Awards honor excellence in instruction

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign each year presents Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction to exceptional faculty and staff members, graduate teaching assistants and advisors campuswide. This year’s recipients are being honored at a ceremony on April 15. 

Awardees are cited for sustained excellence and innovation in undergraduate and graduate teaching, undergraduate and graduate advising and mentoring, online teaching and research guidance. The Office of the Provost sponsors the awards. Learn more about each honoree as excerpted from their nomination forms.

EXCELLENCE IN GRADUATE STUDENT MENTORING
Nathan Schroeder, a professor of crop sciences, and Rizwan Uddin, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering, are the recipients of the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring, presented to tenure-system or specialized faculty members at Illinois who have taught on the Urbana-Champaign campus for at least five years.

Nathan Schroeder. Photo by Fred Zwicky.

Schroeder employs a thoughtful, holistic, proactive approach that combines and integrates student-driven professional development and research plans, regularly scheduled and unscheduled meetings, graduate program service, training in current mentoring practices and a commitment to creating pathways that broaden participation and access, including for graduate students who are not directly working in his program.

Uddin is internationally known for his modeling and computational work on nuclear reactor core neutronics and physics as well as his work on nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics. He is extremely adept in translating his research interests and highly honed computational abilities into impactful educational experiences for his graduate students, many of whom have gone on to positions in international labs or as faculty members.

EXCELLENCE IN GUIDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
The Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research is designed to foster and reward excellence in involving and guiding undergraduate students in scholarly research.

Ruta Mehta. Photo by Craig Pessman.

Ruta Mehta, a professor of computer science, has guided more than 20 undergraduate students through research and implementation projects, resulting in papers with students as lead authors and app development. This is particularly impressive given the inherent challenges of initiating undergraduates into theoretical research.

Integrative biology professor Wendy Yang’s mentorship style is characterized by the care and attention she provides her students. She actively adapts research opportunities to align with students’ unique strengths and career goals, identifying cross-disciplinary opportunities like integrating statistical training into ecological research.

EXCELLENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING
The Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising recognizes advisors’ impact on undergraduate students and their intellectual development through academic advising relationships.

Hospitality management program director and advisor Jill Craft spends endless hours advising students through the science courses that they have to get through to reach the creative, human-centered hospitality management courses. Craft dedicates her time to mentoring students so they have a solid foundation and are fully prepared for addressing the challenges of a career in the hospitality industry.

Becky Stillwell, the assistant director of civil and environmental engineering undergraduate programs, recognizes that it is crucial for undergraduates at a large research institution to experience unbiased and empathetic advising to make informed choices about courses, programs and postbaccalaureate careers. She is genuine, kind, supportive and friendly. 

EXCELLENCE IN GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL TEACHING
The Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching recognizes contributions to graduate or professional learners beyond classroom instruction. Tenure-system faculty and specialized faculty are eligible.

Psychology professor Joseph Cohen is passionate about higher education in clinical psychology in part because he sees it as a key component of his work as a translational researcher. He is an informal mentor, professional guide and explainer of graduate school to many students in the clinical program.

Special education professor Stacy Dymond incorporates innovative approaches when teaching and mentoring graduate students. She researches new approaches to help advance not only the courses she teaches but also the field of special education.

EXCELLENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING
Faculty, specialized faculty and teaching assistants are eligible for the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

Teaching Assistants
Rebekah Bosley, a teaching assistant in speech and hearing science, has a natural ability to meet students where they are and provide scaffolded support by encouraging students to learn beyond their current knowledge level to develop their skills further.

Katherine Bunsold. Photo by Craig Pessman.

Katherine Bunsold, a teaching assistant in communication, shows acumen in writing and speaking as well as marked success in the classroom. She has established herself as a leader among the teaching staff and has produced an innovative public speaking activity that continues to be used coursewide because it is so engaging.

Gyudae Kim. Photo by Fred Zwicky.

