2014 DTA recipient
Gardner receives 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award
Since joining the UWB faculty, Dr. Benjamin Gardner has consistently been an outstanding mentor, teacher and citizen. He was previously nominated for the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2011. Dr. Gardner clearly rose to the top with a compelling dossier that included a package of letters from undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and his fellow faculty members.
Dr. Gardner joined the UW Bothell faculty in 2008 as Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program and since then has consistently proven himself as an outstanding and successful teacher, mentor, and colleague. Benjamin Gardner’s recognized success as an instructor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, with emphasis on the areas of global studies, environmental studies, cultural studies, and geography, is indeed impressive and covers significant breadth, from 200-level pathway courses to 500-level electives including Approaches to Cultural Research, Interdisciplinary Inquiry, Globalization and History, and the Capstone and Portfolio Seminar.
Ben’s commitment to pedagogical innovation is attested to throughout his dossier. Particularly impressive is the fact that he not only continually works on improving his own courses, but that he actively shares new approaches and innovations – such as the “commodity chain analysis,” “digital mapping,” or “factoid” information sharing – with his colleagues through teaching workshops and that these are consequently disseminated throughout the curriculum and the campus.
Ben’s record as an inspiring instructor and pedagogical innovator is equally attested to by his impressive results as a student mentor. Two of his undergraduate students have received Mary Gates Research Fellowships and a third received the UW Bothell undergraduate research award.
His former students write to say among the following:
- It is in large part due to his dedication to student success that I have continued to reach for and achieve my academic and personal goals”
- “He consistently goes above and beyond the obligations of a professor with the degree of substantive feedback and support he provides his students”
- “I hope one day to inspire students the way Dr. Gardner has inspired me to learn, teach, and engage challenging topics.”
Ben has consistently performed at the highest level and fully represents the values that faculty and students at the University of Washington Bothell have for teaching and learning.