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The MSU Libraries’ Open Educational Resources (OER) Award Program call for applications for the academic year 2022-2023 is now open.
Now in its 4th year, the OER Award Program provides financial incentives and support to instructors interested in adopting, adapting, or creating OER as an alternative to traditional learning materials to advance our goals of affordability, access, equity, and student success. 
You can download the Call for Proposals overview to learn more about the application categories, eligibility, participation requirements, timelines, and criteria for evaluation. 
Application forms are available in the OER LibGuide. The deadline for submission is January 16, 2023. The OER Advisory Committee will meet to review applications, and we will notify successful awardees on February 10, 2023.
Regina Gong, OER & Student Success Librarian, offers a one-on-one project consultation if you have questions about the OER Award program and the application categories. You can send an email to Regina at gongregi@msu.edu to schedule a project consultation. 

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the College of Social Science. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Amanda Kreuze: Amanda is appointed as the instructor of the online version of ISS310: People & the Environment for the Spring Semester 2020. As the course administrator and coordinator, I could not do my job without a highly motivated and knowledgeable person like Amanda in that role. She truly cares for her students and does her best to make sure that they are not only successful, but also that their online experience in People & the Environment is positive. The situation that students (and instructors) now find themselves in is unfathomable in many regards, but Amanda continues to do all that she can to provide a safe and positive online environment for students to learn. Thank you Amanda for all that you do for onGEO and your students!
 
Ida Djenontin: In addition to maintaining high performance on her own work, Ida has been a great support to both me and students in her role as TA for two of my classes this Spring! She has done a yeoman job with grading, but more importantly, has taken many other steps to get to know the undergrad students and to help with management. These have been crucial in helping us all successfully navigate the transition to 'remote' instruction. I deeply appreciate her work ethic and positive demeanor.
 
Rajiv Paudel: We would like to recognize Rajiv Paudel, graduate student in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences, for his unwavering understanding and compassion through an unprecedented semester. Rajiv is teaching GEO325 (Geographic Information Systems) for the Department this spring and found himself responsible for transitioning 42 students through a swift transition to remote learning. Throughout this transition, Rajiv has been concerned for his students and their situations, in and out of the virtual classroom. Rajiv has been willing to work individually with students to remedy technical challenges with the fully online labs and repeatedly put his students first. The onGEO group is grateful for all that you do, Rajiv!
 
Aaron Luedtke: Aaron is one of those exceptional graduate students who devotes a tremendous amount of energy on being one of the best teachers in our department. Aaron received the Harry Brown Graduate Fellowship for Academic Excellence from our department in 2019 and had previously received the Fred Williams Graduate Award for teaching in 2018. This year, he was again nominated for the Somers teaching Award in IAH. Academically and intellectually, Aaron is an outstanding student with numerous fellowships and awards. He received a short-term dissertation fellowship from the D'Arcy McNickle Center at Chicago's Newberry Library and the Everett Helm Visiting Fellowship from the Lily Library at Indiana University. His article on Indigenous communities in the Great Lakes will be published in the forthcoming collection, The Northern Midwest and the US-Canada Borderlands: Essays on a Lost Region, in 2020.
 
Steve Anderson: Steve has been a teaching assistant for one of our department's largest courses--Introduction to Comparative Politics--for several semesters. Given the number of students and the nature of the assignments, this is not an easy job, and Steve always performs beyond expectations. He provides quick, careful, and helpful feedback to students on their work, and he is careful and reliable. Our students are lucky to have him as a teacher, and I'm lucky to have him as an assistant!
 
Kesicia Dickinson: Kesicia is so smart, kind, and respectful. She is inclusive and strong and serves as a mentor to our newest students of color. She is constantly empowering other students who feel out of place in the academy and creating space for them to shine. When some students -- especially her more junior peers of color – feel isolated and feel imposter syndrome, she goes out of her way to remind them that they have earned their space in the discipline and reminds them that they have so much to contribute. Our department is trying so hard to build a minority politics initiative, and without Kesicia and her persistence, encouragement, and participation, we would be a much worse group and department. She kills people with kindness, is genuine, constructive, and empowering. I am so proud to have her as a student in the discipline. I have yet to meet someone as inclusive and encouraging as Kesicia.
 
