Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award Recipients

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) Excellence in Teaching & Learning Awards recognize regular (Maroon Award) and fixed-term (Gold Award) faculty members who go above and beyond what is expected in creating exceptional learning opportunities for our students. Our recipients are experts in their fields, effective and creative in promoting student learning, inspire students to high achievement and receive high praise from them in return, and are admired advisors and mentors to future educators.​

2026 award recipients

• Laura Cochrane, Department of Philosophy, Anthropology and Religion (Maroon Award)
• Sara Moslener, Department of Philosophy, Anthropology and Religion (Gold Award)
• Holly Lewis, Department of English Language and Literature (Gold Award)
• Tony Jesuale, School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service (Gold Award)

Laura Cochrane

Laura Cochrane is the recipient of the 2025-2026 CLASS Maroon Excellence in Teaching Award. Her impact is perhaps best summed up with these words, written by one of her colleagues:

She is an internationally recognized expert in the study of anthropology with an impressive publication record, and that scholarly acumen directly and undoubtedly informs her pedagogical excellence here at CMU. Students regularly report that Dr. Cochrane is an empathetic instructor who works to ensure that they are succeeding in the classroom and outside of the classroom.

Sara Moslener

Sara Moslener is a recipient of the 2025-2026 CLASS Gold Excellence in Teaching Award to recognize fixed-term faculty members. Her impact is perhaps best summed up by these words written by her Department Chair:

Dr. Sara Moslener is an excellent scholar whose courses reflect both a deep knowledge of best pedagogical practices and utilizes traditional and more recent methodological approaches. Time and again, I hear from our students how much they appreciate Dr. Moslener, especially for the ways in which she is able to empathetically guide them through difficult course materials related to the complex intersections between construction of race, racism, and religious beliefs/practices, especially as they relate to American Christianity.

Holly Lewis

Holly Lewis is a recipient of the 2025-2026 CLASS Gold Excellence in Teaching Award to recognize fixed-term faculty members. Her impact is perhaps best summed up by these words written by one of her students:

As an instructor and curriculum designer, Ms. Lewis consistently thinks outside the box. She goes out of her way to design innovative new learning experiences that are relevant to the experiences and aspirations of our composition students. She asks students to compose multimodal texts geared to digital spaces, while also asking them to build a sense of community. She asks them to aspire and to advocate. She asks them to conduct original research that builds their intellectual skills and leads them to develop new knowledge.

Anthony Jesuale

Anthony Jesuale is a recipient of the 2025-2026 CLASS Gold Excellence in Teaching Award to recognize fixed-term faculty members. His impact is perhaps best summed up by these words written by one of his students:

Dr. Jesuale deserves to receive the Gold Excellence in Teaching & Learning Award because of his commitment to student learning and success. His ability to challenge students intellectually while providing meaningful support creates an environment where learning is both rigorous and rewarding. His engaging teaching style and genuine investment in student growth have made a lasting impact on my academic journey and career aspirations. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have learned from him and feel confident in saying that he exemplifies what it means to be an outstanding educator.

Past award recipients

Maroon Awards

• 2012 - John Robertson, History
• 2013 - Jonathan Truitt, History
• 2014 - Cathy Willermet, Anthropology
• 2015 - Nancy Herman-Kinney, Sociology
• 2016 - Timothy Hartshorne, Psychology
• 2016 - David Kinney, Sociology
• 2017 - Leila Ennaili, World Languages
• 2018 - Amy Carpenter Ford, English
• 2019 - So Hee Jeon, Political Science & Public Administration
• 2019 - Kelly Murphy, Religion
• 2020 - Brittany Fremion, History
• 2021 - Lissa Schwander, Social Work
• 2022 - Matthew Roberson, English
• 2022 - Laurel Zwissler, Religion
• 2023 – Maria Chouza-Calo, Department of History, World Languages, and Cultures
• 2023 – Kyla Stepp, School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service
• 2024 – Maj. Nicholas Andrychowski, Department of Military Science and Leadership
• 2024 – Susan Grettenberger, School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service
• 2025 - Nicole Sparling Barco, Department of English Language and Literature

• 2012 - Todd Tremlin, Religion
• 2013 - Ted Troxell, English
• 2014 - Matthew Katz, Philosophy
• 2015 - Amanda Garrison, Sociology
• 2016 - Andrea Devenney, English
• 2017 - Joseph Anderson, Philosophy
• 2018 - Andrew Dietzel, History
• 2018 - Seth Whiting, Psychology
• 2019 - Matthew Katz, Philosophy
• 2019 - Dietmar Krumrey, English
• 2020 - Dusty Myers, Sociology
• 2020 - Elizabeth Whitaker, Sociology
• 2021 - Cindy Davis, World Languages
• 2021 - Jody Sauer, Sociology
• 2023 – Grace VanDeMark, School of Politics, Society Justice and Public Service
• 2025 - Melissa Stanley, Department of History, World Languages, and Cultures 

Excellence in Teaching Award recipients

• 2005 - First Award​, Susan Steffel, English
• 2006 - William Reader, Religion
• 2007 - Elizabeth Brockman, English
• 2008 - Jeffrey Weinstock, English
• 2009 - Joyce Baugh, Political Science & Public Administration
• 2010 - Dan Pugh, Anthropology