Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award

2017 - Andrew N. Christopher

Dr. Andrew (Drew) Christopher is the winner of the 2017 SPSP Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. Drew is an engaging and compassionate teacher who encourages active learning and requires students to “get involved.” Students describe his classroom style as welcoming, conversational, and always encouraging. Drew notes that he strives not only to help students digest information, but to prepare them to learn an ever-evolving knowledge base. Outside of the classroom, Drew provides seemingly limitless opportunities for students to involve themselves in research. As evidence of his effectiveness as a research mentor, he has published nearly 30 peer-reviewed articles with undergraduate student co-authors. His mentorship has paid significant dividends for his students as many have gone on to work in psychology labs at prestigious institutions. In addition to his publishing success with students, Drew has authored nearly a dozen books, chapters, and entries on the teaching of psychology. He has also served as the Editor-in-Chief for the journal Teaching of Psychology since 2008. In recognition of his accomplishments, Drew has received numerous teaching and mentoring awards, including the Albion College Teacher of the Year (2014) and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology’s Robert S. Daniel Award for Outstanding Teaching at a 4-Year College or University (2013).

2016 - Richard L. Miller

Richard L. Miller is the recipient of the 2016 Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award for his exemplary dedication to teaching and mentoring of students, as well as for his contributions to the scholarship of teaching and mentorship. Richard has consistently and successfully involved students in research, masterfully guiding them to follow their individual passions while providing the intellectual scaffolding from which to build sound research projects from start to finish.  He has mentored over 300 undergraduate students in social psychological research projects resulting in presentations at state, regional, and national conferences, including SPSP, and has co-authored over 70 publications with undergraduate students, mentoring another 35 published journal articles sole-authored by undergraduates. Further showing his dedication to student research, he is a founder of the undergraduate research journal, Journal of Psychological Inquiry and also a regional undergraduate research conference, the Great Plains Students’ Psychology Convention, both of which have operated for over 20 years. Richard has also made significant contributions to the scholarship of teaching and mentorship by publishing resources on student engagement, research mentorship, advising, and the teaching of psychology. Richard has previously been recognized for his excellence in teaching by the Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award, the Robert S. Daniel Teaching Excellence Award, and by being named the CASE/Carnegie Foundation U.S. Professor of the Year, among other recognitions. Richard refers to his overarching teaching philosophy to be the fostering of “…not only student learning but also motivation to learn and the development of the skills to be a life-long learner.” Indeed, this is evident in the many students he has mentored through their undergraduate years and has continued to mentor through their successful academic careers in psychology.