2023 BINSWANGER NOMINATIONS
Juniors, seniors, graduate students, and alumni up to 10 years out are invited to nominate up to three faculty members for the Binswanger Prize. Nominations will be accepted in January and February 2023.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Gina Driscoll.
See more below on prize criteria, regulations, and previous recipients.
Professors Eligible for the 2023 Binswanger Awards
Expand each block below to see professors listed in alphabetical order by last name.
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A–G Ilesanmi Adeboye, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Abderrahman Aissa, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Arabic
Nadja Aksamija, Associate Professor of Art History
Jane Alden, Professor of Music
Stephen Angle, Professor of Philosophy
Michael Armstrong, Roche Associate Professor of Spanish
B. Balasubrahmaniyan, Adjunct Associate Professor of Music
Hilary Barth, Professor of Psychology
Patricia Beaman, University Professor of Dance
Kate Birney, Associate Professor of Classical Studies
Amy Bloom, Professor of the Practice in Creative Writing
Reinhold Blumel, Professor of Physics
John Bonin, Professor of Economics
Iris Bork-Goldfield, Adjunct Professor of German Studies
Katie Brewer Ball, Assistant Professor of Theater
Neely Bruce, Professor of Music
Ron Cameron, Professor of Religion
Sarah Carney, Associate Professor of the Practice in Psychology
Eric Charry, Professor of Music
Barry Chernoff, Professor of Biology and Earth & Environmental Science
Lisa Cohen, Associate Professor of English
Karen Collins, Professor of Mathematics
Stephen Collins, Associate Professor Film Studies
Robert Conn, Professor of Spanish
David Constantine, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Andrew Curran, Professor of French
Jonathan Cutler, Associate Professor of Sociology
Logan Dancey, Associate Professor of Government
Norman Danner, Professor of Computer Science
Stephen Devoto, Professor of Biology
Lisa Dierker, Professor of Psychology
Marc Eisner, Professor of Government
Fred Ellis, Professor of Physics
Ren Ellis Neyra, Associate Professor of English
Paul Erickson, Associate Professor of History
Adam Fieldsteel, Professor of Mathematics
Octavio Flores-Cuadra, Adjunct Professor of Spanish
Douglas Foyle, Associate Professor of Government
Harris Friedberg, Associate Professor of English
Courtney Fullilove, Associate Professor of History
Susanne Fusso, Professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Giulio Gallarotti, Professor of Government
Daniella Gandolfo, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Matthew Garrett, Associate Professor of English
Martha Gilmore, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Megan Glick, Associate Professor of American Studies
Greg Goldberg, Associate Professor of Sociology
Antonio Gonzalez, Professor of Spanish
Peter Gottschalk, Professor of Religion
Laura Grappo, Assistant Professor of American Studies
James Greenwood, Associate Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Richard Grossman, Professor of Economics
Lori Gruen, Professor of Philosophy -
H–L Mary Alice Haddad, Professor of Government
I. Harjito, University Professor of Music
Cameron Hill, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Christiaan Hogendorn, Professor of Economics
Jay Hoggard, Professor of Music
Oliver Holmes, Professor of History
Scott Holmes, Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Abigail Hornstein, Professor of Economics
Steven Horst, Professor of Philosophy
Mark Hovey, Professor of Mathematics
Elijah Huge, Associate Professor of Art
Meredith Hughes, Associate Professor Astronomy
Lutz Hüwel, Professor of Physics
Masami Imai, Professor of Economics
Tushar Irani, Associate Professor of Letters and Philosophy
Ronald Jenkins, Professor of Theater
Ruth Johnson, Associate Professor of Biology
William Johnston, Professor of History
Barbara Juhasz, Professor of Psychology
Indira Karamcheti, Associate Professor of American Studies
Dalit Katz, Professor of the Practice of Religion
