Five University of Iowa faculty members – Paula Amad, Justin Cosner, Julie Gros-Louis, Jennifer Sterling, and Lori Wallrath – were selected by the Council on Teaching to receive the 2025 Hubbard-Walder Award for Excellence in Teaching. 

This award, which was first presented in 2021, is given to UI faculty who have demonstrated excellence in a variety of university teaching (undergraduate, graduate, or professional; classroom, one-on-one) and have contributed to curriculum and/or program development. Each recipient must have a minimum of six years of teaching experience at Iowa. 

Paula Amad

Amad is an associate professor of film studies in the Department of Cinematic Arts, where she teaches at the intersection of film history and film theory. During her 21 years at Iowa, she has made extensive contributions to course and curriculum development focused on experiential learning. While serving as the department executive officer from 2016-2020, Amad supported the creation of the screenwriting arts BA program. More recently, she has led significant change to the film studies MA program from exam to thesis-based outcomes to help students better acquire critical skills. She has worked closely with faculty, staff, and students to implement multiple strategic, student-centered, and faculty-supported curriculum and extra-curriculum changes.

Justin Cosner

Cosner is an associate professor of instruction and the director of graduate studies in the Department of Rhetoric.  He teaches first-year rhetoric classes, often with emphases on digital technologies and news media, as well as various first-year seminars. Over the past seven years, Cosner has taught a wide range of courses, including in rhetoric, English, and journalism and mass communication, while also developing and revising a number of new courses. He played an essential role in revising the general education rhetoric curriculum to ensure its relevancy to undergraduate students across the university. Cosner incorporates a variety of compositional modes into his classes. Students are encouraged to create innovative final projects that extend beyond the classroom, such as podcasts, blog posts, video essays, and video games.
 

Julie Gros-Louis

Gros-Louis is an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. In her 17 years at Iowa, she has impacted thousands of students through her student-centered approach to teaching and other impactful practices she brings to her courses, which range from small seminars to large lectures. Gros-Louis is always looking for ways to adopt new approaches for maximizing effectiveness and student success. She has participated in several faculty development opportunities, such as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Scholars Program. In 2023, she received a Career Impact Award for an experiential course she developed for the P3-project, "Closing the Gap: Experiential Education for all Undergraduates". 
 

Jennifer Sterling

Sterling is an associate professor of instruction and the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of American Studies, where she teaches a range of courses in the sport media and culture major. Throughout the nine years Sterling has been at Iowa, she has taught a variety of instructional formats that include independent studies, small seminars, large lectures, and lab-based courses in the Iowa Women’s Archive. Over the years, she has developed and revised many courses by implementing high-impact learning opportunities and community-engaged courses.
 

Lori L. Wallrath

Wallrath has been at Iowa for 28 years and currently serves as professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and director of the interdisciplinary graduate program in genetics. She has taught the fundamental principles and techniques of biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics to thousands of undergraduate, graduate, and medical students in both classroom and laboratory settings. In addition to her educational efforts, Wallrath has played a major role in shaping graduate education at Iowa, illustrated by her contributions to developing and enhancing the curriculum for the graduate program in genetics.