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Teaching Awards


The Provost’s Office sponsors three university-wide teaching awards for faculty:
  • Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching
  • Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring
  • Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty

Get information on faculty teaching awards.

The Provost’s Office sponsors one university-wide teaching award for graduate students:
  • Penn Prize or Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students

Get information on graduate student teaching awards.

Faculty Teaching Awards

Any member of the University community, past or present, may nominate a faculty member for these awards.

Nominations and Deadlines for faculty awards

Nominations are due no later than 5pm on the first Friday in December.

Online Nomination Form

Dossiers are due no later than 5pm on the first Friday in February.

Online Dossier Submission Form

Eligibility

Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching

Awarded to up to eight members of the Standing Faculty each year: up to four in the non-health schools (Annenberg, Design, Engineering and Applied Science, GSE, Law, SAS, Social Policy & Practice, Wharton) and up to four in the health schools (Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine). 

Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring

Awarded to two members of the Standing or Associated Faculty for distinguished teaching and mentoring of PhD students. Members of the Standing and Associated Faculty in any school offering the PhD are eligible for the award.

Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty

Awarded to two members of the Associated Faculty or academic support staff who teach at Penn, one in the non-health schools (Annenberg, Design, Engineering and Applied Science, GSE, Law, SAS, Social Policy & Practice, Wharton) and one in the health schools (Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine). 

There is a reception each spring honoring all the teaching award winners.

For more information, e-mail provost-ed@upenn.edu or call 215.898.7225.

Learn more about previous winners of the Lindback Awards and the Provost’s Awards.  

Guidelines

1.  The Lindback and Provost’s Awards are given in recognition of distinguished teaching. “Distinguished teaching” is teaching that is intellectually demanding, unusually coherent, and permanent in its effect. The distinguished teacher has the capability of changing the way in which students view the subject they are studying. The distinguished teacher provides the basis for students to look with critical and informed perception at the fundamentals of a discipline and relates that discipline to other disciplines and to the worldview of the student. The distinguished teacher is accessible to students and open to new ideas but also expresses their own views with articulate and informed understanding of an academic field. The distinguished teacher is fair, free from prejudice, and single-minded in the pursuit of truth.

2.  Skillful direction of dissertation students, effective supervision of student researchers, ability to organize a large course of many sections, skill in leading seminars, special talent with large classes, ability to handle discussions or structure lectures—these are all attributes of distinguished teaching, although it is unlikely that anyone will excel in all of them. At the same time, distinguished teaching means different things in different fields. While distinguished teachers should be versatile, as much at home in large groups as in small, in beginning classes as in advanced, they may have skills of special importance in areas of specialization. The primary criteria for the Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring are a record of successful doctoral student mentoring and placement, success in collaborating on doctoral committees and graduate groups, and distinguished research.

3.  Since distinguished teaching is recognized and recorded in different ways, evaluation must also take several forms. It is not enough to look solely at letters of recommendation from students or to consider “objective” evaluations of particular classes in tabulated form. A faculty member’s influence extends beyond the classroom and individual classes. Nor is it enough to look only at a candidate’s most recent semester or opinions expressed immediately after a course is over; the influence of the best teachers lasts, while that of others may be great at first but lessen over time. It is not enough merely to gauge student adulation, for its basis is superficial; but neither should such feelings be discounted as unworthy of investigation. Rather, all of these factors and more should enter into the identification and assessment of distinguished teaching.

4.  The Lindback and Provost’s Awards have a symbolic importance that transcends the recognition of individual merit. They should be used to advance effective teaching by serving as reminders to the University community of the expectations for the quality of its mission.

5.  Distinguished teaching occurs in all parts of the University. Therefore, faculty members from all schools are eligible for consideration. An excellent teacher who does not receive an award in a given year may be re-nominated in some future year and receive the award then.

6.  The Lindback and Provost’s Awards may recognize faculty members with many years of distinguished service or many years of service remaining. The teaching activities for which the awards are granted must be components of the degree programs of the University of Pennsylvania.

7.  A faculty member may not be considered for a teaching award in a terminal year or the year of being considered for tenure.

Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students

Who is the best Grad Student Teacher you ever had?

Recognizing excellence in teaching by graduate students across the University, the Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students seeks nominations specifically from undergraduate and graduate students. This is your opportunity to acknowledge graduate students who, through their dedication to teaching, have had a profound impact on your education at Penn. Ten awards will be made.

Nomination: Why is your nominee the best TA or graduate student instructor of record you ever had? Effective nominations will speak specifically about what the TA/instructor did to help you learn. Please describe your TA/instructor’s teaching practices and explain the impact they had. Such details will help the awards committee to evaluate how different graduate student instructors facilitate student learning. To this end, your nomination should have a minimum of 50 words.

The nomination form will open on January 18 and remain open until 11:59pm on February 16, 2024. Submit your nomination at: https://forms.gle/1nU1iC7PdfddbXWM7.

Questions may be directed to Ian Petrie (petrie@upenn.edu).

