The iSchool recognized faculty and staff for their contributions to teaching and outstanding service to the School at a ceremony on May 6. Interim Dean Emily Knox presented plaques to the inaugural recipients of the Faculty Teaching Award, Adjunct Teaching Award, and Staff Excellence Award.
Faculty Teaching Award
Presented to Assistant Professor Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo
Madelyn Sanfilippo ensures that her teaching assistants understand the material and learn from the way she teaches and creates courses. Sanfilippo helps her teaching assistants become marketable job candidates. She has the ability to illuminate the tangible applications of academic research, guiding students in conducting research that is useful, needed, and of benefit to society as a whole. One nominator wrote, "She helps so many of us be the best, most creative, most useful (in the broadest sense of the word) researchers we can be."
Adjunct Teaching Award
Presented to Adjunct Lecturer Anne Barnhart
Anne Barnhart exemplifies the highest standards of teaching and mentorship in library and information science education. She brings creativity and intentionality to each course, designing learning experiences that prepare students for the profession. Barnhart's use of the "unconference format" invites students to shape the topics they explore based on their own interests and goals. She is not only student-centered but shows a similar dedication to peers, having organized a group of adjuncts to meet regularly, share classroom challenges, and brainstorm solutions.
Staff Excellence Award
Presented to Assistant to the Dean Christine Hopper
Since 2010, Christine Hopper has served as the assistant to four deans. In this role, Hopper has demonstrated excellence across a wide range of responsibilities and enhanced the image of the iSchool across campus in her interactions with other units. Throughout various periods of change, she has supported the work of the dean and been a trusted resource for faculty and staff on matters of university policy and procedure. Hopper has a high degree of professionalism and genuine concern for her staff and colleagues.