The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) is proud to honor and recognize outstanding faculty who have dedicated time and energy to excellence in learning and teaching. Awards provide necessary resources that can help faculty build on both their teaching and research. Financial support, time and access to a community of scholars are some of the key advantages of receiving an award. Throughout the year, CELT strives to support faculty as they apply for such prestigious awards. Criteria and deadlines will vary depending on the award. Check out the list below and apply! It’s time to shine!

Teaching Keynote: How to Guide Student Success Without Really Trying. Khalilah Reddie, Associate Teaching Professor, Chemistry.

Manning Prize for Teaching Excellence

Established in 2015 by alumni Robert ’84 and Donna Manning ’85, ’91, the Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching honors outstanding faculty members from each of the five campuses of the University of Massachusetts. This competitive prize is presented to faculty members who demonstrate excellence in teaching along with exemplary dedication to students and the campus community. This $10,000 award will be presented to one faculty member from each of the five campuses.

Past Winners from UMass Lowell:

  • 2023: Stephanie Block, Associate Professor of Psychology, College of Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
  • 2022: Khalilah Reddie, Associate Teaching Professor of Chemistry and Director of the MAGIC Program, Kennedy College of Sciences
  • 2021: Stacy Szczesiul, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Online Education, College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
  • 2020: Keith Mitchell, Associate Professor of English
  • 2019: James Nehring, Faculty Chair and Professor, Leadership in Schooling
  • 2018: Deborah Finch, Associate Teaching Professor, Manning School of Business

Teaching Excellence Awards

The Teaching Excellence Award is awarded to faculty member who best exemplifies excellence in teaching and campus leadership. Recipients are chosen based on making a distinct difference in their teaching climate at UMass Lowell. The 2024 Faculty Awards for Teaching Excellence in their respective departments are:


Kennedy College of Sciences

  • Biological Sciences: Jeffrey Moore, Erin Smith
  • Chemistry: Leslie Farris, Bhavna Gupta
  • Miner School of Computer & Information Sciences: Hadi Amiri, Maru Cabrera
  • Environmental, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences: James Heiss
  • Mathematics & Statistics: Roser Gine, Amanda Redlich
  • Physics & Applied Physics: Ramanpreet Kaur, Erin Bertelsen

College of Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

  • Art & Design: Caitlin Foley
  • Criminology & Justice Studies: Erica Gagne, Rebecca Dunlea
  • Economics: Anne Rhoads
  • English: Tracey Michaels, Rebecca Richards
  • History: Andrew Drenas
  • Music: Jonathan Richter
  • Philosophy: Carol Hay
  • Political Science: Joshua Dyck
  • Psychology: Samantha Miadich, Jiabin Shen
  • Sociology: Thomas Pinẽros-Shields
  • World Languages & Cultures: Mercédès Baillargeon
  • School of Education: Patricia Fontaine

Manning School of Business

  • Accounting: Cody Lu
  • Finance: Hieu Phan
  • Management: Jose-Mauricio Gelielate
  • Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Ying Huang
  • Operations and Information Systems: Wen Zhu

Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences

  • Biomedical & Nutritional Sciences: Havier Horta, Michelle Hunt
  • Solomont School of Nursing: Yuan Zhang
  • Physical Therapy & Kinesiology: Keith Hallbourg
  • Public Health: Ann-Marie Matteucci

Francis College of Engineering

  • Biomedical Engineering: Adam St. Jean
  • Chemical & Energy Engineering: Nese Orbey
  • Civil & Environmental Engineering: Raj Kumar Gondle
  • Electrical & Computer Engineering: Jean-Francois Millithaler, Ryan McPherson
  • Mechanical & Industrial Engineering: Carter Keough, Scott Stapleton
  • Plastics Engineering: Margaret Sobcowicz-Kline

Distinguished University Professor Award (3-year term)

Each year, the university recognizes one educator for their outstanding contributions in teaching, research and service to the institution. The award is considered UMass Lowell’s most prestigious academic honor for a faculty member. The Distinguished University Professor award acknowledges a faculty member who is recognized by peers as having made truly outstanding contributions, over a number of years, to research and scholarship on both national and international levels and who demonstrates excellence in teaching. The Distinguished University Professor delivers a university-wide lecture and serves as our commencement speaker at the Master’s and Doctoral commencement ceremony during the first year of the appointment.

Current and previous University Professors:

  • Sandra Lim, English, 2023-2026
  • Ramaswamy Nagarajan, Plastics Engineering, 2022-2025
  • Katherine Tucker, Biomedical, Biomedical & Nutritional Sciences, 2021-2024
  • Christopher Niezrecki, Mechanical Engineering, 2020-2023
  • William Moylan, Music, 2019-2022
  • Meg Bond, Psychology, 2018-2021
  • Joey Mead, Plastics Engineering, 2017-2020
  • Robert Forrant, History, 2016-2019
  • Holly Yanco, Computer Science, 2015-2018
  • Pradeep Kurup, Civil Engineering, 2014-2017
  • Laura Punnett, Work Environment, 2013-2016
  • Stephen McCarthy, Plastics Engineering, 2012-2015
  • Regina Panasuk, Graduate School of Education, 2011-2014
  • Robert Giles, Physics and Applied Physics, 2010-2013
  • Kenneth Geiser, Work Environment, 2009-2012
  • Susan Braunhut, Biological Sciences, 2008-2011

Faculty Symposium

Faculty Symposium is a yearly event put together to welcome broad participation from faculty at all career stages from across campus to celebrate to all of the faculty members hard work and accomplishments over the year with networking opportunities, lightning talks, keynote presentations and recognitions ceremony.

Faculty members enjoy interactive session where they share:

  • Current research or creative work
  • Research idea in preparation for a project proposal
  • Community engagement project to encourage interdisciplinary participation
  • Work of a Research & Engagement Center to foster collaboration
  • Teaching innovation that can be adapted to other disciplines
  • University-wide services such as a core research facility, library initiative, media teaching lab that can help faculty advance their teaching, research, and scholarship activities

2023 Faculty Symposium Teaching Panel

  • Faculty Lead: Stephanie Block, Associate Professor, Psychology
  • Amit Deokar, Associate Dean, Manning School of Business
  • Cecil Joseph, Assistant Teaching Professor, Physics and Applied Physics
  • Tamara Montag-Smith, Assistant Professor, Management
  • Laurie Soroken, Clinical Professor, Solomont School of Nursing

Watch the 2023 Faculty Teaching Panel discussion:

Challenging Classroom Conversations: Why They Are Important and How to Do Them?