In today's educational landscape, exceptional teachers are the cornerstone of student growth and success. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's 2025 teaching awards highlight innovative educators whose approaches are transforming classrooms and inspiring learners.
Celebrating Pedagogical Excellence
In 2025, this world-renowned institution honored twelve distinguished faculty members across various disciplines. These educators have demonstrated remarkable commitment to teaching innovation, student engagement, and inclusive pedagogy. Their approaches offer valuable insights into effective teaching practices that benefit both students and the broader educational community.
Recipient of the William H. Kiekhofer Teaching Award , Andersen revolutionized language instruction through interactive role-playing scenarios. His simulated environments—from German tourists asking for directions to marketplace interactions—create immersive cultural experiences that boost both linguistic competence and intercultural understanding.
Awarded the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award for innovation, Barford bridges theory and practice through project-based learning. His students tackle real-world computing challenges, developing both technical skills and creative problem-solving abilities that prepare them for industry demands.
The Emil H. Steiger Teaching Award recognized Coon's transformative lab curriculum that emphasizes scientific rigor and discovery. Her approach cultivates independent thinking as students design and execute original experiments, mirroring authentic research processes.
Winner of the Chancellor's Inclusive Excellence Teaching Award , Delgadillo creates classroom spaces where students share personal narratives to examine cultural identity and social justice. This dialogic pedagogy fosters deep engagement with diverse perspectives.
Earning the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award , Eklund applies psychological principles to help students understand their learning processes. Her metacognitive strategies empower learners to identify effective study methods tailored to their needs.
Through community-engaged projects, Gaddis connects coursework with real social challenges. Students develop practical solutions while gaining firsthand understanding of civic responsibility—an approach that extends education beyond campus boundaries.
Hoyt's multimedia-rich courses develop critical media literacy. Students analyze and produce content across platforms, gaining skills to navigate today's complex information landscape while finding their unique creative voices.
Honored with the Van Hise Outreach Teaching Award , Roback partners students with local organizations to apply statistical methods to community issues. These collaborations demonstrate statistics' real-world impact while developing professional skills.
Treves' interdisciplinary approach examines the intersection of ecology and policy. His Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award -winning courses challenge students to develop environmentally sustainable solutions that consider social and economic factors.
Trowbridge's field-based instruction brings biological concepts to life. Through outdoor explorations, students develop observation skills and ecological awareness while collecting authentic scientific data in natural environments.
A Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award recipient, Wickens fosters collaborative learning through guided inquiry. His small-group discussions and discovery-based experiments help students master complex chemical concepts while developing teamwork abilities.
The Ripple Effect of Teaching Excellence
These educators demonstrate how innovative teaching practices can transform student learning experiences. Their approaches—whether through community engagement, inclusive pedagogies, experiential learning, or technology integration—share common threads: active student participation, real-world relevance, and thoughtful assessment of learning outcomes.
Recognition programs like UW-Madison's teaching awards serve multiple purposes. They validate educators' efforts, disseminate effective practices across disciplines, and reinforce institutional commitment to teaching excellence. As these twelve awardees illustrate, exceptional teaching isn't about flashy techniques but about fundamentally rethinking how students engage with knowledge.
In an era of rapid technological change and evolving student needs, the work of these faculty members offers a roadmap for the future of higher education. Their dedication reminds us that at its core, great teaching remains a profoundly human endeavor—one that shapes not just academic success but the citizens and leaders of tomorrow.