School of Education faculty receive CELT awards

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching recently honored two faculty in the School of Education with awards.

Left image, left to right: Sara Marcketti, Assistant Provost and Executive Director, CELT; Ann Gansemer Topf, Professor in the School of Education; and Paul Hengesteg, CELT Assessment Coordinator
Right image, left to right: Marcketti; Terah J. Stewart, Assistant Professor in the School of Education; and Megan Myers, CELT Faculty Affiliate and Associate Professor of Spanish

Exemplary Service Award for Leadership in Advancing Teaching and Learning

Ann Gansemer-Topf, Professor in the School of Education, was awarded the CELT Exemplary Service Award for Leadership in Advancing Teaching and Learning at Iowa State. The award recognizes individuals who have made a long-standing commitment to the university and have significantly impacted education through their administrative roles, departmental initiatives, or national leadership endeavors.

From earning two graduate degrees here to working in residence life, campus ministry, academic advising, and enrollment services, to now serving as a faculty member and rising through the ranks to professor, she is a Cyclone through and through who will serve as the next Director of ISU’s School of Education, effective in July.

“Dr. G-T,” as she is commonly known by her students, is a tremendous scholar and an outstanding teacher. She was inducted into the Iowa Academy of Education where she joined an elite cadre of faculty across that state who influence PreK-20 educational policy and practice through their research. 

Her unwavering support of students is present in her scholarship and practice alike. Her dedication to advising well over 100 master’s and doctoral students is unparalleled.

As part of CELT’s mission to “Promote, Enhance, and Recognize Teaching Excellence,” the Exemplary Service Award highlights the essential role people like Gansemer-Topf play in raising the bar for education at Iowa State. This award acknowledges and celebrates the leadership and dedication demonstrated in institutional teaching efforts, ensuring that these efforts are recognized and appreciated within the university community. 

Teaching Excellence Award in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Terah J. Stewart, Assistant Professor in the School of Education, was awarded CELT’s Teaching Excellence Award in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The award recognizes excellence in the scholarship of teaching and learning research conducted at Iowa State.

Stewart routinely engages in disciplinary professional organizations as a way to champion SoTL, teaching and research on a broad scale. He co-edited a special issue for the Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education. The SoTL review panel also noted Stewart’s creativity within the field and his sustained engagement with CELT.

Additionally, Stewart is a 2024 Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Emerging Scholar and was featured on the cover of a recent magazine with a feature article about his work. In 2023, he won the Association for the Study of Higher Education award for outstanding book.

The CELT Teaching Excellence Award in SoTL was created to recognize excellence in SoTL research conducted at Iowa State. Awardees possess a record of dissemination of scholarly work that has advanced SoTL. They also demonstrate ongoing engagement in the field.