Natasha Fowler: I’d like to give a huge shout out to Natasha for being an amazing mentor this year! She’s been helping me with my UURAF poster, and I have learned so much from her. From the background science to the research process as a whole, Natasha has played a crucial part in my learning. The process of researching, making, and presenting this poster to the lab has been an amazing experience overall and I couldn’t have done it without Natasha. Thank you so much for your help, patience, and enthusiasm Natasha!
 
Megan Mikhail: Megan, I'm so happy you are in our lab! I so enjoy when you present and teach in our lab meetings, you make the science so easy to understand and also so engaging. You are clearly passionate about your work and it is so awesome to see. I always appreciate your insights as well, you offer such constructive and thoughtful input into research discussions. You're a joy to work with!
 
Nafiseh Haghtalab: Nafiseh is appointed as the instructor of the online version of GEO204: World Regional Geography for Spring Semester 2020. These are unparalleled times for our world, students and the University alike and Nafiseh has done all that she can to help students continue to be successful in the course amidst a new, and often more complicated, set of circumstances. I sincerely appreciate Nafiseh for her dedication to teaching the online course and supporting her students; having Nafiseh as an instructor has made my job as the course’s administrator and coordinator that much easier and more enjoyable. Thank you Nafiseh for all that you do for onGEO and your students!
Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll be directed to a form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the College of Natural Science. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".

Gabe Ording: Gabe has been an amazing leader, both before and now during the pandemic. He has worked for a decade to build community in the unit, is always willing to talk and seek creative solutions for problems, and was forward thinking when the pandemic forced us to go remote last spring. In fact, he had prepared CISGS for the possibility of remote teaching by hosting THREE learning sessions before MSU officially went online. This meant that many colleagues were prepared for the transition and that we had already begun critical conversations needed for effective movement to online work. He is similarly bringing people together to discuss challenges and successes in the online classroom this Fall, has worked to ensure any face-to-face instruction is safe for everyone, and is generally an inspiration. Prior to this, his work was instrumental in ensuring that all of the integrative studies centers were working together to collect assessment data to evidence efficacy. Gabe's students also value him as much as his colleagues!

Rachel Morris: Dr. Rachel Morris has worked to expand her knowledge and experience in online pedagogy and has been a great resource and mentor during the pandemic. During FS2020, MSU added access to Labster. Dr. Morris kept BLD up to date on the availability of Labster and offered her assistance to faculty. Dr. Morris carries a significant teaching load, has committee responsibilities at MSU and in our professional society, is an Academic Advisor, and serves as our Graduate Program Director. She is readily available to colleagues for questions and mentoring.

Rupali Das: Dr. Das always goes above and beyond for her students. Her focus is not only limited to her student's understanding the material she is teaching and extends to concern for their overall well being. Her passion for science in infectious and it is amply evident that her regard for her student's interests is paramount! She deserves every recognition for all the hard-work she puts into her science and into her students' growth as competent professionals and robust scientists!

Casey Henley: I appreciate your dedication to your students, colleagues, and the institution. You are a great advocate for continued improvement in teaching and learning and is illustrated with your leadership. 

Stephen Thomas: Stephen Thomas is one of the best educators I know of. Not only is he smart, skilled and knowledgeable, but he is a genuinely caring person who does everything in his power to help students and colleagues be their very best. He works daily to be remarkable in his work as an educator and then he goes the extra mile to help other educators become great in their own right also. In every interaction and collaboration I am lucky enough to have with Stephen, I always come away more inspired, empowered, readied and prepared to face the next big design challenge in education. Thank you, Stephen Thomas, for all you do as a leader-educator at Michigan State University. 

Saul Beceiro Novo: I met Saul through the 2019-20 Adams Academy facilitated by the Academic Advancement Network. From the moment I heard Saul reflect on his experiences making his disciplinary content more accessible and enjoyable to individuals new to the field - I knew I wanted to pay attention to his educator practices. In my experience, he shows great care for learners and colleagues alike, is dedicated to crafting positive and high impact learning experiences, and achieving learning outcomes in innovative and creative ways! Keep an eye on Saul. He's a great educator, doing cool things!

Ashley Dunn: In a very challenging semester, Ashley committed to helping me with ANS 300E, animal welfare judging. She served as both a ULA, an assistant coach for the judging team, and in both roles was a huge help to me. She came to each class prepared, thoughtful and ready to support the students and instructor. In her role as a ULA, Ashley created a mock welfare scenario for the students and monitored their fact sheet submissions providing valuable practice and important feedback to the students. With such a trying semester for me, the quality of this course would have suffered had it not been for Ashley. A million times over, thank you. 

