Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award
The Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award honors graduate student Teachers of Record who were able to balance their own studies and responsibilities while demonstrating excellence as classroom instructors. To qualify, a person must have taught at least three classroom instruction or two lab instruction credit hours as a Teacher of Record during the semester. Nominees are chosen based on student evaluations and the input of their Graduate Program Director, with a maximum of two nominations from each department. Previous winners are ineligible to apply for a second award. Nominees are informed of their selection and offered the opportunity to apply for the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award. Applications include a statement of teaching philosophy, a list of participation in programs to develop teaching skills, recommendation letters from both a mentor and a classroom student, and the complete student evaluations from all courses taught during the semester. A panel of judges ranks each application to choose the top outstanding award recipient.
The award is given in the areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM Class Instruction, and STEM Lab Instruction, for a total of 4 awards per semester, recognized at the annual Graduate School Recognition Luncheon. Recipients are honored at the luncheon, given a plaque to commemorate their achievement, and granted an additional travel award to be used to attend a conference. They may alternately opt for the purchase of their doctoral hood and tam.
Note: As of the 2023-24 award cycle, criteria for the award changed, including allowing graduating students to be eligible for the award, reducing the nominees per department from three to two, and separating the STEM category into Classroom and Lab Instruction.
2024-2025 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award Winners
STEM Classroom Instruction — Fall 2024
STEM Classroom Instruction — Spring 2025
Past Award Recipients
Humanities Fall 2023 | Levi Durham | Philosophy |
Social Sciences Fall 2023 | Maggie Bryant | Curriculum & Instruction |
STEM Classroom Insruction Fall 2023 | Ernesto Quevedo Caballero | Computer Science |
STEM Lab Instruction Fall 2023 | Leticia Cherpe De Souza | Health, Human Performance & Recreation |
Humanities Spring 2024 | Dr. Rich Eva | Philosophy |
Social Sciences Spring 2024 | Elizabeth Harrelson Magill | Curriculum & Instruction |
STEM Classroom Insruction Spring 2024 | Mattie Robison | Public Health |
STEM Lab Instruction Spring 2024 | Tolulope Ojo | Biology |
Maggi Jones, Department of Religion
Ben Phillips, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Matthew Reising, Department of Political Science
Michael Ryan, Department of Sociology
Owen Salmon, Department of Health Human Performance and Recreation, Exercise & Nutrition PhD program
Kaitlyn Waynen, Department of History
Katherine Goodwin, Department of History
Cordell Hammon, Department of Mathematics
Maryann Hebda, Department of Educational Psychology
Jose Seiba Moris, Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation
Tyler Mowry, Department of Religion
Nori Ryland, Department of Educational Psychology
David Skowronski, Department of Philosophy
Honorable Mention: Maggi Jones, Department of Religion
Rebecca Bonhag, Department of Sociology
Christina Lambert, Department of English
Patrick Ortiz, Department of Biology
Nate Scholten, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Holly Spofford, Department of English
Jonathan Stanfill, Department of Mathematics
Note: The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the award cycle in 2020 and 2021.
Amanda Hernandez, Department of Sociology
Mads Reynolds, Department of Mathematics
Julia Robinson, Department of Public Health
Christopher Ruiz, Department of Political Science
Taylor Thompson, Department of Mathematics
Matt Turnbull, Department of English
Nicholas Colgrove, Department of Philosophy
James Davidson, Department of Sociology
Sara Dye, Department of English
Samantha Hodges, Department of BioMedical Studies
Tori Hudgins, Department of Mathematics
Kenneth Vaughan, Department of Sociology
Kristina Amrani, Department of Health and Human Performance
Dani Crain, Department of Biology
Corina Kaul, Department of Educational Psychology
Blake Kent, Department of Sociology
Elise Leal, Department of History
Nicholas Werse, Department of Religion
Adina Johnson, Department of History
Keith Kerschen, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Justin Nelson, Department of Sociology
Scott Ryan, Department of Religion
Erica Swindle, Department of Mathematics
Meredith Hoyland, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
Grace Aquino, Department of Environmental Science
Olivia Carroll, Department of Political Science
Nathan Cartagena, Department of Philosophy
Megan Haggard, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
Michael Milovich, Department of Information Systems
Amy Schroeder, Department of English
Courtney Bailey Parker, Department of English
Tom Carpenter, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
Todd Ferguson, Department of Sociology
Jeremy Leatham, Department of English
Huy Nguyen, Department of Mathematics
Nathan Warf, Department of Political Science
Scott Cleveland, Department of Philosophy
David Echelbarger, Department of Philosophy
Dana Horgen, Department of Chemistry
Brandon Martinez, Department of Sociology
Jessica Stewart, Department of Mathematics
Joshua Tom, Department of Sociology
Jill Estes, Department of Health, Human Performance & Recreation
Colby Moore, Department of Biology
Matt Moser, Department of Religion
Amy Rozzi, Department of Statistics
Sunny Wells, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Tate Barrett, Department of Environmental Science
Kristin Connors, Department of Biomedical Studies
Christina Crenshaw, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Shanna Granstra, Department of Sociology
Ginger Hanchey, Department of English
Nathan Kilpatrick, Department of English
Aiyana Henry, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Martin Husemann, Department of Biology
Megan Johnson, BIC
Tommy Pettit, Department of Biology
Josh Stigall, Department of Religion
Andrew Whitehead, Department of Sociology
Bethany Bear, Department of English
Mark Boone, Department of Philosophy
Anica Debelica, Department of Biology
Angela Douglass, Department of Physics
Bethany Smith, Department of English
Tracey Sulak, Department of Psychology
Amy Antoninka, Department of Philosophy
Adrienne Atkins, Department of English
Jennifer Mills, Department of English
Kathleen Miller, Department of English
Lewis Pearson, Department of Philosophy
Joel Schwartz, Department of Philosophy
David Alexander, Department of Philosophy
Kristen Beavers, Department of Health, Human Performance, & Recreation
Lydia Cooper, Department of English
Leslie B. Jones, Department of Mathematics
Ginger Stelle, Department of English
Tiffany Turner, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry