A big THANK YOU to all who participated in the 2021 SLS teaching award selection by reading through the entries and voting!

We invited faculty who have been teaching SLS-affiliated courses during the pandemic to submit short write-ups describing how they successfully pivoted their courses in the context of COVID-19.  We received eleven entries across four colleges that described challenges, joys, and victories experienced while incorporating sustainability and/or community engagement into teaching amidst the challenges of the pandemic.  

The submissions reflect creative, compassionate, and flexible teaching that enhanced learning and supported student well-being under very trying circumstances. Did you miss the reflection? Read through the SLS faculty teaching award entries here.

We published these faculty stories in an SLS reflection on February 1st and invited readers to vote by ranking them before the end of the day on February 5th. We are very pleased to announce the results of the online voting (with 100 readers participating):

First Prize ($1,000 award): Julia Tigner, School of Literature, Media, and Communication

Julia responded with this further reflection on her experience teaching during the pandemic:

I appreciate the recognition and opportunity to reflect; 2020 was a year filled with significant challenges for working and living, including adapting courses for remote learning. I am especially inspired by the ingenuity of my fellow colleagues and I am happy to be in the company of those committed to building sustainable communities. My teaching is grounded in creating an inclusive and engaging experience for all students. For example, their multimodal projects (including New Yorker style profiles and picture books) described in my entry,  gave students a chance to enter current conversations around social justice, particularly its impact on monuments in public spaces and engage in intellectual discourse regarding how the concept of liminality  (what it means to be in states of in-betweenness) manifests itself in their own lives as first-year students transitioning to collegiate life during a global health crisis.

Runners Up ($500 award):

Dylan Brewer, School of Economics

Jairo Garcia, School of City and Regional Planning

Allen Hyde, School of History and Sociology

Sabir Khan, School of Architecture and School of Industrial Design

Honorable Mention (listed in alphabetical order; each will receive a gift associated with an SLS Social Innovation partner):

Mirjana Milosevic-Brockett, School of Biological Sciences

Michael Nitsche, School of Literature, Media, and Communication

Elora Raymond, School of City and Regional Planning

Jennifer Singh, School of History and Sociology

Emily Weigel, School of Biological Sciences

Chen Zhou, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Congratulations to all the 2021 SLS Sustainable Communities Teaching Award Winners!! Your partners at SLS are thankful to be working with such dedicated, creative, and effective instructors.