This year’s Susan E. Tifft Teaching and Mentoring Award was presented to Kristin Goss, Kevin D. Gorter professor of public policy and political science and director of the Duke in DC program. The award recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching. It was created in honor of Susan Tifft, the Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Communications and Journalism from 1998-2009, who died after a long battle with cancer. It was first awarded in 2010.
Goss received the award during a virtual ceremony on May 2.
The committee wrote that Professor Goss “managed to make the best of the pandemic challenges and kept students’ well-being as a main focus of her teaching throughout the semester.” The students who nominated her all shared their gratitude, and described the impact of her teaching and mentorship.
One student wrote, ““Though our interactions have been limited to through a computer screen and from miles away, the raw, relevant, and captivating conversations we have had have made me a wiser and more insightful person.”
“COVID-19 disrupted everyone's lives this past year, and Professor Goss made tremendous adjustments to her teaching that the balanced the emotional well-being of her students with genuine learning,” wrote another.