Julia Hinds: Julia is just the best. This has been a very hard semester in many ways and she has been a support all along. She always goes above and beyond every step of the way and makes everyone else’s life easier. I learn from her every time we meet :)

Nick Rekuski: Nick is passionate about teaching and he is not afraid to take on new challenges. He has taught an extraordinarily wide variety of courses, ranging from MTH 101 (Quantitative Literacy I) to MTH 309 (Linear Algebra). Nick has excelled in his work with students at all levels of undergraduate mathematics – both students who have intense math anxiety and students who love mathematics and intend to major in it. Nick approaches each student as an individual, gets to know them from the first day of class, and creates a community where each feels welcome and is comfortable to contribute to the class discussions.

Cole McCutcheon: Cole is an outstanding person. He exemplifies what it means to be a graduate student: incredibly hard working, determined, stubborn, unwilling to give up, and absolutely tenacious in tackling tough problems. Cole is also an excellent teacher and mentor; he approaches teaching situations with grace and care, ensuring that his students understand and synthesize the concepts at hand. I'm so glad that I get to work and laugh and teach with Cole.

Teresa Panurach

I appreciate Teresa and her plethora of positive practices, as well as her commitment to excellence in mentoring others. She is an inspiration to us all and deserves a raise.


Thank you, Teresa, for improving the lives of MSU students. Teresa runs a program mentoring Drew scholars who are also astrophysics majors, regularly checking in on them, running workshops, and facilitating research experiences. For many students, she has been a splash of support and joy during a lonely and sad pandemic. Thank you for your generosity and energy!


Camilla Monsalve: Life has been difficult for EVERYONE!  Cami makes it a point to come to my zoom office hours every week to see how I am doing.  While I make sure all 190+ Physics and Astronomy graduates are okay mentally, she makes sure I am okay too!  Warms my heart in so many ways.

Meiqi Liu: Meiqi, a first year Ph.D. student, who has not yet even been able to come to the US and is working with us remotely, has done an outstanding job as a TA, particularly grading for STT 441 and STT 861. The students in those courses are fortunate that she is such a strong TA and so diligent in her work. And we as instructors are extremely grateful. In addition, for myself as a scholar, I am very grateful for Ms. LIU Meiqi's work in helping mentor the work of my team of undergraduate researchers, including helping them with their project, which she has been doing since the very start of her time as a Ph.D. student in STT last Fall. This is far above and beyond the call of duty.

Sarah Manski: Sarah has helped us tremendously to successfully navigate the introductory classes in our department. She's extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and very encouraging. Her ability to work with students is amazing. During these unprecedented times, Sarah has been understanding, calm, and very helpful. She has provided valuable insight throughout the course, helped the ULAs, and supported me in successfully negotiating any challenges we faced during this phase. Apart from her role as a TA, she is involved in her own research, and actively works towards the betterment of our department. She is a role model for new graduate students and especially for the new TAs. Thank You, Sarah!!! 
Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll see a short form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the College of Human Medicine. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".

Anne Dorrance: Dr. Dorrance has gone out of her way to make sure her students are engaged and communicating during COVID. She works relentlessly to ensure that the students she is associated with are still getting the best out of their experience at MSU. She has been an amazing mentor and I will take away many valuable lessons from her teaching and mentoring style.

Robin DeMuth: Superlative educator and administrator skills
Denis Alix: Dr. Denis Alix has been involved in teaching medical students in the College of Human Medicine at MSU for many years. Prior to teaching, he was a general surgeon involved in the kidney transplant program at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Most recently he has been involved with adding his expertise helping to teach second year medical students in the gastrointestinal interssion elective. I would like to personally thank Dr. Alix for sharing his years of experience with medical students.

Brian Mavis: Dr. Mavis is the epitome of a talented, versatile, creative and courageous educator colleague. He works incredibly hard, and incredibly smart at the same time. He is thoughtful and often "thinks outside the box" to find a better solution. He makes every meeting he attends, every group he joins, every effort he participates in better. He is completely unselfish and will help you if you reach out to him, no matter how much harder it makes his day, or week, or year. He has made a huge impact on the college and on the careers of countless colleagues. Thank you for everything you have accomplished professionally on behalf of our college, and everything you have given me, personally, throughout the years we have worked together. You are irreplaceable.

Pavneet Banga: Pavneet knows what she wants, pursues her goals with vigor and grace, and inspires faculty, student and staff every day to do their best in any circumstance. Thank you Pavneet for putting everything first!

