Four UI faculty members win top teaching award

Four University of Iowa faculty members have won the 2015 President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence in recognition of their years of outstanding teaching.

The recipients are: Cinda Coggins-Mosher, lecturer in the Department of Rhetoric in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS); Kate Cowles, professor of statistics and actuarial science in CLAS; Marcy Rosenbaum, professor of family medicine in the Carver College of Medicine; and Sara Sanders, associate professor of social work in CLAS.

The award, which is administered by the UI Council on Teaching, was created in 2004 as a university-wide recognition for faculty members who have demonstrated a sustained, high level of teaching excellence.

Cinda Coggins-Mosher

Coggins-Mosher lectures in the Department of Rhetoric, develops curriculum and teaches online rhetoric courses for the Division of Continuing Education, works with the College of Education's Belin-Blank Center’s two-week summer BESTS program for students from China and Hong Kong, and directs the department’s Speaking Center.

She has on multiple occasions led the Professional Development Program for graduate teaching assistants in rhetoric. As an advisor and advocate not only for on- and off-campus undergraduates but also for high school students, English language learners, graduate students, and instructors in many capacities, Coggins-Mosher is committed to helping students develop critical thinking skills as well as habits of attentive listening and respect for civil discourse. She received the Collegiate Teaching Award in 2013 and the 2013-14 International Advocate Award from International Student and Scholar Services.

Kate Cowles

Cowles teaches students at all levels how to apply statistics to complex real-world problems. Her course in Bayesian Statistics (for which she wrote the textbook) draws students from a variety of disciplines including Pharmacy, Mechanical Engineering, Marketing, and Geography.

She has obtained grant funding to support undergraduate education projects, and is principal investigator for an NSF IGERT grant that provides funding and research opportunities for graduate trainees. She has been active with the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates (ICRU), and mentors students in the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics, which prepares underrepresented minority and disadvantaged students for graduate work in statistics. She was instrumental in the development of a new undergraduate certificate in large data analysis, which will be offered starting in fall 2015. She received the Collegiate Teaching Award in 2011 and the James N. Murray Faculty Award in 2001.

Marcy Rosenbaum

Rosenbaum’s teaching activities have encompassed all levels of learners including undergraduate students, medical and health professional students, residents, fellows, and faculty. She spearheaded the implementation of a comprehensive, integrated clinical communication curriculum that provides medical students with an experiential model for learning communication skills throughout their four year training.

She also developed and delivers—through the Masters in Medical Education degree program, and other programs—comprehensive training for faculty seeking to refine their teaching skills. Through her commitment to improving the skills of other educators, she has built a foundation that supports many more than those she works with directly. A highly sought after consultant and speaker, Rosenbaum regularly lectures nationally and internationally. She won the Collegiate Teaching award in 2004 and held the Dr. Harold A Myers Distinguished Professorship from 2009 to 2012.

Sara Sanders

Sanders directs the undergraduate program in the UI School of Social Work. In her teaching of undergraduate and graduate students alike, she combines high expectations, meaningful assignments, and an abundance of support in order to maximize student achievement. A strong believer in the “community as classroom,” she has provided students with invaluable public engagement and immersion experiences, not only in Iowa City but also in California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

In addition to her extensive and generous individual mentoring activities, she works to maintain a network of alumni mentors, and supervises a peer-mentoring program. She leads by example, and students are eager to emulate her compassionate commitment to persons served by the social work profession. The school’s undergraduate students have presented her with the annual “Distinguished Professor” award five times since 2005.