The campus’ highest honor for teaching excellence, the Distinguished Teaching Award, underscores the profound impact instructors have on their students’ learning experiences and future careers.
This year, Alexis Shusterman will be the second chemistry instructor in the last 3 years to receive the award, and the third from the College of Chemistry. Past awardees from the College include Kranthi Mandadapu (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2025) and Pete Marsden (Chemistry, 2024).
The Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes Dr. Shusterman’s sustained excellence in classroom instruction, guidance and mentorship of graduate student instructors, and leadership in curriculum development. These accomplishments are especially noteworthy, given the scale on which Dr. Shusterman has carried out her teaching. Dr. Shusterman has taught Chem 1A over the last several years – a class that accounts for approximately 20% of the incoming UC Berkeley first year cohort!
Dr. Shusterman’s excellence in teaching, both inside and outside of the lecture hall, has made a profound impact on the teaching mission of the Department of Chemistry and the UC Berkeley campus.