Four University of Iowa faculty members—Gail Bishop, Ray Fagenbaum, Cinda Coggins-Mosher, and Amy Strathman—were named winners of the inaugural Hubbard-Walder Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The new award is presented to UI faculty who have participated in a variety of university teaching (undergraduate, graduate or professional, classroom, one-on-one) and have contributed to curriculum and/or program development. Each recipient has a minimum six years of teaching experience at Iowa and will receive a $1,000 honorarium."

Strathman is an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Chemistry. Strathman’s role as associate professor of instruction was a new position for the department when she was named to the role in 2017 as she began to lead the Instructional Track Faculty (ITF). Strathman has become the teaching leader of the ITF and a mainstay in the department. ITF plays a critical role in teaching introductory courses General Chemistry I/II and Principles of Chemistry I/II. These courses are complex, have high student enrollment and large teams of teaching assistants, and are continually evolving. Strathman’s work has defined what is expected from the ITF track, as others have begun taking cues from her in developing approaches to teaching on a day-to-day and yearly basis. Strathman also helped pioneer a curriculum redesign of Principles of Chemistry I/II. This project involved integrating a new “chemical thinking” aspect. The project was in development since 2018 and was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic under Strathman’s leadership. Her leadership has set the example of ITF and tenure-track faculty that will last for many years.

Read the full article including profiles of the three other recipients.