{"id":230363,"date":"2025-05-12T12:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=230363"},"modified":"2025-05-12T12:04:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:04:12","slug":"celebrating-the-heart-of-the-uconn-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/05\/celebrating-the-heart-of-the-uconn-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the Heart of the UConn Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This April, the Office of the Provost presented the University\u2019s first-ever Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring Awards ceremony\u2014an event that brought together a wide range of recognitions under one roof. The ceremony highlighted the essential work of faculty, staff, and students who support learning, foster belonging, and help others thrive at UConn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy bringing these awards together in a single ceremony, we are underscoring the importance and prestige of these honors,\u201d said Provost Anne D\u2019Alleva. \u201cWe are celebrating the essential role that teaching, advising, and mentorship play in the life of our university.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Honorees were recognized for their contributions both in and outside the classroom: teaching that sparks curiosity, advising that helps students navigate challenges, mentorship that opens new possibilities, and peer support that strengthens our community.<\/p>\n<p>The event was attended by colleagues, university leaders, and the friends and family of honorees, whose presence added warmth and meaning to the celebration. They\u2019ve been the champions of our honorees, much like our honorees have been champions for their students.<\/p>\n<p>President Maric shared, \u201cbehind every student\u2019s success is someone who taught them, advised them, or simply believed in them. These awards honor the people who make that kind of impact every day at UConn.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_230367\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-230367\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-230367 img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picture2-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people pose together for a group photo.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picture2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picture2-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picture2-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picture2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picture2.jpg 865w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/199;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-230367\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Photo by Dustin Corriveau at Designing Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The awards span programs across the university, including the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Office of Undergraduate Advising, First Year Programs, Honors &amp; Enrichment, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and The Graduate School. Together, they honor a wide range of efforts that are central to the student experience at UConn.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>2024-2025 Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring Award Recipients<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award<\/em>: Samantha Archer, Anthropology<\/li>\n<li><em>Outstanding Adjunct Award<\/em>: Dr. Michael Zacchera, Allied Health<\/li>\n<li><em>Teaching Fellow Award<\/em>: Dr. David Wagner, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology<\/li>\n<li><em>Teaching Innovation Award<\/em>: Dr. Vindhya Pathirana, Mathematics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Undergraduate Advising Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Outstanding New Professional Staff Advisor<\/em>: Lyn Alexander, School of Pharmacy<\/li>\n<li><em>Outstanding Professional Advisor<\/em>: Ram\u00f3n Espinoza, Center for Access and Postsecondary Success<\/li>\n<li><em>Outstanding Faculty Advisor<\/em>: Dr. Mary Anne Amalaradjou, Animal Science<\/li>\n<li><em>Outstanding Faculty Advisor<\/em>: Dr. Matthew Singer, Political Science<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Honors and Enrichment Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Honors Faculty Member of the Year<\/em>: Dr. Ryan D. Talbert, Sociology<\/li>\n<li><em>Tanaka Award for Innovative Undergraduate Advising<\/em>: Dr. Stephanie Singe and Dr. Brian Aneskievich<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Undergraduate Research Mentorship Excellence Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dr. Benjamin Sinder, Orthopedic Surgery<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Mallory Perry-Eaddy, Nursing<\/li>\n<li>Charlotte Fuqua, Graduate Student, Chemistry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Edward C. Marth Mentorship Award (Graduate School)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dr. \u017deljko Bo\u0161kovi\u0107, Linguistics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>First Year Experience Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Instructor Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>FYE Teaching Innovation Award<\/em>: Fany Hannon, Dean of Students<\/li>\n<li><em>FYE Impact Award<\/em>: Daniel Facchinetti, CETL<\/li>\n<li><em>FYE One UConn Award<\/em>: Wiley Dawson, UConn Hartford<\/li>\n<li><em>FYE Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor<\/em>: Sarah Cooper, Graduate Student, Educational Leadership<\/li>\n<li><em>FYE Teaching Excellence Award<\/em>: Annie Casarella, Center for International Students &amp; Scholars<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>First Year Experience Peer Mentor Awards (John T. Szarlan Award)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anytra Culbreath Evans, Undergraduate Student, HDFS &amp; Sociology<\/li>\n<li>Lucas Denucci, Undergraduate Student, Chemical Engineering<\/li>\n<li>Stephanie Mora-Gutierrez, Undergraduate Student, Psychological Sciences<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inaugural teaching, advising, and mentoring awards ceremony honors faculty, staff, and students<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":230366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2275,2224,2226,1877,2460,2459,1864,2461,1875,92],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1902],"class_list":["post-230363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-affairs","category-cahnr","category-clas","category-nur","category-faculty","category-graduate-students","category-pharm","category-staff","category-grad-school","category-uconn-hartford"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 06:30:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230363"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230371,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230363\/revisions\/230371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/230366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230363"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=230363"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=230363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}