Congratulations to Professors Kim Liao and Christen Madrazo, recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Teaching Prize. The honor is given to professors who exhibit an exceptional commitment to student-centered, experienced, skilled and justice-focused teaching.
Kim Liao is a lecturer in English and co-director of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program. She is a prolific author of creative nonfiction and well-known at John Jay for her work in inclusive teaching, racial equity and pedagogy, and writing workshops. Liao recently won a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to support the Vertical Writing Program (with Associate Professor Timothy McCormack) and a Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative Award.
Liao’s students praise her warmth, attention to detail and consistent communication. “She gives the best feedback I've ever seen and is such a caring professor. She truly wants her students to succeed!” Her colleagues go further: “You want to say, she just can’t be this talented at so many things, but she is. She is a John Jay treasure.
Christen Madrazo, who also won the 2016 Distinguished Teaching Prize, is a lecturer in English and director of the First Year Writing Program. Her podcast series, Life Out Loud, is co-created with her students and includes 55+ episodes, 130+ true student stories, 130+ interviews/round-table discussions, and much more. According to one student, Madrazo is “THE GREATEST PROFESSOR AND PERSON YOU WILL EVER MEET! She will allow you to grow unlike ever before as a writer and human on this earth.” This sentiment is matched by her colleagues: “Ultimately what Christen provides the students is resounding access to their voice, and once they feel in charge of their voice, they feel empowered.”
This year’s reviewers were wowed by the abundance of excellent instruction provided by faculty across the college. Even better: our students are nominating their instructors with high praise for well-structured, passionately taught courses that change how they see themselves and their futures.
