The Distinguished Teaching Awards and Excellence in Teaching Award are among the highest teaching recognition at the University of Washington. The Center for Teaching and Learning joins the rest of UW in congratulating the following for their stellar, resourceful, and learned work with students. We are honored to have such wonderful instructors among us.
Excellence in Teaching Award
Ryan Goehrung
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science, College of Arts & Science, Seattle campus
Goehrung’s students and colleagues note that he makes learning quantitative modes of reasoning and programming languages accessible and fun. As one of his students notes, “rather than an arduous or intimidating task, his lessons in statistical programming were an opportunity to gain new access to questions I cared deeply about.
Theresa Gozzo
Doctoral Candidate, Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences, Seattle campus
Gozzo’s primary goal is to create more productive and positive learning experiences by establishing a classroom where students spend less time struggling alone. In this positive environment, Gozzo fosters each student’s growth as a chemist by sharing her own knowledge of the material, offering encouragement and emphasizing that mistakes are a valuable part of growth.
Distinguished Teaching Award for Teams
Global Scholars Program Team, UW Bothell
Natalia Dyba (she/her), Director, Global Initiatives, Office of Connected Learning, Academic Affairs
Ben Gardner (he/him), Associate Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
Ron Krabill (he/him), Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
Eva Navarijo (she/her), Director, Student Services & Advising, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
Sarah Melissa Ramirez (she/her), Co-Director, Global Scholars Program, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
The Global Scholars Program brings together students from diverse backgrounds to think through global issues and explore diversity, difference and identity as central to all global engagements. Students share ideas and aspects of themselves that they may not be comfortable sharing in a typical classroom setting. Then, they take this leadership to their social networks, families and communities. As one student noted, “Global Scholars made me realize how important it is to hold space for students to critically explore and engage global issues relating to race, gender, intersectionality and privilege.”
Pharmacy Team, UW Seattle
Jennifer Chang (she/her), Clinical Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy
Claudia (Seohyun) Choi (she/her), Assistant Teaching Professor, Clinical Practice, School of Pharmacy
Karan Dawson (she/her), Clinical Associate Professor Emeritus, School of Pharmacy
Jennie Do (she/her), Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy
Leigh Ann Mike (she/her), Clinical Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy
The goal of this team is to train pharmacists, and, in the process, to help each of them leverage their technical and interpersonal skills to be successful and happy. By working together, the team empowers students – and themselves – to have difficult conversations about social bias, racism, just culture, and therapeutic controversy. As another faculty member says, “Their holistic approach to education provides our PharmD students with the necessary competence and confidence to practice at the ‘top of their license’ as valued and trusted health-care providers.”
Distinguished Teaching Award
Ellen Bayer
Associate Professor, Culture, Arts and Communication, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Tacoma
By implementing experiential learning strategies, Bayer takes her students outside the traditional classroom. Students draw connections between classroom learning and their own lived experiences through activities that strengthen their critical reflections on their natural environment. She incorporates diverse instructional practices, reading materials and assessment methods, while connecting students with support across campus. Bayer’s commitment to student success has never wavered, and her colleagues have been inspired by the pedagogical innovations Bayer has created and perfected.
Anjulie Ganti
Associate Teaching Professor, Health Systems and Population Health, School of Public Health; Associate Director of Experiential Learning, School of Public Health, Seattle campus
Ganti is not only a teacher by profession – but a teacher at heart, as one of her students notes. She inspires the next generation of public health practitioners through her inclusive and respectful classrooms where students have space to reflect and critically engage with theories and frameworks and then apply them to public health cases. In addition, Ganti brings experience and training in antiracism and social justice to her program and the School of Public Health more broadly.
Marieka Klawitter
Professor, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, Seattle campus
For more than 25 years, Klawitter has championed students’ perspectives, particularly those of underrepresented students. Recognized for her sharp analytical and critical thinking skills, Klawitter is courageous and fact-based while grappling with issues such as white supremacy, antiracism and structural racism. At the same time, one student notes, she fosters a supportive learning environment in which students feel comfortable asking questions and discussing subjects that are often perceived as daunting.
Regina Yung Lee
Associate Teaching Professor, Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, College of Arts & Sciences, Seattle campus
Whether she is teaching a large lecture class or a small seminar, Lee leaves an impression on her students. She gives them a comprehensive introduction to mainstream feminism while infusing that content with intersectional perspectives and voices. In the words of one student, Lee is an inspiring lecturer, patient instructor and dedicated guide. Drawn to her feminist pedagogy of mutual learning, students fill her classes and flock to her for mentoring.
Yusuf Pisan
Associate Teaching Professor, Computing & Software Systems, School of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, UW Bothell
Taking an approach that he describes as “community, attitude and challenge,” Pisan believes in the growth mindset and the importance of building a learning community. Transparency also is a key trait of his. In his words, “I decided to make all my evaluations public to help future students make more informed choices or at least know what they are getting into when they choose to take a course from me.”
Elli Theobald
Assistant Teaching Professor, Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Seattle campus
Even in Theobald’s largest classes, students are engaged in conversation – with each other, with their teaching assistants and with her. They ask questions, reason answers and challenge each other’s understanding. Her philosophy to maximize learning and disrupt educational inequities is that students need deliberate practice through evidence-based pedagogy in a student-centered, inclusive environment. She calls this the “Heads and Hearts Hypothesis:” Heads are activated by active learning, and hearts are supported with inclusive teaching.