3/28/2013 Elise King, CSL
Written by Elise King, CSL
Aimee Rickman, a Ph.D. student in human and community development and researcher in CSL's Center for People and Infrastructures, has received the Office of the Provost's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
Up to thirteen winners campus-wide are chosen for this award each year, including just five graduate teaching assistants. This award distinguishes Rickman as one of the best instructors out of 10,000 graduate students.
“I was immensely honored when I learned from the Provost’s office that I received the Award for Excellence in undergraduate teaching,” Rickman said. “I called my fiancé right away, then emailed my dissertation director and advisor and called my mom. It takes a lot of support to make it through your Ph.D.”
Graduate teaching assistants will receive $3,500 for this award at the Celebration for Teaching Excellence ceremony held on April 23.
As a graduate teaching assistant at Illinois, Rickman has taught many classes across campus ranging from 100- to 400-level courses, including courses in human development and family studies, educational psychology and communications.
“I have received very high ICES (Instructor and Course Evaluation System) scores and have been listed on the "List of Teachers Rated as Excellent by their Students" every time my course has been evaluated,” Rickman said.
Rickman said she did a fair amount of teaching before graduate school as a program coordinator for the College of Engineering's Women in Engineering program. Rickman added that as a graduate student, she has been fortunate to be able to hone her teaching skills through working with the Center for Teaching Excellence, as well as with talented professors, including former CSL Associate Professor Christian Sandvig (now at Michigan) and Professor Reed Larson in the Department of Human and Community Development.
“I take my teaching very seriously,” Rickman said.
Upon graduation Rickman hopes to find a tenure-track faculty position at an institution that also prioritizes excellence in undergraduate education.