Amanda Moser: Amanda came into the program the very day we needed to have a backup assistant, without hesitation, she took the initiative to assist faculty, students and staff in the program. Thank you Amanda, for reminding us to keep calm and carry on!

Rachael Weisbrod: Thank you Rachael for always going above and beyond with faculty, student, and staff requests! Faculty appreciate the initiative in guiding and teaching undergraduates, without having ever having to ask. In short, Rachael Rocks!
Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll see a short form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the Broad College of Business. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Naomi Neilsen: Naomi puts her heart and soul into making sure the content, topics, exercises, power points, presentation delivery, & commitment to students in BUS 103 & BUS 591 makes students career ready!
Aubrey Wigner: Dr. Wigner organizes teaching materials and supports a team of recitation leaders for ESHP 190. I have served as a member of that teaching team for the last 5 years. Dr. Wigner's energy ignites our team and prepares us for all possibilities. His ability to think creatively during the pandemic and assist us in moving our courses online is appreciated.
Kenneth Szymusiak: I have worked with Ken on entrepreneurship programs at MSU for several years. He is the lead instructor of a teaching team for ESHP 190. It has been a pleasure to serve on that team for the last 5 years. Ken is always working on improving student learning. He is bold and willing to test new teaching approaches. I always appreciate the resources he provides to us as co-instructors while still allowing us the flexibility to share our expertise and manage our recitations.
Michelle Snitgen: I have co-led a social innovation themed recitation session for ESHP 190 with Michelle for the last 3 years. Michelle is always thoughtful in her preparation for our sessions. Students appreciate her organized approach. She is a wonderful colleague! I appreciate her willingness to work collaboratively and blend our teaching styles to deliver the best learning opportunities for our students. We worked together to transition our recitation to a virtual environment during the Spring 2020 semester and improved our online teaching strategies for Fall 2020. Michelle's organized approach and flexibility made our transition to virtual effective. I am grateful for the opportunity to teach with Michelle. She offers so much to our colleagues and our students.Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll see a short form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from College of Engineering. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Chris Shaltry: The Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit, held on January 14, 2022, wouldn't have been possible without participation from educators like you. I know that ongoing uncertainty and stress at work and at home mean many folx are spread thin, and your willingness to share your time with us demonstrates your commitment to not only educator development at MSU, but the university's teaching and learning mission as a whole. The insights you provided (and continue to provide through asynchronous feedback opportunities) are invaluable as we continue to listen, learn, and ultimately shape what role the Center for TLI plays for Spartans. Witnessing the level of engagement, passion, and constructively critical questioning - makes me all the more excited to be a part of the Center staff moving forward. I'm looking forward to continued opportunities to work with you in the near future. Thank you again for the service you provided to MSU by participating in the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Kick-off Summit!
Beth Gettings: Beth is an inspiration and a genuine badass!  She is made of pure grit, except for her heart -that is pure gold.  She, along with my two amazing LAs, Gabi Cuenca and Hannah Ahmed, are the only reason my course occasionally comes across as organized!  I will miss them so much next year.  Thank you for all you do and all that goes unrecognized!!
Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll see a short form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from the College of Natural Science. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Qianjie Wang: As the coordinator of the International teaching Assistant (ITA) Program and instructor of some of the the ITA support courses offered, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Ms. Qianjie Wang from the Chemistry Department last spring. Qianjie chose to take AAE 453, Support for In-Service ITA teaching, an optional course designed to support international students in their first few semesters of teaching at MSU. The course is a seminar style course where international teaching assistants can discuss and reflect on the issues that come up in the courses they are teaching and share their experiences and learn from other students. I was always so impressed with Qianjie’s genuine interest in understanding the backgrounds and challenges of the undergraduate students she taught, and her commitment to becoming the best teaching assistant possible. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to observe her teaching, however, that I fully appreciated what an asset she is to her department. teaching a lab section in the Chemistry Department presents some unique challenges as there are several sections taking place at one time in the same general space, each with a different teaching assistant and different group of students. teaching assistants need to be able to give clear instructions, encourage and guide students as they conduct their experiments, answer questions and lead students to discover answers for themselves, all while ensuring basic student safety. Qianjie excelled at all of this. Her rapport with her students was clear, as was her sincere interest in helping them to learn. Moreover, her own interest in learning and growing as a teacher was evident in the way that she implemented feedback and suggestions from AAE 453 discussions into her teaching. It was truly an honor to work with such a motivated and committed teaching assistant. Thank you, Qianjie!
 
