Each year the UCSB division of the UC Academic Senate selects five of its members and one nonladder faculty to honor for excellence in teaching. It also honors teaching assistants and graduate mentors.

This year the honorees gathered on March 9 at the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center’s McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020) for a reception prior to their presentation to the division members, friends, and colleagues. The distinguished teaching awardees were especially notable as a group for the longevity of their teaching careers—four of them had taught for around 30 years—and commitment to more than one department or program, often at the same time.

Given Distinguished Teaching Awards, and $1,000 each, were: Sheridan Blau, English and education departments; Patricia Cohen, history; Ralph Gallucci, classics; Mark Juergensmeyer, sociology, religious studies, and global and international studies; Michael Mahan, molecular, cellular, and developmental biology; and Robert Warner, ecology, evolution, and marine biology and the College of Creative Studies.

Established in 2005, Senate Outstanding Graduate Mentor Awards went this year to Merith Cosden, professor of education, and Reginald Golledge, professor of geography. They also received honorariums of $1,000 each from the Senate.

Recognized with Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards and prizes of $1,000 each were Stuart Levenbach, ecology, evolution, and marine biology; Craig Nelson, ecology, evolution, and marine biology; David Romblom, physics; and Jessica Timpany, political science.

Also announced at the meeting were two Departmental Graduate Mentorship Awards from the UCSB Graduate Council and the Graduate Division. The awards each carry a one-year recruitment stipend worth more than $17,000.

This academic year, the departments of history and physics were lauded for their efforts to recruit top graduate students, effectively distribute funds, and to support students’ abilities to succeed. History was singled out for faculty participation in TA training, and physics was praised for “programs that give graduate students opportunities to be teachers as well as mentors.”