Seven faculty members have been recognized for their exceptional teaching with the 2022 Distinguished Teaching Awards.
Recipients of the University of Oregon annual awards are tia north, Katie Lynch, Keli Yerian, Michael Aronson, Lara Bovilsky, David Steinberg and Tina Starr.
This year, the A.J. Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching went to north, who does not use capital letters in her name. The award is given for achieving excellence early in a career.
"Winning this award means that I've had great teachers in my life, humble and courageous individuals who shared with me a collective vision of what might be possible for the students in our classrooms and who modeled the dignity and strength it takes to live that possibility as a reality. I'm still learning from them," north said.
Meanwhile, Lynch in the environmental studies department was honored for her longstanding excellence with the Thomas F. Herman Faculty Achievement Award. As codirector of the Environmental Leadership Program, Lynch works with students who are getting involved outside the classroom.
"It is incredibly rewarding to mentor teams of students doing meaningful projects in the community," Lynch said. "I feel honored that this work is being recognized."
Yerian, Aronson, Bovilsky and Steinberg all received the Thomas F. Herman Award for Specialized Pedagogy, which recognizes expertise in a specific area of teaching.
The classroom is a regular source of inspiration for Yerian, who teaches linguistics.
"Every time I think of the fact that I received this award it makes me smile," she said. "It gives me joy and energy to know that I have touched others enough to result in a nomination."
Aronson, who teaches cinema studies, enjoys collaborating with his Irish colleagues and librarian Elizabeth Peterson.
"Putting together the time and resources to teach collaboratively can be a real challenge, and so it is extremely gratifying for this type of shared work to be recognized by the award committee and the university," Aronson said.
English professor Lara Bovilsky said her love of working with students was what drew her toward becoming a professor in the first place.
"I want all my students to walk away from my classes feeling as though they can express their ideas more clearly, confidently and rigorously, in ways that will serve them throughout their lives," she said.
Steinberg thanked the mathematics department for the opportunities he's had to be innovative with his course design.
"I want to extend my deep thanks to everyone who has helped me become the educator I am today," Steinberg said. "They have earned a part of this award, too."
Business professor Starr received the Thomas F. Herman Award for Outstanding Online Education. The award recognizes faculty members who have been creative with online and hybrid learning experiences.
"This award means a great deal to me as it underscores the hard work, effort and creativity that goes into building out a fully online course from an existing in-person class," Starr said. "I want my online courses to be fun, robust and practical, and I strive to ensure that the key takeaways from my course remain relevant and useful to students long after they graduate."
