The College of Liberal and Professional Studies congratulates Virginia Millar and Sarah (Sally) Willig for being named 2024 distinguished teaching award winners.
College of Liberal and Professional Studies Award for Distinguished Teaching in Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Programs
Virginia Millar, MAPP
Lecturer, Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences and Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology
Virginia is a lifelong learner and educator, who recently concluded a 25-year public school teaching career working with students with special needs in diverse, low-income communities. She holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania and has served as an assistant instructor in the MAPP program since 2012. Her MAPP courses include Introduction to Positive Interventions, Positive Organizations, and Positive Education. She is also the program’s student services liaison. Her course instruction in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences and Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology programs includes Introduction to Positive Psychology and Human Flourishing: Strengths and Resilience.
Virginia created and taught in the Girl Power Club, an afterschool program for middle school girls from low-income families that cultivates well-being and resilience skills. She has presented her research on the strong correlation between well-being and academic achievement at the International Positive Education Network and International Positive Psychology Association conferences and in her Penn courses. She now coaches high-performing teachers toward energized resilience and long-term retention.
Virginia embraces the science of positive psychology as the means to elevate and empower all humans’ strengths. She and her husband, Bill, reside on the southern shore of New Jersey, where they enjoy biking, rowing, sailing, and spending time with their two lovely children and beautiful new grandson.
College of Liberal and Professional Studies Award for Distinguished Teaching in Professional Graduate Programs
Sarah (Sally) Willig, PhD
Lecturer and Advisor, Master of Environmental Studies
Dr. Sally Willig teaches Wetlands, Field Study of Puerto Rico's Ecology, and Regional Field Ecology in the Master of Environmental Studies program with the aim of getting students into the field to better understand ecosystem processes and patterns. She also advises students who are concentrating in Environmental Biology, Resource Management, and Environmental Education and Advocacy and finds great satisfaction in helping students achieve academic and professional goals. Sally has her Bachelor of Arts in geology from Princeton University and a Doctor of Philosophy in geology from the University of Pennsylvania.
