The Metropolitan State University of Denver Faculty Senate has announced the 2023 Teaching Excellence Award winners. The awards originated in 2004-05 to recognize MSU Denver faculty members who go above and beyond in the pursuit of student success. The award originally recognized tenured and tenure-track faculty members, but the affiliate-faculty category was added in 2005-06, and the honor was extended to Category II members in 2015-16. In addition to recognition, winners receive $1,500.   

Faculty members are selected based on extensive criteria, including:  

  • Exhibiting knowledge of their subject matter.  
  • Showing enthusiasm for their subject matter and for imparting that enthusiasm to students.  
  • Maintaining rigorous academic standards. 
  • Having a positive impact on students’ learning and professional development.  
  • Showing a commitment to teaching.  
  • Cultivating accessibility and open rapport with students. 

 

The 2022-23 winners are:  

Affiliate Category: Andrew Gillespie, Ph.D., Physics 

Gillespie has worked at MSU Denver for three years. Aside from imparting a working knowledge of his subject matter, Gillespie believes that the single most important function of an educator is to foster students’ critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. In the classroom, he uses demonstrations, Socratic dialogues and constructivist teaching methods to root out misconceptions as well as to help students build new knowledge and gain confidence speaking up in class. 

“I enjoy teaching at MSU because I am able to interact with people across a spectrum of ages, cultures and backgrounds,” he said. “Their various perspectives have helped me to understand and implement equity and inclusion in the classroom. Over the past few years, I have completely redesigned my course materials and several teaching strategies for a higher level of student involvement and to provide a more inclusive learning environment. Several students even met with me for help with classes I am not even teaching this semester. It is fulfilling to see that our time spent had a lasting impact and that they feel comfortable reaching out even when I am not in control of their course grade.” 

Andrew Gillepsie

CAT II category: Maria I Magallanes, Elementary Education and Literacy  

Maria has taught at MSU Denver for two years, but education has always been a huge part of her life. She seeks to cultivate intrinsic motivation in her students, encouraging them to challenge one another and to strive for knowledge. The core elements of her teaching style include building relationships; encouraging learners to ask questions, take risks and make mistakes; modeling a growth mindset and demonstrating the value of learning through failure; showing students the importance of her work as an educator and of their work as learners and encouraging lifelong learning; and finally, providing students with opportunities to practice and apply what they learn. The goal is for students to become confident, compassionate, accepting and knowledgeable members of society. 

Maria Magallanes

“I absolutely love teaching at MSU Denver because of the amazing students that I have the opportunity to work with,” she said. “In my experiences, MSU Denver’s students are incredibly intelligent, creative and caring individuals who have a deep passion for learning and their commitment to being changemakers for a better world.” 

Tenure-track category: Smita Singh, Ph.D., School of Hospitality 

This is Smita’s first year as an assistant professor at MSU Denver. She has adopted a participatory and student-centered approach to teaching to maximize students’ creative potential. She employs a dialogue-based approach to teaching in which she positions herself as a learner and facilitator who models active listening and engagement. She also focuses on the exchange of ideas rather than on memorized learning and diminishes the notion that knowledge must emanate only from the teacher. Additionally, her pedagogy centers on understanding and relevance as opposed to rote learning, and she uses a process-based approach to evaluation to challenge and motivate students. Finally, she subscribes to the notion of nurturing and mentoring students and emphasizing mutual respect, love and unity in and out of the learning environment. 

“I love that our school has a great mix of traditional and nontraditional students, which promotes a culture of reciprocity,” she said. “I believe that learners become better when their minds are engaged, are allowed to take the initiative and have adequate opportunities for an independent inquiry. Accordingly, I see myself as someone who inspires independent thinking and helps students to make informed judgments. This is essential for inciting innovation and lifelong learning and producing event leaders who can be changemakers.” 

Smita Singh

Tenured category: Cheryl Sanders, Ph.D., Psychology 

For over 22 years, Sanders has taught students of Psychology and Human Development Family Studies; however, she continues to refine and revise her philosophy of teaching as she evolves and adapts as an educator. She considers several components essential to teaching, including respect for the learner and a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. This means respecting and valuing the many dimensions of human diversity and striving to promote equity within every student’s academic experience. She makes a concerted effort to learn all students’ names by Week 2 of a semester, comes to class early to engage in casual conversations and provides opportunities for students to give her feedback. Additionally, she strives to provide the scaffolding that students need to build connections between what they already know and new knowledge. She takes seriously the responsibility of making the learning process exciting, fun and challenging, with the goal that students yearn to learn more. 

Cheryl Sanders

“Teaching MSU Denver students is a gift to me,” she said. “I love the energy and passion for learning they bring to the classroom (in person and online). I especially enjoy when students catch on and apply what they’ve learned in my class to improve their own lives. I also love working individually with students as teaching and research assistants. Their insights and hard work never cease to amaze me.”

Congratulations to these outstanding educators who are helping students persist and succeed. They will be formally recognized at the 2024 Roadrunners Who Soar Awards next spring.