The College of Liberal and Professional Studies is pleased to congratulate Sukalpa Basu and Lauren Russell for being named 2022 distinguished teaching award winners.
Sukalpa Basu has been awarded the 2022 College of Liberal and Professional Studies Award for Distinguished Teaching in Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Programs. Sukalpa is a lecturer and advisor for the Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Programs, responsible for teaching the General Physics sequence and Calculus I. She earned her PhD in physics (theoretical condensed matter) from Temple University under the guidance of Professor Peter Riseborough, where she conducted research in phase transitions and spin waves in cerium. Research in heavy fermion and strongly correlated electrons systems continue to be her topics of interest.
Before joining the University of Pennsylvania, Sukalpa taught at Valley Forge Military College for ten years. During her tenure at VFMC, she served as a faculty advisor and as the Director of Assessment, responsible for overseeing institutional assessment methods and processes.
As an academic, Sukalpa is interested in exploring different pedagogical methods and has been a proponent of active learning in the classroom for her courses. As an academic advisor, she believes that effective communication and proactive mentoring are fundamental to student success.
Lauren Russell has been awarded the 2022 College of Liberal and Professional Studies Award for Distinguished Teaching in Professional Graduate Programs. Lauren Russell is a Fels Institute of Government Associate Professor of Practice. She holds a PhD in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BA in economics, mathematics, and mathematical methods in the social sciences from Northwestern University. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College, she managed the Policy Research Shop and taught courses in microeconomics and econometrics. Lauren’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journal articles, covered by national and state media, and quoted in Congressional testimony.
At Fels, Lauren teaches economics and data analysis courses. She also manages Fels Lab which connects Fels students with capstone projects that serve the real-world needs of nonprofit organizations and government entities.
LPS applauds Sukalpa and Lauren for their outstanding commitment to education.
Read more about the 2022 School of Arts and Sciences Teaching Awards >
