The School of Arts and Sciences announced its 2026 distinguished teaching awards on Monday.
Award recipients were nominated by students and faculty earlier this semester and are being recognized for their teaching and mentorship efforts. The Provost’s Office also honored three SAS faculty members with University-wide awards.
In a Mar. 23 email, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Mark Trodden wrote that the eight award categories are intended to “applaud” the “extraordinary commitment” the recipients have to student education.
Among the award recipients is Classical Studies professor Kim Bowes, who won the SAS Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching and the University-wide Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Bowes told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the “distinguished” title refers to educators who provide instruction that “challenges students to think differently.” She added that it has become increasingly important to push students as artificial intelligence use has grown and “given us a false sense that there are easy answers out there.”
“What we can do as instructors is constantly challenge that and ask students to ask really hard questions about whatever they’re studying, to upend an easy answer,” she said.
Bowes emphasized that she is “honored to stand among” her “already very brilliant colleagues” in the Classical Studies department.
Chemistry professor Marsha Lester also received the Penn-wide distinguished teaching award. Lester expressed that she was “blown away” and “still shaking” from the recognition — as well as the support from students who “engaged themselves enough to prepare this nomination.”
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Chemistry professor Ivan Dmochowski, recipient of the Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring, said that the recognition is “good for faculty morale.”
Dmochowski explained that he has worked toward fostering a “supportive culture” and lab environment for Ph.D. students as a mentor. He added that it is “great that Penn recognizes” how “fantastically important and fulfilling” Ph.D. mentoring is for faculty.
Earth and Environmental Sciences professor Jane Dmochowski received the SAS Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Affiliated Faculty.
She expressed that Penn should continue honoring faculty for their contributions to students.
“We often don’t recognize, in the end, none of us would be here without students, and especially without undergraduates,” Dmochowski said. “Giving awards that focus on our relationships and our teaching of the actual undergraduate students — to me, we can't give enough of those.”
The SAS award recipients will be honored at a school-wide reception on April 30. The event will take place in College Hall room 200 at noon.
The University honorees will be recognized at a Penn-wide event on April 23 in Houston Hall.
