The Dean’s Graduate Student Teaching Award recognizes each year a graduate student who has demonstrated exemplary teaching. The award is intended to foster a culture of teaching excellence among graduate teaching assistants and instructors.

Each department may nominate one student for the award. Please submit the dossier to the Dean of Students Office at humdos@uchicago.edu no later than March 14, 2025.

Eligibility

All current doctoral students who have demonstrated substantial effectiveness in teaching prior to Winter 2024 are eligible for nomination. Students who have been nominated previously can be nominated again; however past award recipients will be ineligible for nomination.

Award amount and recognition

The 2025 awardee will receive a cash award of $1500, a certificate, and will be recognized at the Humanities Division Spring Convocation on Friday, June 6, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. in Rockefeller Chapel.

Examples of teaching excellence recognized by the Graduate Student Teaching Award can include, but are not limited to:

• outstanding teaching in the classroom
• creation or use of new and innovative teaching methods and course materials
• effectiveness in grading/feedback, review sessions or one-on-one instruction
• creation of challenging and innovative courses

Nomination Process

Complete nomination packets should be e-mailed as a pdf attachment to humdos@uchicago.edu Nominations may be submitted by the student’s faculty advisor and should describe the qualities and activities of the nominee that make him or her an excellent candidate for the award.

Nomination packages must include:

• A letter from the nominee’s faculty advisor summarizing the individual's teaching accomplishments.
• At least two, but no more than four, letters of recommendation from faculty, lecturers, current and former students taught, and other colleagues who have substantive knowledge of the nominee's teaching.
• Current CV
• Teaching portfolio or other supporting documentation, if available. For information about a teaching portfolio, see: https://teaching.uchicago.edu/consultations/consultations-gradstudents-and-postdocs/teaching-portfolio/

Letters of recommendation could address, among other things, the following:

• How accessible and supportive was the nominee?
• How well organized were the individual class sessions of the nominee?
• What types of learning activities and teaching strategies did the nominee use effectively?
• Did the nominee create a learning atmosphere in which all students feel respected?
• Did the nominee create outstanding teaching materials, e.g., a paper or project assignment, solution sets for homework, supplementary handouts, or samples of the nominee's feedback on student work?
• Did the nominee contribute to the teaching development of others, for example, contributions to regular TA meetings, TA training, and/or helpful feedback on teaching to peers?

Selection Process

The committee for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence will review all nominations. The committee includes the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division, the Deputy Dean(s) of the Division of the Humanities, and the Dean of Students of the Division of the Humanities.

Past Award Winners

• 2024 - Heather Glenny (ENGL)
• 2024 - Benjamin Diego (ARTH)
• 2023 - Laura Colaneri (RLL)
• 2022 - Sarah-Gray Lesley (ENGL)
• 2022 - Yael Flusser (CMPLT)
• 2021 - Zsofia Valyi-Nagy (ARTH)
• 2021 - Rebeca Velasquez (ENGL)
• 2020 – Zoe Hughes (ENGL)