2024 Award Winners

  • Jeongmoon Choi, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (SEAS)
  • Jonathan Dick, English (SAS)
  • Jamie Galanaugh, Neuroscience (PSOM) 
  • Joyce Kim, Sociology (SAS/GSE)
  • Nipun Kottage, Anthropology (SAS/PSOM)
  • Marissa Shandell, Management (Wharton)
  • Azsaneé Truss, Communication (Annenberg)
  • Jacqueline (Jacqui) Wallis, Philosophy (SAS)
  • Caroline Wechsler, History and Sociology of Science (SAS/PSOM)
  • Hannah Xiao, Data Science (SEAS)
2023 Award Winners

Front (l. to r.) Lucy Andersen, Vice Provost Karen Detlefsen, Derek Yang, Ann Ho, Arianna James
Back (l. to r.) Ritesh Isuri, Adiwid (Boom) Devahastin Na Ayudhya, Oualid Merzouga,
Puneeth Guruprasad

  • Lucy Anderson, Nursing
  • Adiwid “Boom” Devahastin Na AyudhyiaData Science
  • Kai FengDemography (not in picture)
  • Latrice FergusonEducation (not in picture)
  • Puneeth GuruprasadBioengineering
  • Ann HoEnglish
  • Ritesh IsuriChemistry
  • Arianna JamesEnglish
  • Oualid MerzougaMathematics
  • Derek YangChemistry
2022 Award Winners
  • Erin Anderson (Bioengineering, SEAS)
  • Katie Copley (Neuroscience, PSOM)
  • Nicholas Dias (Political Science, SAS, & Annenberg)
  • Lilia Escobedo (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, SEAS)
  • Olivia Hu (Sociology, SAS)
  • Katey Mari (Anthropology, SAS)
  • Ethan Plaue (English, SAS)
  • Bruno Saconi (Nursing)
  • Yosef Washington (Philosophy, SAS)
  • Stephanie Wesson (Philosophy, SAS)
2021 Award Winners
  • Tsai Hsuan (Angel) Chung (International Educational Development, Graduate School of Education)
  • Marisa Egan (Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Graduate Studies, Perelman School of Medicine)
  • Janay Garrett (Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development, Graduate School of Education)
  • Jesse Hamilton (Philosophy, SAS)
  • Taylor Heath (Sociology, SAS)
  • Darin Johnson (Communication, Annenberg)
  • Autumn Melby (Anthropology, SAS)
  • Breanna Moore (History, SAS)
  • Paradorn (Joe) Rummaneethorn (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, SEAS)
  • Elena van Stee (Sociology, SAS)
2020 Award Winners
  • Alex Chianese (Nursing) 
  • Caroline Hodge (Anthropology) 
  • Razan Idris (History) 
  • Timothy Kundro (Management) 
  • Zachary Loeb (History & Sociology of Science)
  • Muira McCammon (Communication) 
  • Victoria Muir (Bioengineering)   
  • Taylor Odle (Education)
  • Gino Pauselli (Political Science) 
  • Hadass Silver (Political Science)
2019 Award Winners
  • Mohsen Azadi (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics)
  • Sumitra Badrinathan (Political Science)
  • Xiaoxia (Summer) Dong (City & Regional Planning)
  • Abigail Dym (Education)
  • Meghan Garrity (Political Science)
  • Gregory Koutnik (Political Science)
  • Shih-Kai Lin (Architecture)
  • Chris Mustazza (English)
  • Alison Russell (Social Welfare)
  • Mac Schumer (Chemistry)
2018 Award Winners
  • Juan Pablo Ardila (History, School of Arts and Sciences)  
  • Suneal Bedi (Legal Studies, & Business Ethics The Wharton Schooll)   
  • Mark Bookman (East Asian Languages & Cultures, School of Arts and Sciences)   
  • Evelyne Brie (Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences)   
  • Lauren Brumley (Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences)   
  • Tabea Cornel (History & Sociology of Science, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Tajah Ebram (English, School of Arts and Sciences)   
  • Julia Kahn (Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine)   
  • Haley Pilgrim (Sociology, School of Arts and Sciences)  
  • Alexis Rider (History & Sociology of Science, School of Arts and Sciences)
2017 Award Winners
  • Nicholas Bell (Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Chelsea Chamberlain (History, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Jaclynn Elkind (Nursing, School of Nursing)
  • Ethan Mallick Hossain (Economics, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Thomas Noah (Philosophy, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Lloyd Talley (Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development, Graduate School of Education)
  • Jillian Vaum (History of Art, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Allyson Volinsky (Communications, Annenberg School for Communication)
  • Nicole Welk-Joerger (History of Sociology and Science, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Daniel Wu (Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences)
2016 Award Winners
  • Richard Eisenberg (Computer and Information Sciences, School of Engineering & Applied Science)
  • Ambar La Forgia (Health Care Management and Economics, Wharton School)
  • Andrea Lloyd (Romance Languages, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Marcus Michelen (Mathematics, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Paul Mitchell (Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Stan Najmr (Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Kaitlin Kylie Pomerantz (Fine Arts, School of Design)
  • Lindsey Reuben (Romance Languages, School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Rachel Stonecipher (Communication, Annenberg School for Communication)
  • Sarah Wolf (Chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences)
2015 Award Winners
  • Beeta Baghoolizadeh (History)
  • Andrew Barnard (Political Science)
  • Thomas Brinkerhoff (History)
  • Nese Devenot (Comparative Literature)
  • Kevin Gotkin (Communication)
  • Daniel McCarthy (Statistics)
  • Lydia Rosenberg (Fine Arts)
  • Kyle Smith (Chemistry)
  • Timothy Sowicz (Nursing)
  • Basima Tewfik (Management)
2014 Award Winners
  • Justin Bernstein (Philosophy)
  • Marina Isgro (History of Art)
  • Adam Mally (Computer Graphics and Game Technology)
  • Salar Mohandesi (History)
  • Prakirti Nangia (Political Science)
  • Michael Noss (Chemistry)
  • J. Maxwell Rogoski (Medicine and History and Sociology of Science)
  • Ursula Williams (Chemistry)
  • Andy Wu (Applied Economics)
  • Gartaa Yieleh-Chireh (Mathematics