities like hosting sessions at her home for grading with other TAs, hosting dinners for international students, organizing multiple writing groups where students can share their work and get feedback from each other so that they might move forward in their own hurdles in the PhD program. And in this sense, she’s actually helping plant the seeds for future teacher leaders. She’s actually just the kind of teacher you would want for yourself and for everyone that you love. So I’m celebrating you today, Kajsa, a very well-deserved award.
Rochelle Gutierrez on Karie Brown-Tess
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Dara Goldman on Jone Vicente Urrutia
Hello, my name is Dara Goldman and I would like to congratulate Jone Vicente. Jone Vicente Urrutia for having received the Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. We have an extraordinary pool of instructors in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, who do amazing things for us. And even within that context, Jone is someone who has universally impressed everyone who has worked with her, whether her students, her fellow graduate students, her supervisors, and faculty members. The care and effectiveness that she shows in her teaching is something that was commented on by almost everyone that we spoke to when we were preparing these nominations. And in her students go on to take other courses with her in the department in record numbers. And I think also one of the things I want to mention is Jone pays incredible attention to diversity. Not only in to creating an inclusive classroom, in ways that are a model for, for her colleagues, including me, but also in teaching about diversity and inclusion. So I think not only does she create inclusive classroom, but her students come away from her class not only knowing more Spanish, but also with a greater understanding of some of these issues. And I think that’s something that we really value and appreciate about her. When I was gathering information and speaking to her supervisors, one of the supervisors whose worked with her said, “Oh, that Jone, she’s just good at everything.” So that was the statement that summed it up. I basically heard versions of that from numerous people, but that was the sort of most concise one. One of the language coordinators who has been in charge of second year Spanish for years and has observed, I couldn’t even count how many different Tas, shared that he had never seen a more impressive class than the one that he observed when he went to observe Jone’s teaching. So a real gem, someone we are fortunate to have in the classroom. And basically well done Jone and a well-deserved recognition of your efforts.
Dara Goldman on Jone Vicente Urrutia
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GUIDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARDS
This award honors faculty 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.
Cele Otnes on Denise Loyd
Hi, I’m Cele Otnes, Head of the Department of Business Administration in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. It is my honor to say a few words about Professor Denise Loyd, recipient of this year’s award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research. Denise is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Department of Business Administration in the Gies College of Business. She has been a faculty member at the university since 2013. In that time, she has made it a priority to involve undergraduate students in research projects and teach them the research process. This is an important part of the educational mission of our university and Gies College of Business. Students are the future of the business community. Some may pursue research careers, and others may enter companies with a greater appreciation of what academic research can contribute to business enterprises. Professor Loyd uses an apprentice model with her students, were doctoral students help direct some students, RAs and more advanced RAs help direct less experienced ones. She also meets weekly with undergraduate research members to answer questions and guide their efforts. She posters student collaboration and awareness of the importance of the individual in the scientific process of her research efforts is evident in the results. Over the years, several undergraduate students have presented their work at the University of Illinois undergraduate research symposium. This experience gives them a taste of how researchers present their findings to the outside world. Also, several of Professor Loyd’s former undergraduate assistants have pursued graduate research study or expressed an interest in including a research component as part of their career path. The Department of Business Administration and Gies College of Business congratulate Professor Denise Loyd on this well-deserved honor.
Cele Otnes on Denise Loyd
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Albert Valocchi on Helen Nguyen
Hello, I’m Albert Valocchi, formerly the Interim Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I’m here to congratulate Professor Helen Nguyen on being selected for the campus award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research. Helen, I wish I could congratulate you in person and shake your hand but this recorded message will have to suffice this year. While I was the official nominator in my capacity as the interim head of the department, you were really nominated and supported by your colleagues and your students. I was already aware that you were committed to our undergrads in your role as advising Engineers Without Borders projects and water environment. Foundation, EPAP3. I also knew that you were a prolific mentor of undergraduate researchers, a real magnet for our students. But what I really learned in preparing your nomination was how you’ve had such a tremendous impact through guiding students in multi-year research experiences. And what was also impressive is that this has led to 11 peer review journal publications with 12 of these undergraduate researchers as first authors. I was also really impressed reading the enthusiastic support letters provided by your current and former undergraduate researchers. I learned how your mentoring influenced these undergrads to continue to graduate school and in some cases to go into academia. One of your former students, who is now an assistant professor at a peer institution, sums it up. And I quote, “Helen taught me and others what it means to be an environmental engineer. I certainly would not be where I am today without her” end quote. With that, I’d like to say again, congratulations Helen, on this well-deserved award. Our departments is very fortunate and proud to have you as a faculty member.
Albert Valocchi on Helen Nguyen
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ONLINE & DISTANCE LEARNING AWARDS
This award honors excellence and innovation in online and/or distance teaching; contributions to student learning through innovative uses of technology; creativity in course development and instruction; and for having had a positive influence on the quality, extent, and development of a department’s online/distance program.
On behalf of the entire CS department, I want to extend my sincerest congratulations to John Hart on receiving the 2021 Campus Award for Excellence in Online and Distance Learning. John is most deserving of this honor.
As both a faculty member teaching online courses and as the department’s director of online education, John has made an indelible mrk on the develoment of a professional workforce in computer and data science. He is a talented and dedicated educator, who created the widely successful University of Illinois online Master of CS in Data Science (MCS-DS) degree track five years ago. Since then, this degree track has expanded to enroll students in a more general Master of Computer Science (MCS) degree program.
Currently, the MCS enrolls more than 1,200 students, many of whom are full-time working professionals with bachelor’s degrees in non-CS disciplines. John and his team work diligently to provide an exceptional and engaging educational opportunity for these students who will be able to fill data scientist positions across a range of fields, including healthcare, telecommunications, media and entertainment, banking, and insurance sectors.
