The Priestley Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in Chemistry

The Priestley Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in Chemistry is awarded annually to a faculty member in the Chemistry Department for excellence in undergraduate chemistry instruction. The winner receives a plaque and a cash prize of $6500. The Priestley Prize was established in 2002 to recognize the best undergraduate teachers in the Chemistry Department as measured by the increase in learning and enthusiasm for the subject by the students in chemistry courses.

Nominations And Evaluation

Faculty members eligible for the 2025 award are listed below. Faculty not on this list will likely be eligible for the award next year and you may nominate them now if you wish. Your nomination will be saved and used at the appropriate time. Nominations for the award are accepted at any time. To submit a nomination please fill out the web nomination form.

Angela Bischof
Mary Jo Bojan
Jason Cross
Sheryl Dykstra
Lisa Funari
Adam Herring
Kate Masters
Bratoljub Milosavljevic
Katheryn Penrod
Zachary Rhoden
Kyle Schmid
Lori Stepan
Dan Sykes

The winner is selected by a committee consisting of two undergraduate students, two tenure-track faculty members and two non-tenure track faculty members, all from the Department of Chemistry at University Park. The committee solicits nominations from faculty and students of all undergraduate courses offered in the Department in the Spring and Fall semesters of each calendar year. After review of the nominations and other teaching evaluations, the committee chooses the winner in a blind vote. The winner for a given calendar year is announced late in the Spring of the following year.