NDSU’s Graduate School and the Office of Teaching and Learning partnered to offer an Excellence in Instruction Award to recognize graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) for their efforts to improve teaching and learning on campus. In April, 17 individuals were nominated, of those, two individuals were selected to receive this award by a panel of NDSU instructors.
The two recipients of this year’s award are:
- Garrett Byron, Psychology, Ph.D. program
- Stephanie Lemmer, English, Ph.D. program
Nominators praised Stephanie Lemmer for her versatility in teaching almost every course in the NDSU vertical curriculum writing program, first-year writing to upper division courses. Dr. Lisa Arnold, associate professor in English, noted in her nomination of Lemmer, "Stephanie is an extremely serious, thoughtful, and committed instructor. She volunteers to take on new courses because she desires to consistently develop her teaching skills in a range of contexts." Lemmer works as a community builder on campus and beyond it through her efforts, encouraging an inclusive learning environment.
Garrett Byron received similar praises from nominators for his teaching in the psychology program. Dr. Clayton Hilmert, associate professor in psychology, described Byron as "clearly showing he has the essential skills of developing collegial relationships with students and responding in a clear, helpful manner to serve their needs." Byron has taught a variety of courses within the program, and demonstrated creativity and integrity in delivering excellence for NDSU students.
These two GTAs received this award on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in a special ceremony held at the NDSU GradHub in the Main Library.
All nominated graduate teaching assistants had similar high praises for their impact on the campus. They all deserve recognition for their efforts to provide excellence for NDSU students.
Nominees include:
- Alexandra (Alex) Rowe,
- Arun Govindankutty,
- Arvin Samadi,
- Charles Fabijanic,
- Emily Hackerson,
- Jonathan (Johnny) Nguyen,
- Lauren Hengel,
- Lauren Drotts,
- Leah Wolden,
- Matthew Goldsmith,
- Md Shariful Islam,
- Philip Salu,
- Rica Saludares,
- Subashini Varadharajan, and
- Tyler Waltz.
The award recipients will also be recognized at our annual Teaching and Learning Conference on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, as well as at the annual Graduate Teaching and Learning Conference on Monday, August 14, 2023.