Penny Bernstein Distinguished Teaching Award
History of the Award: The Distinguished Teaching Award is one of the annual Animal Behavior Society career awards that recognize contributions to the field of animal behavior. Since the first recipient, Jane Brockman (1995), distinguished recipients have included among others, Gail Michener (2000), John Alcock (2007), and Bill Eberhard (2009). In 2013, the Society changed the name of the award to the Penny Bernstein Distinguished Teaching Award, in recognition of the contributions made to animal behavior education by the late Penny Bernstein.Award Criteria: Nominees must be ABS members who are not current officers or committee chairs. They must have a sustained record of excellent educational activity, including one or more of the following:
- Classroom teaching
- Creation of teaching materials
- Educational service
- Supervision of individual students
- Educational research
- Educational outreach (e.g., zoos, aquaria, museums, 4-H programs, research labs, field stations, environmental centers)
Please consider nominating a colleague whose educational accomplishments you admire! It is easy to know about our colleagues’ research by reading publications; it is much more difficult to know about their teaching excellence. Please take this opportunity to recognize colleagues who have demonstrated a sustained record of highly effective and innovative educational activity.
We would also like to encourage nominating colleagues from groups underrepresented in STEM. Individuals with marginalized identities face many barriers to success in STEM and academia writ large, so being proactive about nominating these individuals for awards such as the PBDTA is essential to eliminate white supremacy in our culture.
Persons wishing to make a nomination should send a one-page letter providing evidence to support the nomination. Please note that self-nomination is encouraged. The PBDTA Education Sub-Committee will solicit supporting materials from the nominee, and the entire Education Committee will review all materials received to select the awardee.
The recipient of this award receives recognition, a plaque from the Society, and the opportunity to organize an education-related event at an annual meeting.
Nominating letters should be submitted by January 31st, 2023, to: Leslie Curren ([email protected])
Previous Recipients
| Distinguished Teaching Award | Year Awarded |
| H. Jane Brockman | 1995 |
| Rudolf Jander | 1996 |
| James L. Gould | 1997 |
| Douglas K.Candland | 1999 |
| Gail R. Michener | 2000 |
| Katherine Wynne-Edwards | 2001 |
| Robert W. Matthews | 2002 |
| George H. Waring | 2005 |
| Michael Noonan | 2006 |
| John Alcock | 2007 |
| William G. Eberhard | 2009 |
| Daniel Blumstein | 2010 |
| Sylvia Halkin | 2011 |
| Stan Braude | 2011 |
| David Miller | 2012 |
| Alexandra Basolo | 2014 |
| Linda S. Rayor | 2015 |
| Peggy Hill | 2016 |
| Jennifer E. Smith | 2017 |
| Susan Riechert | 2018 |
| Alicia Mathis | 2019 |
| Anna Young | 2020 |
| Danielle Lee | 2021 |
| Sue Margulis | 2023 |
| Emilie Snell-Rood | 2024 |
