Four University of Iowa faculty members were awarded the University of Iowa’s top honor in recognition of their years of outstanding teaching.
The 2022 President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence was awarded to Kathleen Andersen, associate in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Carver College of Medicine; Samuel Burer, professor of business analytics in the Tippie College of Business; Donna D’Alesandro, professor of pediatrics in the Carver College of Medicine; and Colleen Mitchell, associate professor of mathematics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The award, created in 2004, is given to instructors who have a sustained record of teaching excellence and can demonstrate commitment to student learning and success in and out of the classroom. Each winner will receive a $3,000 honorarium.
KATHLEEN ANDERSEN
Kathleen Andersen has been a member of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Carver College of Medicine since 1992, hired first as a lecturer and then promoted to an associate-level position in 2017. Andersen is an early adopter of a student-centered learning approach and is known for her innovative teaching style. In 2020, she received recognition by the Iowa Association of Nurse Anesthetists for outstanding teaching, and the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences enjoys a #4 ranking among over 250 academic departments across the United States (US News and World Report, 2021) thanks in part to her teaching. She is also involved in the development and renewal of curricula, and her course reviews are regularly in the 99th percentile.
SAMUEL BURER
Samuel Burer is a 21-year member of the Tippie College of Business, starting as an assistant professor in the Department of Management Sciences in 2001 and promoted to professor in the Department of Business Analytics, then-called the Department of Management Sciences, in 2012. A top-25 program in the nation, the Master’s in Business Analytics program is one of the fastest-growing graduate degrees on campus thanks to Burer’s contributions. He was named Core Faculty of the Year in 2016 and Strategic Innovation Faculty Member of the Year in 2013. Additionally, he won the G.R.E.A.T Faculty Award and was selected in spring 2020 for the highest teaching honor in the College of Business—the Collegiate Teaching Award, which was chosen by a committee of faculty.
DONNA D’ALESSANDRO
Donna D’Alessandro has been a faculty member at Iowa for 26 years and is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Carver College of Medicine. D’Alessandro has taught medical students and residents in pediatrics, family medicine, and dentistry, becoming a leader in medical education across the country. In 2012, she was named Teacher of the Year in Pediatrics and was elected to the National Academy of Distinguished Educators in Pediatrics. Additionally, she has developed 12 digital libraries and numerous peer-reviewed articles on medical and educational informatics, which have reached millions of learners through digital platforms.
COLLEEN MITCHELL
Colleen Mitchell, associate professor of mathematics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been a faculty member at Iowa for 16 years, winning the 2011 Collegiate Teaching Award. The program Math Platoon, organized by the Iowa Veteran Education, Transition, and Support (IVETS) office with support from Mitchell and two teaching assistants, resulted in her being named the 2020 University of Iowa Veteran’s Affairs Outstanding Faculty Advocate. Since 2016, Mitchell has supervised 11 teaching practicum students and is the director of the UI Sloan Center of Exemplary Mentoring, focused on the success of underrepresented minority PhD students in STEM.