Teaching Excellence Awardees - from past years

2023 Laureates

Hans Bork (Stanford) – Classics (Latin)/ Digital Humanities. Ph.D., UCLA 2018, M.A.; Washington University in St. Louis, 2011, B.A.; Classics, UMass Amherst, 2009, B.A.; English Literature, UMass Amherst, 2009.

I am one of the Latin Language and Literature faculty at the Stanford Department of Classics, though I like to think of myself as a "Historian of Language" — someone who studies not just how languages are used as they are, and why that is so, but also how languages change over time, and the social forces that cause them to change. As a result, I tend to teach and write about texts, people, and time periods that are “on the margins”: comedy and vernacular texts; the enslaved, itinerant performers, non-elite peoples. That is, non-“Classical” texts and topics. In both teaching and scholarship, my conviction is that history and literature are shaped as much by unknown participants and unnamed readers as by “big names.” I want my students to explore and think about history—literary, linguistic, temporal—as something vital in their daily lives. Something they participate in, and something they can change.

Seeta Chaganti (UC Davis) – English (Old and Middle English Literature); Ph.D., Yale University, 2001; M.A., Georgetown University, 1995; A.B., Harvard University, 1989

Seeta Chaganti joined the faculty of the UC Davis English department in 2001. She specializes in Old and Middle English poetry and its intersections with material culture. Her first book was The Medieval Poetics of the Reliquary (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). Her new book, Strange Footing (Chicago, 2018) argues that to medieval audiences, poetic form was a multimedia experience shaped by encounters with dance. In this work, she proposes a new method of reenacting medieval dance that draws upon experiences of watching contemporary dance. Her current work argues that early English law has enabled both state-sanctioned and extrajudicial violence in the US by naturalizing the relation between whiteness and property. 

Chaganti currently serves as a Trustee of the New Chaucer Society (2018-22); an Executive Board Member of Race before Race; and a member of Medievalists of Color.

I am an epidemiologist and have investigated topics from stress, to sleep, to the health of active-duty military personnel. In addition to research and teaching, I direct the Program in Human Biology at Stanford, the second largest major at Stanford. Human Biology is filled with wonderful students eager to pursue interdisciplinary training in order to address some of the most pressing problems facing humanity. 

Since starting my teaching career decades ago, I have been thankful for the opportunity to work with students. One of my favorite courses to teach is introduction to statistics, a delightful challenge because: students are required to take statistics for our major; statistics is, by reputation, extremely boring; and students need to additionally learn a coding language in this course, which many have avoided doing thus far. What I enjoy more than anything is seeing the confidence and ownership students gain with coding and statistics as the quarter progresses. That moment when students transition from dragging their feet and feeling anxious about their abilities to jogging along and asking questions and sharing new code with me – that is just the best.  

It’s hard to imagine anything more satisfying than the job we teachers have of allowing light into peoples’ lives in such a way that they see the world differently. In my mind, things that we don’t understand are opaque and have fuzzy outlines. I think of good teaching as helping to make one small part of the world clearer for students. That is what teaching means to me. 

Tom McEnaney. Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Spanish & Portuguese, and New Media, University of California, Berkeley. 

Tom McEnaney works on the history of media and technology, Argentine, Cuban, and U.S. literature, sound studies, linguistic anthropology, computational (digital) humanities, and new media studies. For McEnaney, the classroom is a laboratory where ideas can be tested and new creations made, a forum where students are challenged to learn to listen to one another, and a community in which they can place their trust in order to be receptive to different perspectives. He has devoted the last decade to creating welcoming and challenging classes that emphasize the importance of academic research in today’s technologically and culturally diverse world. Working in different media such as podcasting, 3D printing, and Excel spreadsheets, McEnaney strives to give students different avenues to reflect on the meaning, value, and relevance of the materials they study. He cares deeply about how material differences change meaning; the medium matters because it helps students consider how meaning changes when one encounters the same basic message on Twitter, in a novel, or on TV. Working in different media helps students understand the unique capabilities of writing text and, in McEnaney’s experience, vastly improves their appreciation for and talent for essay writing. In addition to teaching in the classroom, McEnaney has devoted years to diversity training workshops, student outreach, recruitment, and mentorship. 

Esther Yu. Assistant Professor of English Esther Yu, Stanford University.

As a fellow at the Stanford Humanities Center, Esther Yu has been working on a forthcoming book, Experiencing the Novel: The Genre of Tender Conscience, which argues that subjects in seventeenth-century England claimed political voices through identifying as what they called “tender consciences.” The convictions of Yu’s research have thoroughly informed her pedagogical principles even during these trying times, for as early modern “tender consciences” realized, developing dispositions of care and sensitivity—even to texts that seem strange or initially difficult or irrelevant—can yield world-historical consequences.

Yu is especially mindful of the cultural divide that makes it difficult to ask students grappling with so many crises at once to read epic poems and epistolary novels with the intense receptivity that they require. But it is a challenge she feels especially compelled to take up, not least of all because of her own oblique relationship as a postcolonial subject and minority scholar to the archive of English literature. Yu encourages students from diverse backgrounds to recognize the interpretive urgency—and creative, transformative possibilities—that attend experiences of textual distance and cultural alienation or hostility.

2022 Laureates

Michael Dylan Foster, Ph.D., Dept. of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Professor and Chair, UC Davis

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/N7jqioAyirI

He completed his studies at Stanford, Kanagawa (Japan), UCB, and Wesleyan. His book about Japanese folklore entitled “The Book of Yokai” is available on Amazon and as an audiobook on Audible. The student who nominated him described how Dr. Foster made Japanese folklore a relevant and powerful tool for understanding oneself and others in today’s western culture.