Kehaulani Kauanui, Professor of American Studies
Kerwin Kaye, Associate Professor of Sociology
Anthony Keats, Associate Professor of Economics
Melanie Khamis, Associate Professor of Economics
Roy Kilgard, Associate Professor of the Practice in Astronomy
Ethan Kleinberg, Professor of History and Letters
Katja Kolcio, Associate Professor of Dance
Natasha Korda, Professor of English
Tsampikos Kottos, Professor of Physics
Hari Krishnan, Professor of Dance
Daniel Krizanc, Professor of Computer Science
Timothy Ku, Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Katherine Kuenzli, Professor of Art History
Ronald Kuivila, Professor of Music
Matthew Kurtz, Professor of Psychology
Basak Kus, Associate Professor of Government
Robert Lane, Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Constance Leidy, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Jeffers Lennox, Associate Professor of History
Typhaine Leservot, Associate Professor of French
Dan Licata, Associate of Professor Computer Science -
M–R Amy MacQueen, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Paula Matthusen, Professor of Music
Michael McAlear, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Elizabeth McAlister, Professor of Religion
Sean McCann, Professor of English
James McGuire, Professor of Government
Rashida McMahon, Associate Professor of English
Cecilia Miller, Professor of History
Edward Moran, Professor of Astronomy
Jill Morawski, Professor of Psychology
Ishita Mukerji, Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Michelle Murolo, Professor of the Practice in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Janice Naegele, Professor of Biology
Louise Neary, Adjunct Professor of Spanish
David Nelson, Adjunct Associate Professor of Music
Ellen Nerenberg, Professor of Italian
Marguerite Nguyen, Associate Professor of English
Ruth Nisse, Professor of English
Stewart Novick, Professor of Chemistry
Suzanne O'Connell, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Donald Oliver, Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Rich Olson, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Marcela Oteíza, Associate Professor of Dance
Christopher Parslow, Professor of Classical Studies
Andrea Patalano, Professor of Psychology
Ana Perez-Girones, Adjunct Professor of Spanish
Joel Pfister, Professor of American Studies and English
William Pinch, Professor of History
Ulrich Plass, Professor of German Studies
Catherine Poisson, Associate Professor of French
David Pollack, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Stéphanie Ponsavady, Associate Professor of French
Nadya Potemkina, Adjunct Associate Professor of Music
Helen Poulos, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Joyce Powzyk, Associate Professor of the Practice in Biology
Justine Quijada, Associate Professor of Religion
Julia Randall, Associate Professor of Art
Christopher Rasmussen, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Wendy Rayack, Associate Professor of Economics
Seth Redfield, Professor of Astronomy
Phillip Resor, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Jeff Rider, Professor of French
Patricia Rodriguez Mosquera, Professor of Psychology
Jennifer Rose, Professor of the Practice in the Center for Pedagogical Innovation
Joseph Rouse, Professor of Philosophy and Science in Society
Dana Royer, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Sasha Rudensky, Associate Professor of Art
Ashraf Rushdy, Professor of African American Studies and English
Irina Russu, Professor of Chemistry
Peter Rutland, Professor of Government -
S–Z Lily Saint, Associate Professor of English
Charles Sanislow, Professor of Psychology
Hirsh Sawhney, Associate Professor of English
Jeffrey Schiff, Professor of Art
Olga Sendra Ferrer, Associate Professor of Spanish
Anu Sharma, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Gary Shaw, Professor of History
Damien Sheehan-Connor, Associate Professor of Economics
Sanford Shieh, Professor of Philosophy
Michael Singer, Professor of Biology
Gilbert Skillman, Professor of Economics
