Teaching Recognition Program Award
Introduction
Learn more about the Teaching Recognition Program (TRP).
Introducing the 2026 TRP Awardees
Stacy Arriola
Stacy Arriola
Population Health Nursing Science
Nursing
Kamran Avanaki
Kamran Avanaki
Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering
Engineering; Medicine – Chicago
Gonzalo Bello Lander
Gonzalo Bello Lander
Computer Science
Engineering
Liza Calisesi Maidens
Liza Calisesi Maidens
Music
Architecture, Design, & the Arts
Debaleena Chattopadhyay
Debaleena Chattopadhyay
Computer Science
Engineering
Jeffrey Cheung
Jeffrey Cheung
Medical Education
Medicine – Chicago
Eman Elturki
Eman Elturki
English
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Jonathan Komperda
Jonathan Komperda
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Engineering
Steven Miller
Steven Miller
Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences
Dentistry
Michael Mills
Michael Mills
Biological Sciences
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Michael Muller
Michael Muller
Biological Sciences
Liberal Arts and Sciences; Honors College
Jeremy Riel
Jeremy Riel
Educational Psychology
Education
Eric Swirsky
Eric Swirsky
Biomedical and Health Information Sciences
Applied Health Sciences; Medicine – Chicago
Toni Van Denend
Toni Van Denend
Occupational Therapy
Applied Health Sciences
Thomas Webb
Thomas Webb
Family and Community Medicine
Medicine – Rockford
Anthony Woldeit
Anthony Woldeit
Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science
Liberal Arts and Sciences
2024 TRP Recipients Share their Teaching Experience
These short videos describe teaching strategies, technology innovations, and other tools used by UIC instructors spanning a variety of disciplines, class sizes, and course levels. They were created by instructors themselves and produced by the team at The Studio. They are valuable resources for future TRP applicants and the broader UIC community.
Karen Su
Clinical Associate Professor, Global Asian Studies, GLAS Director of Undergraduate Studies
Karen Su discusses how she brings her whole self into building a sense of community in the classroom, is inspired by the work of Grace Lee Boggs, as well as prioritizing reflection and creativity.
James Wesley Cooper
Clinical Assistant Professor, Managerial Studies, College of Business Administration
James Wesley Cooper promotes the use of a structured improvisation teaching framework he developed to incorporate moment-to-moment reflection in action to move students toward a desired learning outcome.
Kathryn Vanderzwan
Director, Schwartz Simulation Lab and Clinical Learning Resource Center; Clinical Assistant Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing
Kathryn Vanderzwan advocates for using a student-learner-centered teaching method which has been shown to increase student success and promote job satisfaction among nurse educators.
Jessica Shaw
Associate Professor, Community and Applied Developmental Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Jessica Shaw highlights the creation and fostering of a co-learning environment that honors multiple ways of knowing and the unique knowledge that each person brings to the classroom.
Shanon Reckinger
Clinical Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering
Shanon Reckinger discusses how she uses “Easter eggs” to keep her students engaged using color-coded materials.
Jonathan Fisher
Teaching Associate Professor, Health Sciences Education and Pathology, College of Medicine – Peoria
Jonathan Fisher speaks of the positive outcomes of creating an engaging and welcoming classroom environment to capture students’ attention.
Leah Lebowicz
Program Director, Biomedical Visualization, Biomedical and Health Information Sciences; Clinical Assistant Professor, Biomedical and Health Information Sciences, College of Applied Health Sciences
Leah Lebowicz promotes the benefits of prioritizing technical skills as well as a comprehensive understanding of educational principles to grasp the neuroscience of learning and its psychological dimensions.