Aaron Wasserman: Movement of a large lecture format course (200+ students) to a on-line format is not easy. Aaron made that transition so much smoother by being willing to take on extra work. Aaron took on the tasks of learning all the ins and outs of D2L so that we could switch from in-class clicker questions to D2L quizzes (all properly formatted!). In addition our first D2L exam went smoothly mostly due to his efforts. He gives weekly virtual review sessions to the students and is incredibly responsive to their questions and needs. He deserves a big shout out for his efforts!
 
Stephen Thomas: For his incredible work over the last few weeks as we have transitioned to remote learning. Stephen is a perfect person for this time in our history at MSU. 
 
Teena Gerhardt: Shows how much she would like to see her students thrive; always available for help (even if she is out of state); very good at lecturing.
 
John Keven: When classes went online John was filling in for me while I was traveling. He stepped up and managed the MANY student emails of concern with grace and compassion. He continues to be a vital component of communications with the students. He is doing all this while trying to get his dissertation wrapped up and working from home with a family. Thank so much, John!
 
Brean Prefontaine: Brean Prefontaine is an outreach coordinator for the Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS) graduate student group, and she has gone above and beyond with public science outreach. Brean took the initiative to greatly expand WaMPS's outreach program from participating in 2-3 outreach events per semester to now more than a dozen outreach events each semester. These new events include MSU Science Fest, after-school programs at libraries, and classroom visits. She also volunteered as SL@MS co-chair last summer, organizing and running the WaMPS summer camp for middle school students. She spent a lot of time developing new fun and educational activities for all these new outreach events, with modifications for many age groups that range all the way from preschool to high school, and she acquired all of the supplies and materials that are needed for them. This is an incredible amount of work for a single person to tackle! Because of Brean, a lot more graduate students have been able to get involved in outreach, and she is very patient with teaching them how to engage the kids. Thanks to Brean, WaMPS's outreach program has been a huge success and has grown immensely over the past 2 years! She definitely deserves to be thanked and the WaMPS Board wants to recognize for her amazing outreach work in the physics department!
Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll be directed to a form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.

The following is a list of the educators receiving the #iteachmsu Educator Award from all other educator units. For more information on these awards, check out the article entitled "#iteachmsu Educator Awards".
Human Resources
Amanda Farrar: Amanda was THE integral component in helping me navigate onboarding to a new role at MSU. Though my transition was messy (from graduate student employee to full time employee) and Amanda wasn't always the "power person"; she helped me feel heard, gave great recommendations, and followed up promptly. At such a large organization and at such a complicated time, I felt overwhelmed and stuck in the lack of clarity I felt around my transition... Amanda helped me feel like (and see how) things were moving.
 
Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology
Jerry Rhead: Jerry is one of the kindest, down-to-earth people I've met in my multiple years at MSU. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise everywhere he goes, but shares it in a way that is always accessible and collegial. I've never felt a sense of competition around Jerry. He always lifts others up. What an amazing colleague, friend, and educator.
 
Breana  Yaklin: Bre deserves a huge shout out for her leadership of the SOIREE and ASPIRE efforts. Countless times across the past six months, I've heard rave reviews from instructors who had to pivot their courses last minute due to Covid19. Not only has Bre designed an experience that introduces other educators to online teaching and learning, but also helps those who have been working in the online space revisit their courses to ensure they're aligned with best practices. Breana Yaklin is a meta educator... teaching other educators in a way that helps them be better!
 
Summer Issawi: Thank you for your role as mentor for the 2020-2021 Hub Faculty Fellow Project, and I want to especially thank you for participating as a judge in the MSU/ISS Film Festival and for providing so many thoughtful comments on the individual student films. You might not always received feedback on your particular impact on actual students in our MSU classes, but I am here to publicly thank and acknowledge your very important and positive impact on instructors and students at MSU. You are appreciated!
 
