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News & Events

Margaret Kerr receives 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award

A woman with short, purple hair and wearing a gray jacket rests her chin on her hand as she looks off-camera. A student with brown hair and glasses also looks off-camera in the same direction.

Margaret Kerr, assistant professor of Human Development & Family Studies, was selected to receive a 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award.

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Provost Karl Scholz presented Kerr with the Emil Steiger Teaching Award at a ceremony on Tuesday, April 25, at the Memorial Union. The Distinguished Teaching Awards have been presented since 1953 to recognize the university’s finest educators.

Kerr teaches courses at the School of Human Ecology and also provides outreach teaching and education support for the Division of Extension. Her courses include Family Theories as well as Theories and Issues in Human Development. Although they are theory courses, student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, emphasizing Kerr’s teaching skill and compassion, a UW News story says. Kerr redeveloped these courses with an eye toward diversity, equity and inclusion. She revised the reading lists, integrated a more diverse set of theoretical frameworks and incorporated more inclusive language and practices in the syllabi.

Her teaching style shows her enthusiasm for the class and her extensive understanding of the topic. Kerr is an exceptional mentor for undergraduate and graduate students alike. She has also led efforts to demystify graduate school, facilitating several discussions on the “hidden curriculum.”

Read more about Kerr and the 11 other recipients of this year’s Distinguished Teaching Awards in the UW News story.

Photo caption: Margaret Kerr, left, works with graduate student Inés Botto and others as they practice use of new statistical software during a team meeting in Nancy Nicholas Hall. Photo by Jeff Miller/UW–Madison