Faculty and Graduate Student Awards

Teaching is a critical part of the mission of the College of Arts and Science. Every year, we recognize our faculty and graduate students for exceptional innovation and dedication to teaching and mentoring.

Dean's Distinguished Teaching Fellows | Annual Teaching and Mentoring Awards | COVID-19 Innovative Teaching Awards

Dean's Distinguished Teaching Fellows

Nominations open in the spring.

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Annual Teaching and Mentoring Awards

Each academic year, at a faculty meeting during the fall semester, the professors and administrators of the College of Arts and Science recognize excellence in teaching and mentoring within the Arts and Science community. The awards listed here are an important part of the Arts and Science tradition, and the lists of recipients below contain the names of some of the most distinguished and beloved professors, instructors, and mentors in the history of Vanderbilt.

The Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

The Jeffrey Nordhaus Award was established in 1982 by a gift from Katherine Stumb Nordhaus and George Nordhaus in memory of their son, Jeffrey, victim of an airplane crash in 1979. George Nordhaus, Jeffrey's father, is a 1955 Vanderbilt University graduate.

The awards recognize Arts and Science faculty who have excelled in teaching undergraduates. Nominations are reviewed and ranked by student members of Phi Beta Kappa, after which the dean selects a winner. Each winner receives award money and an engraved Mississippi Julep pewter cup.

In 2004 the Jeffrey Nordhaus Award was expanded by the Nordhaus family to recognize excellence in teaching within each of the three main areas of Arts and Science--the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.

2023 award winners:

• Isaac West (Communication Studies)
• Allison Anoll (Political Science)
• Anna Marie Bohmann (Mathematics)

The Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer

The Gilliam Award was established in 1995 in memory of Harriet S. Gilliam, B.A., 1966. The award recognizes a lecturer or senior lecturer who has achieved excellence in teaching undergraduates. Candidates may be either full- or part-time and must have taught at least five semesters. Nominations are reviewed and ranked by student members of Phi Beta Kappa, after which the dean selects a winner. The award winner receives a cash award and an engraved Mississippi Julep pewter cup.

2023 award winners:

• Issam Eido (Religious Studies)
• Mario Rewers (Public Policy Studies)
• Erika Grundstrom (Physics & Astronomy)

Faculty Adviser Awards

These awards honor faculty for dedication to undergraduate advising. Recipients are chosen by a vote of graduating seniors, with one winner selected from each academic division in the College of Arts and Science: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Each winner receives a cash award and an engraved Mississippi Julep pewter cup.

The Ernest A. Jones Award was established in 1978 by a grateful parent in recognition of the excellent academic advice his son received from Professor Ernest A. Jones of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. In 2019, the award was specialized to recognize advising in math and the natural sciences, and Dean John Geer established dedicated awards for the divisions of humanities and social sciences.

2023 award winners:

• Richard Haglund, Ernest A. Jones Award (Physics and Astronomy)
• Denis Zhernokleyev (German, Russian, and East European Studies)
• Patrick Greiner (Sociology)

The Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award

Established in 1985, this award is given each year for exceptionally effective classroom and/or laboratory instruction by a graduate teaching assistant. The Committee on Graduate Education selects an award winner from departmental nominations. The winner receives a cash prize and an engraved plaque.

2023 award winner:

• Colin Bloomfield (Mathematics)

The Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award

This annual award was established in 2013 to recognize exceptionally effective teaching by a graduate student instructor of record. The Committee on Graduate Education selects an award winner from departmental nominations. The winner receives a cash prize and an engraved plaque.

2023 award winner:

• David Brandt (English)

Award for Excellence in Teaching in a World Language

This award recognizes graduate students for excellence in foreign language teaching. Co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Second Language Studies, it is granted to graduate students with full responsibility for language classes. The Committee on Graduate Education selects an award winner from departmental nominations. The winner receives a cash prize and an engraved plaque.

2023 award winner:

• Vivian Langer (German, Russian, and East European Studies)

Outstanding Graduate Student Lab Instructor Award

This award recognizes excellence in laboratory instruction. It is awarded to graduate students who teach laboratory sections in science classes. The Committee on Graduate Education selects an award winner from departmental nominations. The winner receives a cash prize and an engraved plaque.

2023 award winner:

• Jordyn Barr (Biological Sciences)

The Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring

The Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching

The Alumni Outstanding Freshman Advisor Award

This award was established in 1983 to honor faculty members for their commitment to advising students during their first two years in the College of Arts and Science. The recipient of the award is chosen on the basis of information provided by freshmen in evaluations submitted during the spring semester. Each winner receives a cash prize and an engraved Mississippi Julep pewter cup

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COVID-19 Innovative Teaching Awards 2020

• Divya Chaudhry and Elliott McCarter (Hindi/Urdu/Asian Studies)
• Lynn Enterline (English)
• Rebecca Epstein-Levi (Gender and Sexuality Studies and Jewish Studies)
• Pengfei Li (Chinese/Asian Studies)
• Kristen Navarro (Gender and Sexuality Studies)
• Carolina Palacios (Spanish Studies)
• Mark Schoenfield (English)
• Heeryoon Shin (History of Art and Architecture)
• Qing Wei (Chinese/Asian Studies)

For supportive mentoring of faculty colleagues regarding online teaching

• Phil Lieberman (Jewish, Classical and Mediterranean Studies)
• Anna Castillo (Spanish Studies)
• Sheri Shaneyfelt (History of Art and Architecture)

For creating safe, productive, and engaging in-person learning environments

• Lori Catanzaro (Spanish Studies)
• Raheleh Filsoofi (Art)
• Leor Halevi (History)
• Shaul Kelner (Jewish Studies)
• Elizabeth Meadows (English and Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities)
• Vesna Pavlovic (Art)
• Steve Wernke (Anthropology)
• Matthew Worsnick (History of Art and Architecture)

For developing innovative approaches to teaching science

• Kenneth Catania (Biological Sciences)
• Lily Claiborne (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
• Katherine Friedman and Thomas Clements (Biological Sciences)
• Neil Kelley (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
• John McLean (Chemistry)
• Dan Morgan (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
• James Pask (Biological Sciences)

For teaching of courses focused on timely and topical pandemic-related issues in

• Beth Conklin (Anthropology)
• Gilbert Gonzales (Medicine, Health, and Society)
• TS Harvey (Anthropology)
• Eunji Kim (Political Science)
• Ashleigh Maxcey (Psychology)
• Tara McKay (Medicine, Health, and Society)
• Lars Plate (Chemistry and Biological Sciences)
• Holly Tucker (French and Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities)

For bringing the creative and performing arts to life when live performance wasn’t possible

• Alex Sargent-Capps (Theatre)
• Krista Knight (Cinema, Media Arts and Theatre)
• John Warren (Art, Cinema and Media Arts)
• Kristyl Tift (Theatre)

For giving special attention to student inclusivity, engagement, and well-being

• Gabriel Briggs (English)
• Amy Cooter (Sociology)
• Nozomi Imai (Japanese/Asian Studies)
• Shellie Richards (Communication of Science and Technology)
• Tasha Rijke-Epstein (History)
• Mariano Sana (Sociology)
• Elisabeth Sandberg (Psychology)
• Adriane Seiffert (Psychology)
• Savanna Starko (Physics)
• Keith Weghorst (Political Science)

For heroic instructions of every language course in the Korean language curriculum

• Seok Bae Jang (Korean/Asian Studies)

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