Ashley Braman: I'm a learning designer working with faculty to design experiential, interdisciplinary courses at MSU. Ashley Braman is the project manager in our unit and this year her support, advice, and skills have made a huge difference in my work on these courses. In the last few months, she helped me build next year's budget, consulted on our quarterly reporting, and helped me strategize about future trajectories for this project. The latter especially was a huge help before presenting those plans to our director for his decision. As a project lead, I'm much better equipped for success being able to draw on Ashley's expertise. My work goes so much more smoothly now that I can reach out to a competent and insightful project manager with issues big and small. In addition, she has been a wonderful resource during work-from-home as we struggle with productivity under covid and work-life balance; she makes herself available to check-in and support her team and help us find solutions that are a good fit for our situations. Ashley's work definitely makes a difference to our academic projects, and that's why she deserves a big thank you.
 
Integrative Studies in Social Science
Alison Rautman: I love Dr. Rautman and I think she is handling the online teaching very well! She is always checking in on her students and making sure we are keeping up with our material!
 
Center for Statistical Training and Consulting (CSTAT)
Sanket Jantre: Sanket provides thorough and thoughtful advice on statistical methods for research projects at CSTAT. He is also a member for the student organization Statistics in the Community (STATCOM) that provides pro bono statistical consulting to local nonprofit, governmental, and community service organizations and was a team leader for a project in 2020 working on an interactive online tool designed for analyzing water pollution samples. Sanket was selected for a competitive internship position with the National Science Foundation Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship program for summer 2021 to explore probabilistic deep learning methods at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Congratulations!
 
Sichao Wang: Sichao is very engaged in helping MSU graduate students and scholars in their research at CSTAT. She is president of the student organization Statistics in the Community (STATCOM) that provides pro bono statistical consulting to local nonprofit, governmental, and community service organizations. Sichao has a wide range of interest in statistical topics and takes every opportunity to learn new skills through seminars and workshops.
 
Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Office
Jim Lucas:

Dr. Lucas has made an exceptional impact on my life as a professor, a mentor, and a friend. Throughout my time at MSU he has always offered a helping hand, and has been willing to go the extra distance to help me achieve my goals. MSU is truly lucky to have someone like Dr. Lucas.
Dr. Lucas is the most influential instructor that I've ever had and having him in my life has helped me grow tremendously as a student at MSU. He gave me the support I needed to choose a path that is typically discouraged by society and encourages me to reach my full potential. I do best learning in an open environment, and Dr. Lucas creates this by making students feel as though their voice matters in the world. Dr. Lucas carries his variety of passions into the classroom and inspires me to be inventive, knowledgeable, and passionate. 
I consider myself extremely blessed to have Dr. Lucas as one of my first professors during my academic career. When I came to MSU, I was apprehensive based on the horror stories I had heard about college instructors. From the get-go, Dr. Lucas had an extremely inviting classroom. Not only was the course content in UGS101 interesting, but he designed his classroom in a way where every student could feel at home. He stimulated interesting discussions each class period, and every week his course was the highlight of my busy schedule. He was not afraid to joke around with students, and I felt like I was able to connect with Dr. Lucas on a personal level. I was sad when the semester ended, as I thought it would also mean the end of my relationship with Dr. Lucas. Instead, Dr. Lucas went above and beyond his duty as an instructor, becoming not only a mentor but a friend. As I am set to graduate next semester, I look back and think of all the support Dr. Lucas has provided over the years, be it academic or personal. I am confident that as I move to medical school and beyond, Dr. Lucas will continue being an important figure in my life. While I have met some really great professors at Michigan State University, they all pale in comparison to the enormous positive impact Dr. Lucas has had on me.
He was my professor at my study abroad 2 summers ago, and he has been like my second father type figure, helping me around throughout my freshman year at MSU
Through two classes and a study abroad trip with Dr. Lucas over the years, he has not only showed his capability to reach various types of students on a wide variety of topics, but he has shown a true desire to raise important issues, for students as individuals as well as the world as a whole, and explore them in a meaningful way. Dr. Lucas has changed my views on topics I felt nihilistic towards or was misguided in my judgement on, from commercial whaling to minority representation in film, and everything in between. He takes it upon himself to prioritize such valuable discussion both in the classroom and outside of it, and I have come to know Dr. Lucas as an extraordinary professor as well as a great friend.

 
Technology at State
Nick Noel: Nick dedicated himself to supporting instructors with the transition to online. He worked tirelessly to lead hundreds through a course peer-review process through the summer, and has been working to provide workshops and training about key instructional technologies. He works hard to collaborate with others across campus and improve the teaching and learning experience for instructors and students.
 
