Assistant professor of psychology earns First Year Faculty Award

09/21/2011 3:28 PM

By Brigitte Graf ’13

Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology Dr. Stephenie Chaudoir has been awarded the First Year Faculty Award. This award granted by the University seeks to acknowledge instructors who demonstrate exceptional abilities in the classroom throughout their first year of teaching.

“[Stephanie] is very deserving and this award just ratifies what we already know, that she is hard working and very thoughtful,” said Derek Montgomery, chair of the Department of Psychology. “She puts a lot of time into working with students, and it is very rewarding for us to see that hard work recognized.”

Chaudoir, who currently teaches courses in health psychology and the psychology of stigma, does not attribute this award to her own efforts alone.

“It was definitely a collaborative process,” Chaudoir said. “I had a lot of support from my colleagues in the department and they contributed directly to helping me win the award and I’ve learned a lot from them.”

In the classroom, Chaudoir seeks to create an “engaging and active” atmosphere. By implementing projects of a hands-on nature throughout the semester she strives to help her students not only retain the knowledge they gain but also to apply it.

“My goal is to get the most out of students; perhaps even more than they thought was possible,” Chaudoir said. “I plan classes in which students learn a lot, they’re actively engaged and they walk away feeling that they have greater skills than they did when they entered the class.”

Chaudoir is the third consecutive instructor nominated by the Department of Psychology to receive the award. Her hard work ethic and active approach to teaching can best be summed up in her own personal teaching philosophy.

“Learning is for doing,” Chaudoir said. “Knowledge shouldn’t just be sitting in your head, useless; you should be implementing it in some way and as often as you can.”