Four University of Iowa faculty members are recipients of the 2024 President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence, recognizing their exceptional and ongoing contributions to student learning and success.
Established in 2004 by the UI Council on Teaching, the President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence is the university’s highest honor for teaching. Each year, the council selects three clinical-track or tenure-track faculty members and one instructional-track or adjunct faculty member to receive the award.
This year’s recipients are David Asprey, professor of physician assistant studies in the Carver College of Medicine; Naomi Greyser, associate professor in American studies; English; and gender, women’s, and sexuality studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Justin Sipla, clinical instructor of anatomy and cell biology in the Carver College of Medicine; and Sudhakar Subramani, clinical professor of anesthesia in the Carver College of Medicine.
The four awardees embody the university's commitment to excellence in teaching and learning and serve as inspirational examples of the impact the UI faculty can have on their students.
David Asprey
Asprey is professor and chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies and Services in the Carver College of Medicine. During his 33 years as an educator at Iowa, he has received the 2007 Carver College of Medicine collegiate teaching award, the 2011 Ben Pardini Interdisciplinary Teaching Award, and was named the Denis R. Oliver Endowed Chair in 2022. Asprey is nationally renowned for innovative educational programming in his field, and Iowa’s physician assistant program has become a model for other institutions. His teaching methods emphasize accountability, engagement, and compassion for his students’ well-being.
Naomi Greyser
Greyser has been a faculty member in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 2008 and holds appointments in the departments of American Studies; Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies (GWSS); and English. She received the Graduate College Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2022 and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Collegiate Teaching Award in 2015. As director of Graduate Studies in GWSS, she has earned a reputation as an especially thoughtful mentor who expertly supports students’ writing and research. Greyser is also known for cultivating learning environments where students can be creative thinkers and problem-solvers. She enjoys making space for unpredictability, revisiting assumptions, rich engagement with aesthetics, and the joy of discovery within and beyond the classroom.
Sipla is a clinical instructor in the Carver College of Medicine’s Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. During his 13 years as a faculty member, he received the Carver College of Medicine’s M1/PA1 Professor of the Year award four times and was selected by the 2022 graduating class to deliver the graduation keynote address. He played a key role in transforming the college’s medical curriculum in 2014, attending neurology and psychiatry clerkships along with his students to optimize the relevance of course material. His work increased the medical students’ ranking in neuroscience education at Iowa from the 10th percentile nationally to the 90th percentile. He recently published his approach to neuroscience education, and students at other universities are using his handouts to supplement their education.
Sudhakar Subramani
Subramani has been a faculty member in the Carver College of Medicine for more than 11 years. In addition to his clinical schedule, he is a dedicated educator and mentor. He received the Department of Anesthesia’s Resident Excellence in Teaching Award for 2017-18 and 2019-20, and the Resident Teacher of the Year Award in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Through his innovative curriculum development and focus on providing direct clinical training opportunities, Subramani has had a profound impact on the next generation of anesthesiologists.