Courtney Smith, Associate Professor of English
Elise Springer, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Nicole Stanton, Professor of Dance
Francis Starr, Professor of Physics
Steven Stemler, Professor of Psychology
Brian Stewart, Professor of Physics
Sonia Sultan, Professor of Biology
Prof. Sumarsam, Professor of Music
Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, Professor of Classical Studies
Amy Tang, Associate Professor of English
Elizabeth Traube, Professor of Anthropology
Jennifer Tucker, Associate Professor of History
Laura Ann Twagira, Associate Professor of History
Eirene Visvardi, Associate Professor of Classical Studies
Greg Voth, Professor of Physics
Ao Wang, Associate Professor of East Asian Studies
Takeshi Watanabe, Associate Professor of East Asian Studies
Kari Weil, University Professor of Letters
Stephanie Weiner, Professor of English
Michael Weir, Professor of Biology
Margot Weiss, Associate Professorof American Studies and Anthropology
David Westmoreland, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Sarah Wiliarty, Associate Professor of Government
Su Zheng, Associate Professor of Music
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Recipients - 2022: Frederick M. Cohan, Maria Ospina, Victoria Smolkin
- 2021: Sonali Chakravarti, Douglas A. Martin, Anna Shusterman
- 2020: Gloster Aaron, Robyn Autry, Keiji Shinohara
- 2019: Erika Franklin Fowler, Brian Northrop, Joseph Siry
- 2018: Lisa Dombrowski ’92, Iddrisu Saaka, Erika A. Taylor
- 2017: John E. Finn, Andrea Roberts, Mary-Jane Rubenstein
- 2016: Sally Bachner, Demetrius Eudell, James Lipton
- 2015: Michael Calter, David Schorr, Gina Ulysse
- 2014: Petra Bonfert-Taylor, Robert Steele, Xiaomiao Zhu
- 2013: Phillip Wagoner, Erik Grimmer-Solem, Jeanine Basinger
- 2012: Richard Adelstein, Nathanael Greene, Tula Telfair
- 2011: Wai Kiu Chan, Scott Higgins, Scott Plous
- 2010: Peter Rutland, Stephanie Kuduk Weiner, Jeremy Zwelling
- 2009: Douglas C. Foyle, Irina Russu, John G. Seamon
- 2008: Elizabeth McAlister, Howard I. Needler, Renee Christine Romano
- 2007: Joyce Jacobsen, Richard Slotkin, T. David Westmoreland
- 2006: Stephen Angle, Anthony Braxton, Anne Greene
- 2005: Jonathan Cutler, Jelle De Boer, Karl Scheibe
- 2004: Allan Berlind, Sean McCann, James McGuire
- 2003: William Herbst, Joseph Rouse, Janice Willis
- 2002: Susan Lourie, Cecilia Miller, Franklin Reeve
- 2001: Richard Elphick, Gayle Pemberton, Gilbert Skillman
- 2000: Jon Barlow, Ronald Cameron, Rob Rosenthal
- 1999: Donald Moon, Kachig Toloyan, Hope Weissman
- 1998: Indira Karamcheti, Scott Plous, Ashraf Rushdy
- 1997: John Paoletti, Claire Potter, Richard Slotkin
- 1996: Jeanine Basinger, Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, Ann Wightman
- 1995: Henry Abelove, Ralph Baierlein, Martha Crenshaw
- 1994: Christina Crosby, John E. Finn, Joseph Siry
- 1993: Richard Adelstein, George Creeger, Cheryl Cutler
2020–21 Committee Members
Vanessa Guida '04, Chair (New York, NY)
Lisa Dombrowski '92 (New Haven, CT)
Bobby Donaldson '93 (Columbia, SC)Demetrius Eudell (Middletown, CT)
Marina Melendez '83, MALS '88 (Middlefield, CT)Andrea Roberts PhD '11 (Middletown, CT)
Matt Winn '92 (Atlanta, GA)
Binswanger Prize Criteria and Regulations
The standards and criteria for the annual prizes shall be excellence in teaching, as exemplified by commitment to the classroom and student accomplishment, intellectual demands placed on students, lucidity, and passion. Recommendations may be based on any of the types of teaching that are done at the University including, but not limited to, teaching in lecture courses, seminars, laboratories, creative and performance-based courses, research tutorials and other individual and group tutorials at the undergraduate and graduate level.
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Section I: Eligibility Current faculty who have taught at Wesleyan for at least 10 years are eligible. Previous recipients are excluded for a period of 12 years after which they become eligible once again.
