Jennelle Malcos Receives George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching

Penn State President Eric Barron, left, presented Jennelle L. Malcos with the 2015 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Jennelle L. Malcos, lecturer in biology at Penn State University, has received the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level across all Penn State colleges and campuses. Malcos is one of six awardees for 2015.

Malcos teaches introductory courses in physiology, mammalian anatomy, and cell biology. She uses an innovative approach to ensure that students are actively engaged in learning despite the large size of these classes -- often several hundred students. One innovation she he has implemented is the use of learning assistants in her large lecture courses. The learning assistants, many of whom are former students, lead small-group discussions and problem-solving activities during the class. She also has helped to create and is the faculty associate for the Biology Home (BIOME), a special housing option at Penn State dedicated to creating a strong academic community for first-year biology students.

Malcos was honored with the Penn State Eberly College of Science Climate and Diversity Award in 2011. She was inducted into the National Residence Hall Honorary as a faculty member by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls in 2012 for her work with BIOME. She also has been recognized with the First-Year-Experience Faculty Appreciation Award in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

In addition to being a lecturer, Malcos is also an academic advisor in biology at Penn State. Malcos earned a doctoral degree in biology at Penn State in 2009 and a bachelor's degree in biology at Canisius College in 2003.