Lecturer Award for Teaching and Undergraduate Education
Created in 2024, these university-wide awards exclusively celebrate lecturers and their important contributions to Stanford’s educational mission.
The Lecturer Award for Teaching and Undergraduate Education is open to any core lecturer, currently appointed at 75% time or more with teaching-related activities in three consecutive quarters each academic year. This award is intended for lecturers who work with undergraduates or who have been appointed in the undergraduate schools. Three awards will be given this year.
The award is supported by the deans of the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE), and administered by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).
Criteria
This award is intended to recognize the many ways that lecturers contribute to university life and undergraduate education, including:
- Distinguished teaching
- Pedagogical or curricular innovation
- Contributions to undergraduate education and the university’s academic mission over time
- Outstanding mentorship and advising of students, colleagues, or both
Nomination process
Who may nominate?
Nominations will be accepted from any administrator, advisor, faculty member, or lecturer at Stanford to recognize the excellence of their lecturer colleagues.
Nominations of groups of lecturers (in cases of collective achievement) will be accepted.
Only one letter is necessary to support a nomination, though stronger nominations typically include two to three letters of support (total) from colleagues and students; that number generally provides the selection committee a fuller understanding of the nominee’s contributions to teaching and undergraduate education, while a higher number of letters generally does not add helpful additional information.
Nominators may include supporting materials, such as course evaluations, for review by the selection committee.
Why nominate?
To recognize lecturers’ depth of experience with and insight into undergraduate education and acknowledge those lecturers whose extraordinary efforts have improved the classroom, pedagogy, student engagement, collaboration, and the overall learning experience at Stanford.
Each award carries a monetary award and public recognition.
When do I nominate?
The nomination period for the Lecturer Award for Teaching and Undergraduate Education is currently closed. Nominations typically open early in the calendar year and close by early spring.
If you have questions regarding the nomination process or other aspects of the lecturer award, please contact lecturerawards@stanford.edu.
How do I nominate?
Complete this brief nomination form to nominate a lecturer for this award.
If you plan to nominate more than one person for separate achievements, please submit another form.
How are winners selected?
Each year, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education convenes the Lecturer Award Committee, which follows a process to solicit nominations, and choose the recipients. Members of the selection committee are drawn from past recipients as well as faculty and lecturers from a range of schools and disciplines. The committee is staffed by the Center for Teaching and Learning as a non-voting member.
When are the winners announced?
The award recipients for 2024–2025 were announced in June, and will be formally acknowledged at a celebration later this year.
Lecturer Award 2024–2025 Winners
Learn more about our 2024–25 winners
- Marcelo Clerici-Arias, Department of Economics
- Ross Venook, Department of Bioengineering
- Julie Zelenski, Department of Computer Science
Lecturer Award 2023–2024 Winners
Learn more about our 2023–24 winners
- Cathy Haas, Advanced Lecturer, Stanford Language Center
- Aleta Hayes, Senior Lecturer, Theater and Performance Studies
- Jamie Imam, Advanced Lecturer, Biology
- Elizabeth Kessler, Advanced Lecturer, American Studies