Scott Freeman, Lecturer, Biology
Scott Freeman considers it his mission to set high academic standards and give students a realistic chance of meeting them.There is ample evidence that he is succeeding.

"What we're trying to do is evidence-based teaching," says Freeman, who also writes biology textbooks and conducts research to improve instruction methods. "We think you should be able to show that what you do is working. It's what we're trained to do (as scientists) and we should do it in teaching." Read more.

Anu Taranath, Senior Lecturer, English/Comparative History of Ideas
To Anu Taranath, students are colleagues as much as are fellow faculty. “They are my most cherished and intellectually compatible colleagues," she says.

Taranath aims to open student minds in the classroom, especially to other cultures and to global realities of power and privilege. “I am really interested in using literature as a springboard to help students think about the world,” she says. “So I use literature from Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean… from people of color who immigrated to the U.S. and to Britain.” Read more.

Cuong Vu, Assistant Professor, Music
As he toured with his own band and others, innovative trumpeter Cuong Vu saw that people didn’t really understand the experimental music the groups were playing, and over time there was a decline in audience. “I thought, we have to teach," he recalls. "We have to go into the field and educate young people to develop an audience for this music that’s new."

Marc Seales, head of the UW Jazz Program, thinks Cuong has succeeded. “Cuong has brought energy and intensity to our program that is just remarkable,” Seales wrote in his nomination letter. “He has empowered the students in so many ways that really have been eye opening.” Read more.

Distinguished Staff Award
Given to staff who contribute to the mission of their unit or the University, respond creatively to challenges, maintain the highest standards in their work, establish productive working relationships and promote a respectful and supportive workplace.

Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award
Recognizes a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the education and guidance of graduate students.

Victoria Lawson, Professor of Geography
A geography degree can be put to work in many different fields. Victoria Lawson believes it's simply a matter of a student finding the right niche. "I don't think we should think of a Ph.D. as just creating faculty," Lawson says. "A lot of students do more than that. I think what is wonderful about our discipline is that it opens doors to being more than a professor."

Lawson tries to give the graduate students under her guidance the chance to explore their ideas, no matter how far-fetched they might sound, without fear of being perfunctorily shot down. "I laughingly refer to my mentoring style as 'research therapy,'" she says. Read more.

Excellence in Teaching Award
Given to two graduate Teaching Assistants each year for demonstration of extraordinary ability in the teaching and learning process as a graduate TA.

Monique Lacoste, Communication
When Monique Lacoste began teaching, her first group of students gave her so-so ratings. So has since found her teaching voice. “I recognized that no one else’s style would work for me,” she explains.

Lacoste resisted the idea of a career involving teaching—until she had the opportunity to teach her own classes rather than serving as a TA for others. "[That's when] I realized I could have a positive impact,” she says. So far, Lacoste has taught six “Instructor of Record” courses—those in which she’s responsible for organizing and teaching on her own, supervised by a faculty member. Read more.

Elizabeth Wheat, Biology
Wheat has TA’ed large first-year biology classes and a study-abroad course in Costa Rica, both with glowing reviews. But what sets her apart from other outstanding TAs, says Biology Department Chair Raymond Huey, is her singlehanded development and implementation of the three-credit The Urban Farm course, now in its third year. Wheat has given a lot to the effort, supporting a core group of students that has exploded in the past year and a half.

With the support of longtime staffer Doug Ewing, the UW Farm (see related A&S Perspectives story) has expanded from a few plants outside the Botany Greenhouse to a remarkably productive half-acre in the middle of campus. Read more.

President's Medalist

Jennifer Vahora, Anthropology/Public Health
A transfer student from South Seattle Community College, Jennifer Vahora chose the UW in part because it has “a global perspective that no other university or college can parallel.”

Vahora plans to attend a graduate program in health policy and management at the University of Michigan, and also plans to pursue a master’s degree in health administration. She would like a career that involves emergency response and disease surveillance in a local health department in the U.S. or abroad as a member of a health ministry. Read more.