Previous Award Recipients
Teaching Awards Ceremony
Every year the Center for Teaching Excellence, Office of Graduate Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences host a combined ceremony to recognize dedicated UNM educators.
Award winners are chosen for their commitment to excellent teaching, community engagement and their innovative pedagogy.
We invite colleagues, family, friends to attend the ceremony.
2023-2024 Teaching Excellence Award Recipients:
2024—2026 Presidential Teaching Fellow
Leola Tsinnajinnie Paquin
Native American Studies Department
Outstanding Teacher of the Year
Eli Wilson
Department of Sociology & Criminology
Lecturer of the Year
Irina Meier
Department of Languages, Cultures, and Literatures
Affiliated Teacher of the Year
Maria DeBlassie
UNM Honors College
Online Teacher of the Year
Cristina Reiser
Department of Economics
Branch Campus Tenure-Track Teacher of the Year
Tammi Duncan-Teller
Valencia Branch Campus
Early Career Teacher of the Year
Nahir I. Otaño Gracia
Department of English Language and Literature
Susan Deese-Roberts Outstanding Teaching Assistants of the Year
Kani Aniegboka
Department of English Language and Literature
Kwabena Dabie
Department of Chemistry
Arlin Diaz Torres
Dept. of Individual, Family, & Community Education
Julie Peterman
Department of English Language and Literature
Érick Pineda
Department of Spanish & Portuguese
Previous Award Recipients
- Maria Lane (Presidential)
Megan Jacobs (Outstanding)
Miriam Gay-Antaki (New Teacher)
Cherry Singhal (Lecturer)
Karen Odell (Lecturer)
Tiffany Bourelle (Online)
Branch Campus Tenure-Track Teacher of the Year
Dr. Aretha Matt (Branch Tenure)
Daniel Kowalczyk (Outstanding TA)
Fátima Dutra (Outstanding TA)
Jorge Hernández (Outstanding TA)
Klara Hedling (Outstanding TA)
Zachary Ramsey (Outstanding TA)
- Laura Haniford (Presidential)
Ilia Rodriguez Nazario (Outstanding)
Meggan Gould (Outstanding)
Jingjing Wang (New Teacher)
Llewelynn "Welly" Fletcher (New Teacher)
Mr. Peng Yu (Lecturer)
Dr. Summer Hayek (Lecturer
Dr. Marina Popova (Online)
Dr. Jerry Godbout (Branch Tenure)
Korina Apodaca Cordova (Outstanding TA)
Austin Bell (Outstanding TA)
Jessie Bonafede (Outstanding TA)
Sean Fullerton (Outstanding TA)
Keisuke Kimura (Outstanding TA)
- Rosa Vallejos-Yópan (Presidential)
- Felisha Rohan-Minjares (Outstanding)
- Caroline Scruggs (Outstanding)
- Fletcher Christensen (New Teacher)
Sarah Townsend (New Teacher) - Frances Vitali (Lecturer)
- Breanna Griego-Schmitt (Affiliated Faculty)
- Tracy Lassiter (Branch Tenure)
- Cecille Perales (Branch Lecturer)
- Huey Yi Chang (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
Jordan O. James (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
Stefan Koekemoer (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
Andrea Quijada (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
Anja Sanchez (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
Amy Schofield (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
- Manuel Montoya (Presidential)
- Eva Rodriguez Gonzalez (Outstanding)
- Christine Zuni Cruz (Outstanding)
- Maryam Ahranjani (New Teacher)
- Heather Sweetser (Lecturer)
- Alaa Quarishi (Affiliated Faculty)
- Marissa Greenberg (Online Teacher)
- Josefina Bittar Prieto (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
- Motomi Kajitani (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
- Jonathan Keller (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
- Erin Gould (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
- Emma Mincks (Outstanding Teaching Assistant)
- Amy Gore (Teaching Assistant)
- Bethany Davila (Outstanding)
- Camille Dwyer (Teaching Assistant)
- Cristyn Elder (Outstanding)
- Darin Brown (Teaching Assistant)
- David Paez (Teaching Assistant)
- Debra Nieto (Teaching Assistant)
- Julianne Newark (New Lecturer)
- Marygold Walsh-Dilley (New Teacher)
- Noah Painter (New Teacher)
- Shirley Heying (Online Teacher)
- Tamar Ginossar (Presidential)
- Asal Naseri (New Lecturer)
- Benjamin Burnett (Teaching Assistant)
- Christopher Butler (Presidential)
- Finnie Coleman (Outstanding)
- Heather Canavan (Outstanding)
- Jami Nunez (New Teacher)
- Jason Moore (New Teacher)
- Kate Cartwright (New Teacher)
- Kellin Rumsey (Teaching Assistant)
- Kelly C. Da Silva (Teachin Assistant)
- Mary Hershberger (Teaching Assistant)
- Peter Lisignoli (New Lecturer)
- Regina Puccetti (New Lecturer)
- Sarah Worland (Teaching Assistant)
- Abdelbaset Haridy (Teaching Assistant)
- Brian Goldstein (New Teacher)
- Bruno Gagnon (Outstanding)
- Christopher Butler (Teacher)
- Colin Olson (Lecturer)
- Cristyn Elder (New Teacher)
- David Schneider (Lecturer)
- J. Hugo Garcia Macias (Teaching Assistant)
- Jesse Aleman (Presidential)
- Jocelyn Gonzales (Rios) (Teaching Assistant)
- Maria Velez (Teacher)
- Phillip Schoenberg (Teaching Assistant)
- Ryan Goodman (Lecturer)
- Zoe Speidel (Teaching Assistant)
- Brian Goldstein (New Teacher)
- Allen E. Butt (Lecturer)
- Amy L. Brandzel (Teacher)
- Ana June (Teacher Assistant)
- Andrew S. Taylor (Teacher Assistant)
- Bernadine Hernández (New Teacher)
- Emma Gale Trentman (New Teacher)
- Kathryn McKnight (Teacher)
- Kelly Van Andel (Outstanding)
- Laura L. Burton (Lecturer)
- Lloyd L. Lee (Presidential)
- Malik Barrett (Teacher Assistant)
- Mel Strong (Lecturer)
- Monica Mancillas (Teacher Assistant)
- Rachel F. Gift (Teacher Assistant)
