Awards honor excellence by teaching assistants
The work of 15 teaching assistants at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will be recognized in the 10th annual College of Letters and Science Campuswide Teaching Assistant Awards on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
“They do great credit to their departments and to our campus, by creating positive and productive classroom environments, by challenging and helping students do their best work, and by exploring new approaches to enhance the learning experiences of our undergraduates,” says Brian Bubenzer, assistant dean for graduate student administration at the college.
UW-Madison employs more than 1,700 teaching assistants across a wide variety of disciplines, and their contributions in the classroom, lab, studio and field are essential to the university’s mission.
To recognize their excellence, the College of Letters and Science, with funding support from the Graduate School, administers four campuswide awards for graduate student instructors each year.
“They do great credit to their departments and to our campus, by creating positive and productive classroom environments, by challenging and helping students do their best work, and by exploring new approaches to enhance the learning experiences of our undergraduates.”
Brian Bubenzer
“Graduate students are a critical part of UW–Madison, not only in their role as students, but also the contributions they make to the teaching and research missions of the institution,” says Wendy Crone, associate dean for graduate education in the Graduate School.
Winners of the Capstone Ph.D. Teaching Awards, which recognize students as outstanding teaching assistants throughout their UW–Madison tenure, are:
- Bridget Collins, Department of the History of Science
- David Ohls, Department of Political Science
- Rebecca Soares, Department of English
- Chia-Chen Yang, Department of Educational Psychology
Winners of the Early Excellence in Teaching Award, which honors achievement on the part of TAs with fewer than four semesters of teaching experience, are:
- Loka Ashwood, Department of Sociology
- Mallory Perryman, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Junbo Son, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Jordan Wilson, School of Music
Winners of the Innovation in Teaching Award, which recognizes exceptional creativity and use of new teaching methods or techniques, are:
- Cathy Day, Department of Geography
- Molly Simis, Department of Life Sciences Communication
- H. William Warner, Department of History
Winners of the Exceptional Service Award, which recognize service related to the educational mission such as volunteerism, committee work and mentoring, are:
- Aria Cabot, Department of Italian
- Nicole Kaufman, Department of Sociology
- Colleen Lucey, Department of Slavic Languages and Literature
- Elisabeth Miller, Department of English