Laura D. Gutiérrez, Ph.D., Dept. of History, Assistant Professor, University of the Pacific is at the forefront of current debates over diversity, equity, and inclusion. Border studies is her primary focus, and her recent research centers on the history of Mexican deportations in the US. Dr. Gutiérrez completed her training at USC, Stanford, and UCSD. Her nominator described the many creative and innovative techniques used by Dr. Gutiérrez to foster personal connections between students and the history that they are learning. 

  Claire Waters, Ph.D., (Hasenkamp Award) Dept. of English, Affiliated Faculty - Program in Classics, Dept. of French and Italian, Professor and Chair, UC Davis, PBK Northwestern 1991. 

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/9bC3A9IHa2s

Her primary research area is late medieval literature (Middle English and Latin). Aside from being a much-beloved professor, Dr. Waters has received many awards and accolades, and her publishing accomplishments are impressive. Her nominator described her as dedicated, devoted, and fun. Indeed, one of her current works is entitled “Mystics, Goddesses, Lovers, and Teachers.” Dr. Waters completed her studies at Harvard, Cambridge, and Northwestern and was inducted into PBK in 1991. 

Clancy Wilmott, Ph.D., Dept. of Geography and Berkeley Center for New Media, Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley.

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/ylniX-u8uZA

Highly accomplished in her field, Dr. Clancy Wilmott is passionate about ensuring success and self-empowerment for all students, including those who have historically been deterred from pursuing math, technology, and data science owing to institutional barriers. Her student nominator characterized her as possessing “signature humor, warmth, and panache.” The following is an excerpt from Dr. Wilmott's nomination letter: "When Professor Wilmott comes up in conversation, I don’t have the time to exchange this story and communicate to people the incalculable ways she has impacted my life, especially with everyone else chiming in to praise her, so I’m nominating her for this award in the hope that she gets the recognition she deserves - not just for the way she has impacted my life, but the way I know she impacts the lives of every person who is lucky enough to find their way into her classroom."

2020 Laureates

R. Lanier Anderson, J.E. Wallace Sterling Prof. in Humanities, Sr Associate Dean of Humanities and Arts, Dept. of Philosophy, Stanford University

Despite being exceptionally busy as chair and now Dean, Professor Anderson often spends up to an hour after class answering clarifying questions or delving into a deeper discussion. Crucially, he never makes students feel bad for taking up his time or that he is eager to leave the conversation and go elsewhere. His attention to a student in the moment is absolute, the kind of affirming encouragement that tells us that we are a priority. … Professor Anderson’s commitment to student engagement helps students develop analytical abilities that they can then deploy, in his class, in service of questions of personal, intellectual import. … Not only is he a remarkable researcher, but it is also clear that he cares deeply about teaching. He is an animated teacher, bringing to life the stakes of an argument and hooking his students immediately.

Philosophy is notorious for joining math and physics as the disciplines perceived as “genius” fields, a distinction that brings with it shocking demographics with a dearth of women and people of color. … it’s important that faculty members [do as Professor Anderson does to] help build up a culture of encouragement, so that the work is not left to the few role models of underrepresented identities. Professor Anderson has been a crucial mentor and advocate for me, helping me to see myself as belonging in philosophy.

Barbara Barnes, Dept. of Gender and Women’s Studies, U.C. Berkeley

Dr. Barnes is a legend among students, who often arrive early to discuss her previous lectures, sharing epiphanies with each other. Her syllabi contain a balanced mix of foundational texts and newly published works; thus, her students receive a grounded understanding of the history and context of each topic while also responding to recent scholarly discussions. Her readings demand an understanding of complex theories across multiple fields of inquiry. To ensure that each student fully comprehends these concepts, Dr. Barnes establishes a culture of inclusion within the classroom, and this sense of belonging increases trust and safety so that each student feels personally invited to participate….

Dr. Barnes’ lectures are engaging and inspiring. She sparks the imagination and encourages cutting edge ideas. She teaches people how to think critically about the world in which we live while creating a safe environment wherein students learn, explore, and innovate. She does this by perfectly balancing the material she teaches with student participation. Dr. Barnes embodies a level of skill and talent that is extremely rare.

Stephen Hinshaw, Dept. of Psychology, U.C. Berkeley

Stephen Hinshaw perfectly walks the line between someone distraught by the past and present societal practices around mental illness and someone who is wonderfully hopeful that society can change. He encouraged empathy and understanding supremely. He challenged students to critically think, constantly question, and never fall victim to groupthink. Professor Hinshaw could powerfully articulate the troubles in the mental health field while still leaving students with a sense of optimism and power to change. Never before have I had the privilege of experiencing such a thoughtful, driven, and accomplished teacher on a regular basis. My time in his class is one of the most cherished times in my life. He is incredibly deserving of this amazing honor.

Scott D. Sagan, Dept. of Political Science, Stanford University

… In almost every meeting, the central question Professor Sagan would raise was how our work would support the praxis of the policy world. … the quality of his work that I most admire is his capacity to use a thorough inspection of philosophy and history to guide pragmatic policy recommendations. Above all, Professor Sagan is a caring mentor. Though Professor Sagan’s expectations for his students are the highest, I am inspired by his open-mindedness and humility. He listens to my ideas, considers every edit or direction I suggest, critiques my work with honest and helpful comments, and encourages me to publish my own writing. The respect and kindness Professor Sagan shows to his students was evident at a Stanford event in DC this July. Several former research assistants and students showed up to hear his talk, and after the event, we all got together to reminisce over how much we appreciated his guidance and mentorship. Truly, this network of Sagan students is remarkable; grounded by his example, Professor Sagan’s students are eager mentors and have helped me find my own professional and personal directions.