Gyudae Kim, a teaching assistant in geography and geographic information science, is very aware of the different needs and capabilities of the students in his courses and works to accommodate and encourage all students. He is an outstanding mentor to undergraduate students through research supervision and encouraging them to present their research at national conferences.

Maddy Ritter, a teaching assistant in mathematics, is gifted at facilitating group work and uses an ideal balance of guiding questions, hints, direct explanations and positive reinforcement to engage groups in conversation that allows all to reach a deeper level of understanding. She possesses patience and willingness to listen carefully to a student and then provides the most appropriate response that builds off their approach to the problem.

Cihang Wang, a teaching assistant in economics, is highly knowledgeable, responsible, disciplined and is an excellent team player. She has always been generous with her time and attention, and always willing to help other students who are struggling.

Specialized Faculty
A research professor in psychology, Simona Buetti is a creative instructor who is on the leading edge of innovative teaching practices, including the development of online versions of her courses. Her teaching strategies are exceptionally student-focused, and she is consistently recognized by students for her teaching excellence.

Mary Rose Cottingham is a senior instructor in English. She has been transforming the lives of undergraduates at Illinois for over 20 years. She establishes a connection with each student by responding thoughtfully to their drafts and correcting mistakes but also identifying strengths and encouraging them to develop ever more precise and sophisticated formulations of their best ideas.

Kristen DiFilippo. Photo by Craig Pessman.

Health and kinesiology teaching professor Kristen DiFilippo listens to her students and gets to know them on a personal level. She consistently goes above and beyond to create an engaging and supportive learning environment for undergraduate students.

Senior advertising lecturer Marisa Peacock uses principles of universal design for learning, offering several ways for her students to learn and succeed. Her innovative, supportive, active-learning teaching methods and commitment to student success have left a lasting impact on students in the classroom and beyond.

Eman Saadah, a teaching professor in linguistics, has been dedicated to undergraduate teaching for 19 years, integrating innovative technology and fostering inclusion through initiatives like conversation sessions with refugee Arabic speakers. She has organized countless cultural activities and developed specialized courses, significantly enhancing students’ language proficiency and cultural competence.

Tenure-Track Faculty
Evolution, ecology and behavior professor Phil Anderson is a dedicated educator renowned for his engaging teaching in anatomy and biomechanics. He combines scientific storytelling, hands-on labs and research opportunities that fosters student curiosity and critical thinking. His commitment to student success and inclusivity is exemplary.

Crop sciences professor Juan Arbelaez redesigned and provides ongoing improvements to the Introduction to Crop Sciences course. In addition to creating opportunities for experiential learning, he designs group lab activities, so students build collaboration and communication skills. 

Stephanie Ceman. Photo by Craig Pessman.

Cell and developmental biology professor Stephanie Ceman uses a team-based learning methodology in which students complete assigned tasks in preparation for each class. She prepares stimulating, challenging and diligently crafted questions that not only help the students understand the material, but also stimulate their thought-processes and ability to work as a team.

Mathematics professor Nathan Dunfield helped build the infrastructure that is used to teach one of the most consequential courses the department teaches. Additionally, he reorganized the material and wrote and posted lecture notes for use by other faculty.

Astronomy professor Leslie Looney has added numerous innovative courses, led the faculty in instructional units taught and made science accessible to students from a wide range of backgrounds. About 1 in 8 undergraduates take a course he has designed, and the online courses he has developed are held up as exemplars. Looney was recently the keynote speaker at the campus New Student Convocation — a student-nominated honor.

EXCELLENCE IN ONLINE TEACHING
Faculty members who have taught at least three credit-bearing online courses over the past five years are eligible.

A clinical professor in bioengineering, Joe Bradley was the first to develop online courses for the program. His course is a template, and his lecture slide format and CITL studio recording system are models for all other courses. Student feedback on these courses has been outstanding in terms of the overall program structure and learning environment.

Agricultural and consumer economics clinical professor Craig Lemoine strives to create high-quality scalable education. His framework of creating modular digital assets has innovated the personal finance content offered to students across campus. He has identified and worked with national personal finance, agriculture economics and wealth management experts to build and streamline online course delivery.