John also developed the modern equivalent of an influential textbook when he launched a Data Visualization massive open online course (MOOC) on the Coursera platform in 2016. To date, this course has reached more than 350,000 worldwide learners—for anyone wanting to gain insight into their data—and has achieved a 96 percent approval rating.
Our department is fortunate to have John on our faculty. His MOOC course development and engaging instruction have enhanced the lives of thousands of students around the globe—people who want to improve their careers and earnings potential by attaining advanced CS degrees and certifications. In the process, he has elevated the profile of the University of Illinois worldwide.
Nancy M. Amato on John Hart
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UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING AWARDS
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.
Susan Silverberg Koerner on Barbara Anderson
Barbara Anderson, undergraduate advisor in Human Development and Family Studies, makes a world of difference in students lives. In fact, whenever her name comes up, students inevitably chime in with an exuberant, “I love Barbara.” With just two minutes here, it’s impossible for me to mention all of Barbara’s contributions. Here are just a few highlights. In addition to advising all HDFS undergraduates from day one through graduation, Barbara is an outstanding and much-loved instructor. She teaches HDFS 101 to prepare our first-year students for success on the UIUC campus. And she recently began teaching HDFS 291, ‘Career Planning and Preparation’ to help our advanced undergraduates make the transition to graduate school or a career. Barbara also has spearheaded our recruitment efforts to attract new first-year students and transfers, successfully increasing our enrollment, including a high proportion of under-represented undergraduates whose first experience in HDFS is often in Barbara’s office. These students feel safe, comfortable, and supported. She found ways also to increase our scholarship funds so that attending UIUC became possible for a much wider group of students. Barbara Anderson is also creative, innovative, and able to turn a vision into reality. She played a leading role in creating the new Child Health and Well-being minor, which will be valuable for students from across the UIUC campus. She has produced eye-catching and interactive marketing materials to attract new students to the major. And as advisor for the HDFS Ambassadors group, not only did Barbara coach these students in leadership skills, she hosted their fall and spring Ambassador dinners. Barbara cooked the lasagna, she baked the cupcakes. And three years ago she redecorated the ambassador office to create a warm and inviting work and gathering space for these students. In short, with skill, patience, innovation and generosity, Barbara Anderson has made the UIUC experience so much richer and so much more welcoming for so many students. Congratulations Barbara, you are incredibly deserving of the UIUC Provost’s Excellence in Undergraduate Advising award.
Susan Silverberg Koerner on Barbara Anderson
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Brian DeMarco on Merissa Milton
Hi, I’m Brian DeMarco, and it is my pleasure to congratulate Ms. Merissa Milton in receiving the campus Excellence in Undergraduate Advising award. Merissa, you are a superstar. You’ve helped over 1000 students graduate with a physics degree from the University of Illinois. Your excellence in working with students and their families is inspirational. You’ve created new programs for physics, including our orientation class and peer mentoring system. And these have had an enormous positive impact. And your attention to at-risk students and dedication to their success are phenomenal. Thank you for your contribution to our department and campus, and congratulations for this very well-deserved award.
Brian DeMarco on Merissa Milton
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ILLINOIS STUDENT GOVERNMENT TEACHING
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
The Illinois Student Government Teaching Excellence Award is an annual award given to an instructor for outstanding performance in and out of the classroom. Honorees have demonstrated a commitment to teaching and to students in every aspect of their capacity at Illinois.
“What makes this professor so different is that he takes a 300-level course and brings back alive the magic of learning another language. We are encouraged to use Spanish in enjoyable and natural ways with our classmates. Simultaneously, we are learning important material and applying it to our conversation. Some of my professors I simply cannot remember, but there is no way I will forget how enjoyable this class and Salvatore Callesano are!”
- Catherine Vitale, Student Nominator
Catherine Vitale on Salvatore Callesano
“Professor Greenlee is creating an impact both in the Urban Planning Department and in the community…he makes sure his students are understanding material by creating comprehensive exercises, creating his own website with all class materials, and meeting with students one on one, if they so desire…Professor Greenlee goes out of his way to ensure his students succeed in a way no professor in my 5 years on campus has done before.”
- Christopher Ackerman-Avila, Student Nominator
Christopher Ackerman-Avila on Andrew Greenlee
Akshay Soman on Nicola Sharpe
“Hi, my name is Akshay Soman and I’m a second year law student and the outgoing iSEE Center for the College of Law. I had the privilege of taking three courses with Professor Sharpe. She’s undoubtedly a fantastic educator and mentor. She really goes above and beyond what is normally expected from teachers. For example, I vividly remember that I had a callback interview at a law firm that I was really interested in and I contacted Professor Sharpe for advice. Despite having other obligations that she has outside of teaching her students, she went out of her way to set up a last minute call to prepare me for the interview. I will never forget the act of selflessness. I knew she was invested in my own personal success and I’m so happy that Professor Sharpe is being recognized today because she deserves it. A great professor is not only one that can convey a particular subject match to their students. A great professor is one that goes above and beyond for their students. And you will not find a better professor for that then Professor Sharpe. Thank you.”
- Akshay Soman, Student Nominator
Akshay Soman on Nicola Sharpe
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Photography:
Front Cover
Name: Alma Mater
Author: L. Brian Stauffer
Credit: UI Public Affairs: L. Brian Stauffer
PhotoShelter ID: I0000gmLuUIhRh2I
Copyright © Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Back Cover
Name: Alma Mater
Author: L. Brian Stauffer
Credit: UI Public Affairs: L. Brian Stauffer
PhotoShelter ID: I0000lJaOXuCB0Tc
Copyright © Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Design:
Design Group @ Vet Med
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
College of Veterinary Medicine
Acknowledgements
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OFFICE of the PROVOST