Posted 12:51 p.m. Monday, June 21, 2021
Anthony Chergosky wins 2021 Eagle Teaching Excellence Award
During the 2020-21 academic year, UWL faculty were challenged like never before. From developing online courses to supporting students to dealing with the emotional weight of the pandemic, instructors in every department rose to the occasion. This year, UWL’s Provost Office received hundreds of nominations from students hoping to recognize their favorite instructors.
From these nominations, a university committee selected six faculty to receive 2021 Eagle Teaching Excellence Awards. The winners will be highlighted on UWL’s homepage in the coming weeks, along with being honored during Chancellor Joe Gow’s opening remarks for the fall semester.
They are:
- Merideth Garcia, English/English Education
- Brian Kumm-Schaley, Recreation Management & Therapeutic Recreation
- Lisa Giddings, Economics
- Amy Nicodemus, Archaeology & Anthropology
- Anthony Chergosky, Political Science & Public Administration
- Kathryn (Kat) Skemp Moran, Theatre Arts
This is the fifth in a series of stories highlighting the winners.
Anthony Chergosky, Political Science & Public Administration
Started at UWL: 2018
Courses: I primarily teach courses on American government and politics, including introductory courses and upper-level courses. I absolutely love teaching POL 101: American National Government, which provides a broad overview of government, politics and public policy in the United States. Some of the upper-level courses I teach include Campaigns and Elections, Politics and the Media, Legislative Process and the American Presidency. In addition, I teach research methods for political science and public administration students. Finally, I have enjoyed teaching a first-year seminar on the topics of persuasion, influence and power.
Background: I arrived at UWL after receiving a PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My graduate work focused on American political institutions, and I conducted research on Congress, the media, elections, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Most importantly, I was able to gain teaching experience at UNC and discovered how much I valued the opportunity to work with students. During my graduate studies at UNC, I developed a love for teaching as well as a curiosity for how to promote student learning.
Favorite part of teaching: I love the fact that each day is different, and each class is different. When I teach my introductory-level American government courses, I get to focus on developing students’ interest in politics and their passion for democracy. When I teach upper-level courses, I enjoy showing students how political scientists think and guiding students as they develop new ways of thinking. Perhaps best of all, I get to directly witness the bright future for American democracy. I’ve found students in my classes to be independent thinkers who are clear-eyed about the challenges facing the nation and are motivated to address these challenges. In my experience, today’s students overwhelmingly think politics should be about much more than petty partisanship, social media negativity and cable news shouting matches. I see firsthand that our students, regardless of ideology or party, possess a keen understanding of how to make democracy work, and this gives me tremendous optimism about the future of the nation.