Past Teaching Recognition Program Recipients
2025
1
- Zabihulla Ahmadi, Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry
- Andrea Bassett, Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Becky Bonarek, Tutorium in Intensive English, UIC Tutorium
- Krishni Burns, Classics and Mediterranean Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Daysi Diaz-Strong, Social Work, Jane Addams College of Social Work
- Christopher Estabrook, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Anne Fink, Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing
- Robin Gayle, English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
2
- Jaira Harrington, Black Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Rooshey Hasnain, Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences
- Jeffrey Kessler, English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Anna Kozlowska-Barrios, University Library, Honors College
- Jennifer Maffucci, Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing
- Elizabeth Porter, Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health
- Arthi Rao, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
- Yeow Siow, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering
2024
1
- James Cooper, Managerial Studies, School of Business Administration
- Jonathan Fisher, Health Sciences Education and Pathology, College of Medicine
- Yuheng Hu, Information and Decision Sciences, Business Administration
- Leah Lebowicz, Biomedical and Health Information Sciences, College of Applied Health Sciences
- Eric Leshikar, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Carrie Pichan, Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Luis Gabriel Ganchinho de Pina, Computer Science, College of Engineering
- Kim Potowski, Hispanic and Italian Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
2
- Shanon Reckinger, Computer Science, College of Engineering
- Kristine Schutz, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
- Jessica Shaw, Psychology, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Karen Su, Global Asian Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Swee Tan, Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry
- Rebecca Teasdale, Educational Psychology, College of Education
- Kathryn Vanderzwan, Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing
- Judy Yuan, Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry
2023
1
- Shavila Devi, Department of Math Statistics and Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Mohammed Elnagar, Department of Orthodontics, College of Dentistry
- Hananeh Esmailbeigi, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Colleges of Engineering and Medicine – Chicago
- Caludia Fernandez, Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Mark Hallenbeck, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering
- Jennifer Jones, Department of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Robin Johnson, Department of Human Development Nursing Science, College of Nursing
- Jim Kosmach, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
2
- Laura Meyer-Junco, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy
- Adam Mikolajczyk, Department of Medicine – CS; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, College of Medicine – Chicago
- Luma Odeh, Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry
- Junaid Quadri, Department of History and Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Renata Revelo, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
- Tolou Shoukuhfar, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Colleges of Engineering and Medicine – Chicago
- Lindsey Strieter, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences
- Rebecca Woodard, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
2022 TRP Recipients
1
- John-Jairo Betancur, Department of Urban Planning and Policy, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
- Frank Borgers, Health Policy and Administration, College of School of Public Health
- Katherine Caldwell, Department of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences
- Virginia Costello, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Marlowe Djuric Kachlic, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy
- Asha Eapen, Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry
- Christina Nicholas, Department of Orthodontics, College of Dentistry
2
- Alyson Patsavas, Department of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences
- Edward Podsiadlik, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
- Gayatri Reddy, Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Rebecca Singer, Population Health Nursing Science, College of Nursing
- Pavan Srivastava, Department of Medicine and Pediatrics, College of Medicine – Chicago
- Elizabeth Todd-Breland, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Lieke van Heumen, Department of Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences
2021 TRP Recipients
1
- Sarah Abboud, Assistant Professor, Human Development Nursing Science, College of Nursing
- Hossein Ataei, Clinical Associate Professor, Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
- Betul Bilgin, Clinical Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
- Anthony Felder, Clinical Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
- Jennifer Geiger, Associate Professor, Jane Addams College of Social Work, Jane Addams College of Social Work
- Robert Gould, Clinical Associate Professor, Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences
- Anna Guevarra, Founding Director and Associate Professor , Global Asian Studies Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Ronak Kapadia, Associate Professor, Gender and Women’s Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
2
- Kevin Lyles, Associate Professor, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Michael Muller, Senior Lecturer, Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Jennifer Rupert, Senior Lecturer, English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Michael Siciliano, Associate Professor, Public Administration, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
- Cortino Sukotjo, Associate Professor, Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry
- Michael Thomas, Associate Professor, Educational Psychology, College of Education
- Torica Webb, Assistant Professor, Curriculum & Instruction, College of Education
- Bin Yang, Assistant Professor, Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry