UW-Madison soil science professor receives national teaching award

Teresa Balser, associate professor of soil science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has received the 2009 National Teaching Award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).

The award recognizes outstanding faculty members for their classroom teaching, use of innovative teaching methods, service to students and their profession, and scholarship.

Balser teaches upper-level soils and honors biology courses, a large introductory environmental studies class and graduate seminar courses for professional and instructional development. She is a sought-after speaker for outreach activities with growers and citizens interested in soil ecology and is co-writing an introductory environmental studies textbook.

Balser is also involved in a wide range of efforts to help other teachers improve their craft. She directs the UW–Madison Institute for Cross-College Biology Education, is a member of the UW–Madison Teaching Academy and is an affiliate of the university’s Office of Human Resource Development. She serves as the leadership development coordinator for the American Society of Agronomy and regularly presents workshops on teaching and professional development.

“I love teaching, and mentoring young faculty is a way to teach at a different level,” Balser says. “It’s also a way to make things less stressful for them. We’re taught to do research, but not how to teach a class. So I’m keen on helping them see that they can do it, that it’s not so scary.”

Balser was awarded a National Science Foundation Early Career award in 2006, was the 2007 UW System Teaching Fellow for the Madison campus, and is a 2008-09 National Biology Scholar.

The APLU also honored Michel Wattiaux, UW–Madison associate professor of dairy science, with its 2009 Regional Teaching Award. The APLU commended Wattiaux’s strong focus on experiential learning, noting that “his courses place students in the driver’s seat and he challenges them to think critically and from multiple perspectives. “

Wattiaux teaches an undergraduate seminar, a dairy husbandry practicum, courses on ruminant nutrition and environmental impact of livestock management, and an international agricultural seminar that includes a study tour in Mexico. He also co-teaches a graduate-level course on learning theories and effective teaching strategies, and has presented at teaching conferences.

Wattiaux has also received the UW–Madison Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Jung Teaching Award and the American Dairy Science Association Excellence in Dairy Science Teaching Award.

“Both Teri and Michel represent college-level teaching at its best,” says Irwin Goldman, interim dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. “With their passion for teaching, eagerness to innovate in the classroom and efforts to help other teachers improve their skills, they raise the quality of teaching not just in their own classrooms, but across campus and beyond.