Honors and Awards

Funded by the Caterpillar Foundation, the Caterpillar Award recognized an outstanding teacher at Valparaiso University for commitment to and excellence in teaching annually from 1996 to 2013, when it was replaced by the Valparaiso University Excellence in Teaching Award. In addition to the $1,000 award, an additional $1,000 was made available to the recipient for campus activities intended to promote excellence in teaching on the Valparaiso University campus.

Arts & Sciences Faculty Caterpillar Award Winners

Since the 2013-14 academic year, the Valparaiso University Excellence in Teaching Award has been given annually to individual faculty members or teaching units to recognize excellence in teaching, with particular emphasis on course development, pedagogy, or mentoring and advising. Each award winner receives an award of $1,500 plus $1,500 to spend on a pedagogical project intended to promote excellence in teaching on the Valparaiso University campus. Funded by the Office of the Provost, the award is given to as many as three recipients each year.

Arts & Sciences Faculty VUETA Award Winners

To support the teacher-scholar faculty model, the College of Arts and Sciences established this award in 2014 to recognize excellence in teaching among junior faculty members. It is awarded annually to one assistant professor who is in the third, fourth or fifth year of progress toward tenure. The $1,000 award, presented at the Lumina Award Ceremony during Family, Friends and Sibs Weekend, may be taken as taxable salary or used for reimbursement of professional expenses like travel, books, or equipment.

Emerging Teacher Award Winners:

• Debra Ames, World Languages: 2016 Indiana Spanish Teacher of the Year – University category, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
• Jim Albers, Theology: 1999 Faculty Member of the Year, Indiana Council for Continuing Education
• Jim Caristi, Computing and Information Sciences: 1990 Sears-Roebuck Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership; 1999 Distinguished Teaching Award of the Mathematical Association of America, Indiana Section
• Thomas Goyne, Chemistry: 1987-88 Outstanding Chemistry Lecturer  at California State University, Long Beach
• Don Koetke, Physics: 2008 Crystal Apple Award from the Department of Education at Michigan State University
• Ken Luther, Mathematics: 2008 Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, Mathematical Association of America, Indiana Section
• Daniel Maxin, Mathematics: 2014 Council on Undergraduate Research Math Faculty Mentor Award
• Lara Pudwell, Mathematics: 2013 Council on Undergraduate Research Math Faculty Mentor Award; 2014 Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member, Mathematical Association of America
• Jaishankar Raman, Economics: 1995 Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Notre Dame
• John Schoer, Chemistry: University of Northern Iowa Teaching Award

Kathleen Prahlow, Outstanding College Student of Spanish
American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (Indiana chapter), 2016

Alex Uryga ’15, 2016 James Madison Fellow

Board of Directors Award Winners:

Michelle Sopetti & Lauren Hargrave
Oral Presentation – Endurance of SYBR Safe in Agarose Gel Electrophoresis
Department Affiliation: Biology
Faculty Sponsor: Beth Scaglione-Sewell

McKenzie Cobban
Oral Presentation – Beauty and the Beast in Cinema: A Challenge to Gender Role
Department Affiliation: Foreign Languages
Faculty Sponsor: Tim Tomasik

Haylee Westendorf
Poster Presentation – 107 Seconds
Department Affiliation: Communication
Faculty Sponsor: Yeohyun Ahn

Taegyun Kim & Christopher Morrissey
Poster Presentation – Computational Modeling of Bromide and Chloride Catalyzed Formation of Sulfilimine Crosslinks
Department Affiliation: Physics and Astronomy
Faculty Sponsor: Stan Zygmunt, Haiying He

Megan Mariani
Poster Presentation – The Impact of a 5-Week Shoulder Strengthening Program on Division I Swimmers
Department Affiliation: Kinesiology
Faculty Sponsor: Kelly Helm

Holly Griskell
Poster Presentation – The Effects of Individualism and Collectivism on Memory
Department Affiliation: Psychology
Faculty Sponsor: Jim Nelson