Kelly Sassi, associate professor with a joint appointment in English and education, and Jennifer Momsen, associate professor of biological sciences, have been selected to receive NDSU’s Peltier Award for Innovative Teaching. They will be recognized at the annual Celebration of Faculty Excellence, scheduled for Thursday, May 10, at 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Plains room.
“We are fortunate to have such dedicated and innovative teachers working with our students” said Provost Beth Ingram.
The Peltier Award for Teaching Innovation was established with the NDSU Development Foundation by Joseph and Norma Peltier to recognize outstanding innovation in teaching. Because of the generosity of the Peltier Family, NDSU has been able to fund this award annually.
Kelly Sassi
Nominator Betsy Birmingham, chair of English, described Sassi as an ideal candidate for the honor, noting her innovation in teaching, providing supportive mentorship and committing her classrooms to anti-racist teaching techniques and content.
“She employs appropriate technologies and asks her students to explore, evaluate, critique, and share info on the efficacy of new teaching technologies, as well as the possibilities for other technological platforms to be used in teaching,” Birmingham said of Sassi’s work. “She has been one of our department’s most committed McNair mentors, and she additionally mentor research with interested undergraduates, taking on the most direction of student-designed undergraduate research in the department.”
Sassi provides mentorship to all 57 current English education and pre-English education students, and is the faculty mentor to Sigma Tau Delta, the department’s honor society. She also is the director of the Red River Valley Writing Project.
“Kelly is an excellent teacher, one who remains interested in her own growth and development as a teacher. She is inspiring to me, but to have her modeling excellence in teaching to future teachers, well, that is priceless,” Birmingham said.
Sassi joined the NDSU faculty in 2008. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature and teaching certification in English language arts from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and her doctorate in English and education at the University of Michigan.
Jennifer Momsen
Momsen is considered a national expert in the use of evidence-based pedagogies to improve student learning, and was an early adopter of active learning practices.
“She is masterful at creating a learning environment that effectively stimulates student interest while maintaining rigorous standards for student learning,” wrote fellow faculty members in the Department of Biological Sciences, who nominated Momsen. “Furthermore, her innovative techniques have made an impact in her own classrooms, in the classrooms of her colleagues at NDSU and in classrooms throughout the country.”
This year, Momsen developed a first-of-its-kind Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience, known as CURE, about the science of learning. In the course, her undergraduate students collect data on how teaching practices impact student learning.
She also was instrumental in stabling the Learning Assistants program within the College of Science and Mathematics and the university, and is a integral part of NDSU’s STEM discipline-based education research group.
“Dr. Momsen is a talented and well-respected colleague who is recognized throughout the university and nationally for her innovative teaching practices and her commitment to improving teaching,” the nominators wrote.
Momsen came to NDSU in 2010. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota and her doctorate in ecology and evolution at Rutgers University. Momsen also was a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University.
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.
