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University Teaching Awards

Each year, the University Teaching Awards are conferred to individual faculty members through the Office of the Provost. These exemplary faculty demonstrate excellence in undergraduate classroom teaching and represent innovative curricular leadership across the University. University Teaching Award recipients come from across all six Evanston undergraduate schools and NU-Qatar. We celebrate their considerable contributions to student learning.

Scroll below to see the winners of the 2024 awards, and read more about them in Northwestern Now.

2024 University Teaching Awards
Live Stream - May 22

The live stream will begin on May 22nd at 4pm. Please refresh your browser at 4pm if you do not see the live stream. Please use the secondary stream if the primary stream is not working.


INFORMATION About the awardsPast Recipients

Congratulations to the 2024 Recipients

Masi Asare 

Masi Asare 

Assistant Professor of Theatre, School of Communication

Masi Asare  champions the idea that today’s musical theatre artists “are part of musical theatre history and what it does in the world.” Empowering and challenging her students is a priority for Asare, both intellectually and technically.

Barbara Butts

Barbara Butts

Associate Professor of Instruction, Theatre Management, School of Communication.  

Barbara Butts, who created the Theatre Department’s Arts Management & Leadership Program, believes that “coursework combined with mentored creative experiences equip students with the skills to become leaders and innovators.”

Mei-Ling Hopgood 

Mei-Ling Hopgood 

William F. Thomas Professor of Journalism, Medill School of Journalism.

Having led co-curricular trips to places as varied as Shanghai and Buenos Aires, Mei-Ling Hopgood views teaching the craft of storytelling as an “opportunity to help students understand and change themselves, each other and the world.” 
Ilya Mikhelson 

Ilya Mikhelson 

Associate Professor of Instruction, Electrical and Computer Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering

Ilya Mikhelson uses two words to summarize his teaching philosophy: “empowerment” and “accessibility.”  He seeks out ways to ensure his students walk away from his courses “less afraid to tackle whatever obstacles lie before them, and for everyone in the class to have equal access to these teachings.”

Cynthia Nazarian

Cynthia Nazarian

Associate Professor of French and Italian, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

A specialist of Renaissance literature, Cynthia Nazarian regularly teaches the period between 1500-1630 CE, primarily in French. She encourages students to “push through that unfamiliarity with heavy doses of encouragement and enthusiasm.”