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Arts and Science Faculty and Graduate Students Recognized for Excellence in Teaching

Posted by on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 in News Story.

Faculty award winners posing with deans
Photo: Adrienne Burns/Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science

On December 3, the College of Arts and Science recognized 13 outstanding faculty members and graduate students for excellence in teaching, advising, and mentoring. These awards are an important part of the Arts and Science tradition, and past recipients include some of the most distinguished and beloved professors, instructors, and mentors in the history of Vanderbilt.

The Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring recognizes distinguished mentoring of graduate students by the faculty. It is granted to a faculty member who guides his or her students toward a high degree of professional accomplishment in their field of study.

2019 recipient: Timothy Hanusa (Chemistry)

The Award for Excellence in Teaching in a World Language recognizes excellence in foreign language teaching. It is granted to a graduate student with full responsibility for language classes.

2019 recipient: Carolina Rodriguez Tsouroukdissian (Spanish & Portuguese)

The Ernest A. Jones Faculty Adviser Award honors a faculty member for dedication to undergraduate advising in math or the natural sciences.

2019 recipient: Lily Claiborne (Earth and Environmental Sciences)

The Faculty Adviser Award in Humanities honors a faculty member for dedication to undergraduate advising in the humanities.

2019 recipient: Christopher Johns (History of Art)

The Faculty Adviser Award in Social Sciences honors a faculty member for dedication to undergraduate advising in the social sciences.

2019 recipient: David Hess (Sociology)

The Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes Senior Lecturers and Lecturers for outstanding undergraduate teaching.

2019 recipient: Elizabeth Covington (English and Women’s and Gender Studies)

The Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching honors one tenured or tenure-track faculty member for undergraduate teaching from each of the three divisions within the College of Arts and Science: humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.

2019 humanities recipient: Nancy Reisman (English)

2019 natural sciences recipient: Lauren Jackson (Biological Sciences)

2019 social sciences recipient: Joshua Murray (Sociology)

The Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award recognizes excellence in teaching by a graduate student with full responsibility for the course they are teaching.

2019 recipients:

Jacob Abell (French & Italian)

Blake Dunshee (Mathematics)

The Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award recognizes excellence in teaching assistance. It is granted to graduate students who lead a class section or share instruction within a class.

2019 recipient: Philip Pettis (Sociology)

The Outstanding Graduate Student Lab Instructor Award recognizes excellence in laboratory instruction. It is awarded to graduate students who teach laboratory sections in science classes.

2019 recipient: Thayer Walmsley (Physics and Astronomy)

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