Tag: Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award

Amy Marcarelli: Distinguished Teaching & MASU Distinguished Professor of the Year Nominee

Amy Marcarelli
Amy Marcarelli

Congratulations to Amy Marcarelli! She is one of the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award winners. She also is a nominee for the 2023 University’s MASU Distinguished Professor of the Year.

Amy is an ecosystem ecologist with interests in energy and biogeochemical cycles in freshwaters. Her research program blends basic and applied research and integrates across aquatic habitats, including stream, river, wetland, lake littoral zones, and the nearshore regions of the Great Lakes. Marcarelli’s past and future research trajectory is governed by an interest in understanding the role of small, poorly quantified fluxes or perturbations on ecosystem processes and in linking those ecosystem processes to the underlying structure of microbial, algal, macrophyte and animal communities.

Since 1982, a Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award has been presented annually in each of two categories: Associate Professor/Professor and Assistant Teaching Professor/Associate Teaching Professor/Teaching Professor/Professor of Practice/Assistant Professor. The award nomination and review processes have always been student-driven; an explicit student nomination process was discontinued in 1999 when it was determined that too few students were participating to identify the best candidates.

Since 1999, a group of five finalists in each of the two categories is selected based on student ratings of instruction completed during a calendar year. All instructional personnel who received at least 35 student ratings during spring and fall semesters within that calendar year are eligible except for those who are previous winners, department chairs, teaching assistants, temporary hires, etc. Eligible faculty are ranked by their cumulative average of the 7-Dimensions on the survey for the given year. The top 5 in each category are selected as finalists.

The Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year award recognizes the outstanding contributions and dedication exhibited by the faculty from Michigan’s 15 public universities to the education of undergraduate students. Each university was invited to nominate a faculty member who has had a significant impact on undergraduate student learning through various activities, particularly classroom instruction, applied research, experiential learning, innovation and mentoring.

Biological Sciences Department Award Winners holding their awards
Biological Sciences Department Award Winners

About the Biological Sciences Department

Biological scientists at Michigan Technological University help students apply academic concepts to real-world issues: improving healthcare, conserving biodiversity, advancing agriculture, and unlocking the secrets of evolution and genetics. The Biological Sciences Department offers seven undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees. Supercharge your biology skills to meet the demands of a technology-driven society at a flagship public research university powered by science, technology, engineering, and math. Graduate with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to solve real-world problems and succeed in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business landscape.

Questions? Contact us at biology@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest happenings

Amy Marcarelli is the recipient of MTU’s 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award in the Associate Professor/Professor category 

Amy Marcarelli
Amy Marcarelli

Amy Marcarelli is a professor of biological sciences and an ecosystem ecologist with an interest in energy and biogeochemical cycles in freshwater bodies. She received her bachelor’s in biology from Colgate University and her Ph.D. in ecology from Utah State. She is the director of both the Ecosystem Science Center and the Aquatic Analysis (AQUA) shared facility at Michigan Tech. Her research applies across aquatic habitats, including streams, rivers, wetlands, lake littoral zones — the sloping area where sunlight reaches from the lake’s surface all the way to the sediment, located between the shore and deeper water — and the nearshore regions of the Great Lakes.

“Amy Marcarelli is a true example of the teacher-scholar model. She maintains an active research program studying ecology of aquatic ecosystems and has administrative duties as the director of our Ecosystem Science Center on campus. Yet she also devotes vast time and talent to doing an outstanding job in the classroom, introducing our students to the remarkable ecology of Lake Superior, involving them by the dozens in research in her laboratory, and preparing students for graduate school and careers. Michigan Tech is fortunate to have Dr. Marcarelli on our faculty.”

David Hemmer, Dean of the Michigan Tech College of Sciences and Arts

Amy Marcarelli Receives the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award

Amy Marcarelli
Amy Marcarelli

Amy Marcarelli, a professor in Biological Sciences, has received the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award in the category of Associate Professor/Professor. Dr. Marcarelli is an ecosystem ecologist with an interest in energy and biogeochemical cycles in freshwaters. Her research program blends basic and applied research and integrates across aquatic habitats including stream, river, wetland, lake littoral zones, and the nearshore regions of the Great Lakes.

“That’s fantastic news. Amy is not just passionate about educating the next generation of students but also very kind to her students and creative with her courses. We greatly appreciate her dedication and contributions to the teaching mission of Michigan Tech,” Chandrashekhar Joshi, the Department Chair of Biological Sciences, said.

Dr. Marcarelli said, “Thank you to all of my colleagues in the Biology Department for creating a community where teaching is valued, where we learn from and support each other in our teaching journeys, and where student success is the top priority in and out of the classroom.  I believe that community is why we have had such success in this award, with many more who have been nominated (and with awards in their futures, I’m sure!).  I am inspired by you, and grateful to have you as colleagues and friends.”

Since 1982, a Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award is presented annually in each of two categories: Associate Professor/Professor and Assistant Teaching Professor/Associate Teaching Professor/Teaching Professor/Professor of Practice/Assistant Professor.

Since 1999, a group of five finalists in each of the two categories is selected based on student ratings of instruction completed during a calendar year. All instructional personnel who received at least 35 student ratings during spring and fall semesters within that calendar year are eligible except for those who are previous winners, department chairs, teaching assistants, temporary hires, etc. Eligible faculty are ranked by their cumulative average of the 7-Dimensions on the survey for the given year. The top 5 in each category are selected as finalists.

On behalf of the students, staff, and faculty in the Biological Sciences department, we congratulate Dr. Marcarelli for winning the 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award. It is a terrific achievement. We thank you for your excellent contributions to Michigan Tech’s critically important teaching mission.

4 Biological Sciences Faculty Announced as Distinguished Teaching Award Finalists

The Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award is presented annually. Since 1982, an award has been given in each category: 1. Associate Professor or Professor and 2. Lecturer, Professor of Practice, or Assistant Professor.  Based on more than 50,000 student rating of instruction responses, 12 finalists have been identified for the 2018 awards. Out of the 12 finalists, 4 of them are from the Department of Biological Sciences!

This year’s finalists are:

Assistant Professor / Lecturer / Professor of Practice Category

  • Andrew Barnard (MEEM), Assistant Professor
  • Lisa Johnson de Gordillo (VPA), Assistant Professor
  • Heather Knewtson (SBE), Assistant Professor
  • Brigitte Morin (Bio Sci), Senior Lecturer
  • Stephen Techtmann (Bio Sci), Assistant Professor
  • Ebenezer Tumban (Bio Sci), Assistant Professor
  • Jeffrey Wall (SBE), Assistant Professor

Associate Professor / Professor Category

  • Andrew Burton (SFRES), Professor
  • Ann Maclean (SFRES), Professor
  • Amy Marcarelli (Bio Sci), Associate Professor
  • Christopher Webster (SFRES), Professor
  • Richelle Winkler (Soc Sci), Associate Professor

This is the second year in a row that Brigitte Morin has been nominated for the award. She instructs foundation courses in our Medical Laboratory Science program and has also created a popular new course on the practice and science of yoga. Stephen Techtmann teaches environmental and advanced microbiology courses. Ebenezer Tumban teaches our general microbiology and virology courses. Amy Marcarelli teaches a variety of ecology courses and created a new professional development course for graduate students in science.

The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning seeks input for the finalists. Comments on the nominees are due by Monday, March 26, and can be completed online. The process for determining the Distinguished Teaching Award recipients from this list of finalists also involves the additional surveying of their spring classes.

The selection committee makes the final determination of the award recipients. The 2018 Distinguished Teaching Awards will be formally announced in May.