Ten instructors were honored this month for their exceptional dedication and skill in working with Illinois State University students. The 2023 Outstanding University Teaching Awards were presented as a part of the annual Teaching & Learning Symposium on January 10.
All honorees were selected by the University Teaching Council on behalf of the Office of the Provost, with candidates in each category having been nominated by both their academic department and college. Nominees then completed a portfolio process, reflecting on their growth as teachers and highlighting their successes in the classroom and beyond.
Tenured Award
This category recognizes tenured faculty. To be eligible, nominees must be full-time, tenured faculty with at least three years of service at Illinois State University.
Sunil Chebolu
Dr. Sunil Chebolu joined Illinois State in 2008 as a faculty member and has served as the undergraduate director in the Department of Mathematics since 2012. Drawing from more than two decades of teaching experience across the U.S., Canada, China, and India, he has taught about 30 different undergraduate and graduate courses and supervised numerous research projects, independent studies, and master’s theses. Chebolu’s teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that mathematics is a beautiful, dynamic, and exciting discipline accessible to students of all backgrounds. His teaching methodology vividly reflects this belief, infusing his infectious enthusiasm, historical motivation, real-world applications, and interactive elements such as games, puzzles, and his own YouTube videos. Through this, he strives to dismantle barriers while fostering an engaging, fun, and inclusive classroom environment.
Lindsey Thomas
Dr. Lindsey Thomas, from the School of Communication, primarily teaches undergraduate courses in interpersonal communication and research methods, and she teaches graduate seminars in interpersonal and family communication, narrative, and health communication. She also works with graduate students on master’s projects and theses that incorporate similar topics; advises Illinois State’s chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association’s honor society; and supervises the graduate students who teach the introductory interpersonal course. Thomas believes that continuous learning is the best part of teaching, so she especially appreciates the reciprocal learning relationship she gets to engage in with so many unique, passionate, and talented students and colleagues at Illinois State.
Non-Tenure Track Award
This category recognizes full- or part-time teachers with non-tenure track appointments and administrative professionals and civil service employees with university credit-generating teaching responsibilities.
Nichole Hughes-Liss
Nichole Hughes-Liss teaches in the School of Communication and is a student conduct coordinator in the Student Conduct and Community Responsibilities office. She has taught Communication as Critical Inquiry and Introduction to the Study of Communication since 2017. She also served as an academic advisor for Interpersonal Communication and Political Communication majors.
Hughes-Liss has used her research in praxis for local political campaigns. In the classroom, she strives to focus on student voices and practical communication strategies to help students become better advocates for themselves and their communities.
Claire and Tom Lamonica Award for A/P or CS
In 2020, Dr. Claire Lamonica retired after several years leading the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. She and her husband, Tom, who also teaches at Illinois State, generously established this award to recognize teachers in the Administrative Professional or Civil Service classification.
Kate Boutilier
Kate Boutilier is an academic advisor in the School of Communication, where she also earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She has previously taught the basic speech communication course and introductory courses for Communication Studies and Mass Media majors. She is a member of the Administrative Professional Council; the College of Arts & Sciences College Council; the University’s Strategic Planning Task Force; and participates in the “Small Changes, Big Impact” learning community through the Center for Integrated Professional Development. In 2023, she was awarded the Emerging Leader in Academic Advising Award from the Academic Advising Council.
Teaching Initiative Award
This category recognizes pre-tenure professors who have shown considerable promise in teaching early in their academic careers.
Theresa Adelman-Mullally
Dr. Theresa Adelman-Mullally joined the Mennonite College of Nursing in 2018 as a faculty member, after earning a Ph.D. in nursing from Mennonite in 2017. Adelman-Mullally primarily teaches undergraduate courses in psychomotor skills and mental health nursing, and she has mentored an Honor’s Independent Study student. She mentors graduate students as a member of two dissertation committees and as chair of three dissertation committees. Her research interests include nursing education as well as mental health nursing, and she is currently conducting research and disseminating findings from both areas. Through her work on several committees and projects within the college, she supports Illinois State’s goal of creating the most supportive and productive community possible along with the Mennonite vision of changing the world one exceptionally well-prepared nurse at a time.
Byron Craig
Dr. Byron Craig started at Illinois State in 2019, as a part of the School of Communication. Craig teaches a variety of courses in the School of Communication, including courses that cover issues of diversity and culture in American culture as well as classes specific to African American rhetorical traditions, visual rhetoric, and race and trauma. Craig’s research interests include race and rhetoric in the public culture, race and media and film studies, fandom culture and Black fan sites, and African American soul food traditions. Beginning this month, Craig serves as Illinois State’s interim chief equity and inclusion officer. He looks forward to continuing his work to ensure students have a safe space to learn, grow as scholars, and become better equipped citizens after leaving the University.
Jeongae Kang
Dr. Jeongae Kang joined the Department of Special Education at Illinois State in August of 2019. Kang has taught a variety of courses in the department including “Assessment and Instruction in Special Education” and “Teacher Leadership in Special Education.” Her research and teaching interests include special education teacher preparation in making data-informed instructional decisions and improving equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in special education teacher preparation. She has served multiple department-and college-level committees and task forces related to curriculum development. Kang has mentored students through honors contracts, faculty-mentored independent research experiences, capstone projects, and theses. She is currently chairing two doctoral student dissertation committees.
Laura Finan
Dr. Laura Finan is a faculty member in the Department of Psychology. Finan teaches a variety of courses including lifespan development, adult development and aging, and developmental research methods. Her research interests include how social-ecological factors contribute to adolescents’ and young adults’ health and health risk behaviors. In addition to working on master’s and doctoral committees, she has supervised more than 30 out-of-class experiences for graduate and undergraduate students. Finan incorporates a range of instructional approaches and technologies in her instruction with the goal of helping students bridge the gap between material learned in the classroom to practice and policy.
Shelby Putt
In 2019, Dr. Shelby Putt joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Illinois State. Before coming to Illinois State, Putt worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Stone Age Institute and Indiana University. Putt teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in biological anthropology, human evolution, primate behavior, and experimental archaeology. She has chaired one master’s thesis and mentored 18 undergraduate and graduate students in research projects, senior theses, independent studies, and assistantships, and currently sits on the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee. Putt creates a student-centered classroom that emphasizes the power of play and project-based learning. Her goal is to ensure that her students develop the critical thinking skills they need to become responsible world citizens and lifelong learners.
Graduate Teaching Award
This category recognizes outstanding contributions to teaching made by graduate students as part of their program and educational experience at Illinois State University.
Omolola Lasisi
Omolola Lasisi is currently a second-year graduate student in the School of Communication. Since joining the University in 2022, Omolola has taught several sections of Communication as Critical Inquiry, the General Education public speaking class for first-year undergraduate students. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of student motivation, class climate, and self-efficacy as it relates to student learning and female leaders in higher education. She uses bits and pieces of students’ unique experiences to build learning environments where students will be comfortable and happy. She also serves as a peer mentor in the School of Communication, working with new graduate teaching assistants and mentoring them in effective teaching behavior and techniques.
Past honorees
These 10 instructors are the latest in a long line of excellent teachers honored by the University. You can learn more about the awards and past winners on the Center for Integrated Professional Development’s website.
