2026 Teachers of the Year 2026 Teachers of the Year 2026 Teachers of the Year

Every June, the UW honors teachers from all three campuses who provide instruction and inspiration, expertise and empathy and a human connection that makes students successful in a range of fields. Introducing this year’s recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Megan Callow

Teaching Professor, English, College of Arts & Sciences | UW Seattle
Years teaching: 4

Worth knowing: She is the founding director of Writing@UW, a comprehensive program that centralizes writing support services for faculty teaching at all three UW campuses. Writing@UW received the Exemplary Emerging Program Award from the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum in 2025.

Quote unquote: “The core tenets of my teaching philosophy are founded on the realities that a) writing is a form of social action, and can be used to harm, transform and liberate; and b) ways of knowing and communicating vary widely across disciplines and other discourse communities. … Everything I teach—whether it’s science writing to undergraduates or writing pedagogy to faculty—is in service of the foundational understanding that deft communicators must be able to recognize and respond to expectations that shift depending on audience and situation.”

Wes King

Assistant Teaching Professor, Information School | UW Seattle
Years teaching: 13

Worth knowing: They teach core classes in informatics to undergraduates in the UW Information School. Their research expertise is in AI and religion; religion and gender; internet dating for LGBTQ+ Christians; and what it means to be human in relation to AI. They hold a master’s in ministry leadership from the Portland Seminary.

Quote unquote: “I design peer-based activities that foster collaboration and expose students to diverse perspectives, creating dynamic learning environments beyond traditional lectures. … Trauma-informed pedagogy is woven throughout my practice. In the Internet Dating course, students critically examine how dating apps reproduce neoliberal ideals of whiteness and heteronormativity. As an openly queer instructor, I strive to model authenticity and support marginalized students, inspiring them to envision success.”

Hannah Jordt

Associate Teaching Professor, Genome Sciences | UW Seattle
Years teaching: 7

Worth knowing: She is the only teaching-track professor in the Department of Genome Sciences. In the past two years, she wrote letters of recommendation for 107 students. She also serves as a facilitator for the UW School of Medicine’s Research Mentor Program, using content developed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research.

Quote unquote: “One of the great joys of teaching is in building a classroom community that promotes positive, trusting, intra-classroom relationships. Indeed, my own experience and most recent research has convinced me this is one of the most important ingredients for a successful course. One way I do this is by randomly assigning students to groups that sit and work together in both lecture and quiz sections for the entire quarter, which allows all students to build camaraderie and a shared sense of purpose with others.”

Casey J. Self

Teaching Professor, Biology, College of Arts & Sciences | UW Seattle
Years teaching: 7

Worth knowing: As a first-generation college student and McNair scholar shaped by federal TRIO programs, she has served as chair of the Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning, shepherding legislation through shared governance to promote teaching effectiveness across the University. She also served the wider STEM teaching community by developing a continuing-education course for high school teachers and community-college faculty.

Quote unquote: “I am committed to dismantling system barriers to equity in higher education. My work centers on evidence-based teaching practices, which I believe are essential for creating equitable learning environments. … Whether through team-based learning in anatomy or lively group quizzes, I aim for classrooms where students debate, question and collaborate. I create spaces where curiosity drives the conversation.”

Jill Purdy

Professor and Entrepreneurship Center Director | UW Tacoma Milgard School of Business
Years teaching: 30+

Worth knowing: She is the only female full professor in the Milgard School of Business. She is known for developing new course materials, particularly class exercises that support student development. At the Center for Entrepreneurship, she created a curriculum that focuses on the habits and mindset that will make students successful.

Quote unquote: “Any time people join together to accomplish something, they become part of an organization, so what I teach can have a big impact on students’ well-being and future success. My field of organizational management is complex, interdisciplinary, and sometimes overwhelming, so I tell students that the answer to every question in management is just two words: “It depends.”

“Together, we figure out what the answer depends on and what to do next. I empower them to look at issues from many angles, reframe questions, leverage existing knowledge, and think creatively.”

Georgia Roberts

Lecturer, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences | UW Bothell
Years teaching: 20

Worth knowing:  A first-generation college student who became an interdisciplinary scholar of literature and culture, she teaches courses at the intersection of American literature and music, with a focus on hip-hop. Before joining the faculty, she received the UW Excellence in Teaching Award for her work as a graduate TA. She also was the recipient of the UW Bothell Associated Students Faculty of the Year Award.

Quote unquote: In one student’s words: “I have taken several courses with Professor Roberts, and her classes will be one of the things I will miss most. Throughout my time on campus, I struggled with anxiety. [In] my first course with Professor Roberts, [I] was instantly put at ease; her kindness and inclusivity made me feel that not only could I use my voice but that it could be heard. I would not be leaving with my degree without her.”

Distinguished Team Teaching Awards

Community Engaged Civil Engineering and Urban Design Capstone
Bara Safarova: Assistant Professor | UW Tacoma School of Urban Studies
Nara Almeida: Assistant Teaching Professor | UW Tacoma School of Engineering and Technology

This team integrates rigorous technical learning with projects rooted in authentic community needs and complex real-world challenges. The interdisciplinary capstone course (CollabCapstone) brings together civil engineering and urban design students to work directly with University partners, city stakeholders and local firms to help create a new vision for UW Tacoma’s 2050 Master Plan.

Sarah Collier: Assistant Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Jennifer Otten: Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Marie Spiker: Assistant Professor, Epidemiology

Collier, Otten and Spiker worked to build an interdisciplinary educational program for future professionals in the rapidly evolving field of food systems. Their collaboration produced much of the curriculum for UW’s Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health major.