2014 Innovation in Teaching Award Recipients

The Innovation in Teaching Award recognizes faculty whose teaching significantly enhances students' learning in the AC classroom. The applicant pool was highly competitive, so much so that awards were presented by the selection committee to two faculty.

Professor Leslea Hlusko - Integrative Biology 35AC

leslea huskoSince the Fall of 2005, Professor Hlusko has developed her American Cultures course Integrative Biology 35AC 'Human Biological Variation', the first course in the biological sciences to satisfy UC Berkeley's AC Requirement. She designed this course in order to expose the cultural and historical relevance of biology to both students who may never take another biology class in their lives and scientists that have intimate knowledge of their subject but do not discover its connection within larger contexts. The course is innovative in the way it teaches students how biological variation plays a role in day-to-day life-from interactions on the street, to governmental policies on healthcare and food stamps, to how a doctor interacts with her patients. Professor Hlusko feels strongly that an understanding of the millions of years of human evolution goes a long way towards alleviating much of the anger, racism, and hostility that revolves around race,ethnicity,disability,disease, and sexual orientation (among other contemporary social and racial constructs).

Professor Jun Sunseri - Anthropology 2AC

jun senseri Professor Sunseri is given this award for his creation and instruction of Anthropology 2AC, the first American Cultures  Engaged Scholarship (ACES) course in the department of Anthropology. This course explores the implications of having  non-written histories for American communities, positioning them in a real social and political context. Students work with  communities in the Bay Area and other parts of California, by partaking in community engaged activities including "mock-  digs" and community mapping with students from K-12, and working with community members towards rights of  sovereignty, land and water for Native Californian communities. Professor Sunseri innovates community engaged  scholarship through the Anthropology department that is designed to create a lasting impact on both the students  enrolled and the communities they work with and inhabit.