Kevin Henley

Kevin is always willing to help on projects, troubleshoot issues, or research solutions. He has a wide breadth of knowledge, but also understand things deeply, and can apply his experience across a broad spectrum of issues. Kevin isn't a member of my team, but he is still an invaluable part of it, and IT as a whole.
Kevin is an excellent collaborator. He thinks through educator issues when the learning takes place virtually, knows a lot about platforms and how they do/not work for learners, and always has creative ideas on how to solve problems and make things better. He is endlessly patient, and helps everyone feel like their voices are heard.

 
Drew Beach: RCPD had a difficult issue we were trying to resolve that dealt with a students D2L exam and whether they received the correct testing accommodations. The student was very upset and the instructor was adamant they had provided the accommodations correctly. Drew Breach stepped in and took time to walk me through exactly what happened, explained how the instructor misunderstood the process to extend testing time. He then provided additional information about D2L settings for my knowledge, offered to work with the instructor on further training, and typed up a detailed email with screen shots and helpful information so we could better advise faculty in the future. I was very thankful for the extra effort Drew provided to help. The student was even more grateful as it made a substantial difference in his grade and success in the course. During these difficult times and having to navigate technology in new ways, it is great to have caring and supportive IT staff!!! Thank YOU!
 
Libraries
Jessica Sender: Jessica worked through the summer and into the fall to support the transition to online. She jumped in to help develop and facilitate training and workshops to support instructors with the move to online. She is working to connect librarians across campus to support teaching and learning efforts in new ways.   
 
Susan Kendall: Susan has presented at many workshops and meeting with faculty to educate others about copyright law and how to adjust for copyright in the online environment. She's become active in the SOIREE workshop to teach others about copyright and answer questions. She volunteered to write a page for the ASPIRE workshop and has worked diligently to support and teach others about copyright in their courses. 
 
Julie Taylor: Julie is a gem in the landscape of MSU. I originally reached out to Julie in regards to a personal book printing project (which turned out beautifully, thanks to her). After having such a great experience working with her asynchronously, we scheduled a proactive meeting regarding formatting for another larger project. A short zoom call with her was not only pleasant (as far as company goes) but informative and will save me tons of time and headache as I begin a huge writing/formatting project. If only I had found her before I was trying to submit my dissertation - so much frustration could have been circumnavigated. I will be telling all my colleagues and friends still working on their dissertations to reach out to Julie! What a lifesaver (especially during covid-life which is already so stressful on the daily). Big love for Julie!
 
University Outreach and Engagement
Diane Doberneck: Diane is one of the most astounding people I've had the pleasure of getting to know during my time at MSU. Diane regards and value everyone she encounters for their knowledge and lived experience- and on top of that is a global leader in her field. Down to earth, kind, and collaborative- Diane is one of MSU's educators who truly lifts others up. She is a joy to work with, a wealth of knowledge, and to top it all off helps other educators at MSU utilize practices to engage in partnership with communities!
 
WorkLife Office
John Girdwood: John has been an exceptional example of flexibility and innovation in a rapidly changing landscape. He helped advance technology usage in the office prior to the pandemic. This allowed the office to quickly adjust to online educational and community connection events which helped the university faculty and staff populations adjust to the unknowns of the drastically shifting landscape of work and life. John is an incredible collaborator who shares ideas that continue to enhance the topics and audience reach for WorkLife Office programming. He's been a wonderful influence in my life and I've enjoyed working alongside him.
Tiana Carter: Tiana jumped into the deep end with a new role in the middle of a crisis situation and a quickly shifting landscape of work. She continues to adapt to her changing role while connecting with and inspiring the people that she meets along the way. I've seen the impact that she's had on educational and community connection events over the course of the past six months. She is a talented organizer who focuses on a commitment to follow thru and keeps the many variable pieces moving forward. She has been a delightful addition to the WorkLife team and I'm so grateful to have her as part of my life.Jaimie Hutchison: Jaimie has been an incredible force for good over the past year. I appreciate her answers and messages on Facebook. She helped me feel included even though I was isolated and gave the campus a friendly face for information and guidance! She definitely made a difference.
 
Barbara Roberts: Barbara and her team have made such a big impact over this past year. Knowing I have a place I can go to and ask questions during a time of such uncertainty has felt very comforting. I am grateful for what she does for MSU!Anyone can recognize a fellow Spartan for their contributions to MSU's teaching and learning mission or for how they made a lasting impression on your experience. All you have to do is click "Thank an Educator" in the left panel of iteach.msu.edu. From there you'll see a short form where you can enter the name, netID, and a short story of the educator you'd like to recognize.