On Thursday, September 19, 2024, the UCI Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI) hosted its second annual UCI Teach Day. UCI Teach Day is an all-day event dedicated to celebrating excellence in teaching and learning, promoting a campuswide culture of inclusion and equity, and recognizing the faculty and instructors who embody these goals. Nearly 200 UC Irvine faculty, staff, and graduate students attended.
This year’s UCI Teach Day theme was Striving for Equity, Together, which reminded attendees that the goal of creating equitable educational spaces and opportunities for UC Irvine’s diverse student body requires support from the entire campus. “One of the main takeaways from UCI Teach Day is that our campus is in this together,” explained Brian Sato, DTEI Associate Dean and Professor of Teaching for Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. “If we want to make a more inclusive student experience, it is going to require us to work less as individual instructors and more as teams of instructors, professional development staff, and researchers.”
According to David Trend, Professor of Art and UCI Teach Day presenter and attendee, the event was successful in achieving these goals of cross-campus engagement and community-building:
“UCI Teach Day brought together presenters and attendees who share a commitment to effective teaching and equitable pedagogy. It was one of the best opportunities to meet like-minded colleagues and feel a sense of shared values and community. The cross-disciplinary connections I made will make a big difference in my future work.”
UCI Teach Day’s focus on equity in higher education was also emphasized by Dr. Whitney Peoples, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Michigan, who delivered the keynote address. In her speech, Dr. Peoples’ shared insights gained from her over 20 years of experience in feminist and critical race research, activism, and teaching. “Dr. Peoples’ keynote was an event highlight. Her deep expertise in advancing equity at individual and collective levels was impressive and motivating,” said Danny Mann, DTEI Executive Director. “Her talk inspired participants, and many continued to reference it throughout the day. It was great to see the voices of faculty, graduate students, staff, and undergraduates come together to discuss our goals for teaching and learning at UC Irvine.”
The UCI Teach Day itinerary also included a student panel and several breakout sessions focused on education research, professional development opportunities, and discussions on relevant educational issues to offer attendees different perspectives for addressing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the classroom. “Through the UCI Teach Day programming, we hope all attendees were able to learn something new in areas of teaching and learning that they don’t normally think about,” Sato explained. He added, “We also hope DTEI is able to continue these conversations with departments as attendees start sharing these ideas with their colleagues.”
Celebration of Teaching Award Winners and Honorees
UCI Teach Day 2024 concluded with the 32nd Annual Celebration of Teaching, which recognized the faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants who have demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching at UC Irvine and who have been honored with campus teaching awards over the past year. Recipients of the campus-wide teaching awards were nominated by peers, students, and staff, and selected by members of the Academic Senate Council on Teaching, Learning, and Student Experience and members of the groups providing the monetary awards. This year’s award winners exemplified exceptional teaching across six award categories:
Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year:
- Joanne Zinger, School of Social Ecology
Lecturer of the Year:
- Tagert Ellis, School of Humanities
Excellence in Pedagogical Development Award:
- Adrienne Williams, Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences
Excellence in Digital Learning Award:
- Renée Link, School of Physical Sciences
Learning Experience Design & Online Education:
- Stacy Branham, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences
Most Promising Future Faculty Member:
- Megan Cole, School of Humanities
- Bryant Jackson-Green, School of Social Ecology
- Jessica Taghvaiee, School of Social Sciences
- Cameron R. Wiley, School of Social Ecology
Deans’ Honorees
In addition to the winners of the campus-wide teaching awards, the Celebration of Teaching also recognized one instructor selected by the Dean of each School for their exemplary teaching. This year’s Deans’ Honorees were:
- Deborah Oliver, Claire Trevor School of the Arts
- Audrey Chen Lew, Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences
- Noah Askin, The Paul Merage School of Business
- Jessica Oviatt, School of Education
- David Copp, The Henry Samueli School of Engineering
- James Robertson, School of Humanities
- Daniel Epstein, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences
- Leanne Burke, Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing
- Christine Luu Cadiz, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Sarah Finkeldei, School of Physical Sciences
- Sean Arayasirikul, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health
- Jenny Rinehart, School of Social Ecology
- Michael Lee, School of Social Sciences
Michael Dennin, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Dean of Undergraduate Education, and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, congratulated this year’s Celebration of Teaching award winners and honorees, saying:
“I would like to extend my congratulations and gratitude to this year’s Celebration of Teaching recipients. Their commitment to our students and their educational success is truly admirable, and UC Irvine is lucky to have them. Thank you for all you do—your efforts are making a difference in our students’ lives.”
Thank you to everyone who attended UCI Teach Day 2024. Want to get involved with DTEI? Visit DTEI’s updated website to learn more about programs, services, and upcoming events.
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