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Section II: Selection Critieria The criteria for selecting the recipients shall be excellence in teaching, as exemplified by commitment to the classroom and student accomplishment, intellectual demands placed on students, lucidity and passion. Recommendations may be based on any of the types of teaching that are done at the University including, but not limited to, teaching in lecture courses, seminars, laboratories, creative and performance-based courses, research tutorials and other individual and group tutorials at the undergraduate and graduate level.
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Section III: Granting of Prizes One to three recipients shall be chosen each year in accordance with these Regulations. The names of the recipients shall be communicated to the University by a designated committee member, and the Prizes shall be awarded at Commencement by the Chair of the Alumni Association.
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Section IV: Understanding Between the Alumni Association and the University Sections I, II, III, and IV of these regulations reflect the current understanding between the Alumni Association and the University with respect to the Prize. The University reserves the right to make changes to the Prize, including but not limited to the Terms of Eligibility; Selection Criteria; number, dollar value, and timing of the Prize. The University also reserves the right to reassign responsibility for administering the selection process and to notify the Chair of the Alumni Association of any changes at least two weeks prior to the fall meeting of the Executive Committee, during the school year for which such changes are to be applicable. The Alumni Association reserves the right not to maintain responsibility for administering the selection process. The Chair of the Association will notify the University of any change no later than one week following the fall meeting of the Executive Committee during the school year for which that decision is applicable.
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Section V: Selection Committee There shall be a Selection Committee, consisting of 5-7 members (one of whom shall be its Chair), whose duty it shall be, among other duties, to canvass students and alumni for recommendations and to convene in the spring to consider these recommendations and choose the recipients of the Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
The Selection Committee will consist of the vice chair of the Alumni Association, three faculty members representing each of the three academic divisions, and up to three members at large, all to be selected by the Chair of the Alumni Association. Members of the Selection Committee shall serve a maximum of four years in any seven-year period. The Chair will appoint members of the Selection Committee such that, in any year, at least one faculty member and one other member of the Selection Committee shall have served on the Selection Committee the previous year. The chair of the Alumni Association will designate one member of the Selection Committee to serve as Chair of the Selection Committee.
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Section VI: Selection Procedure Alumni eligible to submit recommendations shall consist of the members of each of the last ten graduating classes, (BA and graduate alumni), and current juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Alumni shall be contacted solely by email.
At least ten weeks prior to the scheduled meeting of the Selection Committee, the Committee shall send to alumni with known email addresses in the appropriate classes, and current juniors, seniors, and graduate students an email requesting up to three recommendations, ranked in order of preference, with written comments optional. An alphabetical list of eligible faculty with departmental affiliations will be included. The Selection Committee shall contact the three academic deans requesting any information they consider relevant to awarding the Prize. Two weeks after the initial mailing a second email will be sent to eligible alumni with known email addresses, and current juniors, seniors, and graduate students. All recommendations received up to two weeks prior to the scheduled meeting of the Selection Committee will be accepted.
The recommended faculty members will be ranked as follows: Three points are given for a first place showing, two points for a second place showing, and one point for a third place showing. Based upon these rankings, the Selection Committee will request from the Office of Academic Affairs the teaching evaluations of a group of faculty for review by the Committee.
The Selection Committee shall make its determinations in accordance with the Selection Criteria. In making its determinations, the Committee may consider the number of recommendations and point total received by faculty members, the quality of their teaching evaluations, the quality of comments included with recommendations, whether a candidate has been recommended in previous years, whether a candidate has been awarded the Prize in previous years, and such other factors as the Selection Committee may deem relevant.
The Chair of the Selection Committee shall notify the Chair of the Alumni Association of the Selection Committee's determinations.
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Section VII: Amendments Any amendment to these Regulations shall be approved by the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association.
As adopted by the Alumni Association Executive Committee on March 4, 2000 and amended on October 21, 2000, March 4, 2001, November 2, 2001, September 21, 2003, September 24, 2005, and November 1, 2008.