Northwestern Engineering Names Winners of 2021 Cole-Higgins Awards
Casey Ankeny, Steven Franconeri, Victor Lefevre, Jill Wilson, and Kiki Zissimopoulos received the awards
Five members of the Northwestern Engineering community have received the school’s annual awards for outstanding teaching and advising.
Casey Ankeny, Steven Franconeri, Victor Lefevre, and Jill Wilson received the 2021 Cole-Higgins Award for Excellence in Teaching. Kiki Zissimopoulos earned the Cole-Higgins Award for Excellence in Advising.
Casey Ankeny
Ankeny, associate professor of instruction in biomedical engineering and director of the department’s master’s program, was honored for “seamlessly executed virtual teaching practices with particular care for support of students from underrepresented groups.” One student nominator said Ankeny was “incredibly kind, considerate, and understanding of the situation surrounding remote learning” and worked to ensure a smooth classroom setting while ensuring the comfort of students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM.
“She has set an outstanding example for professors at (Northwestern) and I sincerely hope that effort will be recognized,” the nominator said.
Steven Franconeri
Franconeri, a member of the Design Research Council, director the Northwestern Cognitive Science Program, director of the Visual Thinking Laboratory, and professor of psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, was cited for “engaging instruction in a class (DSGN 426: Whole-brain Communication) identified by many MMM students as the most impactful they have taken.” One student nominator said Whole-brain Communication was the best class they had taken, and also expected it to be the most useful.
“Professor Franconeri was incredibly engaging, provided extremely positive energy and humor, and did an excellent job showing us how information could be presented both poorly and effectively,” the nominator said. “He also explained the ‘why’ behind the differences with examples that I reflect on whenever I design a PowerPoint. It is rare that I reach the end of a course and am disappointed that it is over, but this was a consistent sentiment among my MMM class, and I think it speaks volumes to Professor Franconeri as an instructor.”
Victor Lefevre
Lefevre, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, was lauded for “responding to student needs and anxieties during the pandemic, while innovating with project-oriented teaching methods.” A student nominator said Lefevre “truly deserves this award and recognition because he showed to be a fantastic instructor who cares about his students and has a passion for teaching even under the circumstances of a pandemic.”
“It's not every day that a professor gets the admiration of his entire class to the point where group chat conversations are about giving him good reviews and finding ways to let him know that we appreciated his class,” a nominator said.
Jill Wilson
Wilson, assistant chair and professor of instruction of industrial engineering and management sciences, was praised for “maintaining a classroom environment in which students feel welcome, valued, supported, and engaged.” A student nominator who was in Wilson’s IEMS 202: Probability course said she is a “fantastic teacher” whose teaching style made it easy to learn.
“She made herself very available for meetings outside of office hours and checked up on her students individually to make sure we had no problems or confusion with anything,” the nominator said. “The benefit of Professor Wilson's dedication to making her students feel supported cannot be understated, especially during the difficult times of COVID-19.”
Kiki Zissimopoulos
Zissimopoulos, assistant professor of instruction and a McCormick first-year adviser, was extolled for “exceptional care and thoroughness in supporting students’ success and sense of belonging.” A student nominator said Zissimopoulos is “simply the best.”
“So caring, thoughtful, genuine, kind, and helpful,” the nominator said. “So consistently knowledgeable and wise. There is nothing more I could ask for in an adviser.”