How Do Great Educators Transform Classrooms and Mentor Future Leaders? Meet this Year’s Award Winners.
by Fabiola M. Martinez Del Valle
This year, as UW–Madison navigates new challenges and opportunities in higher education, our English Department is proud to highlight three outstanding academic staff members whose work is transforming our community. Their awards underscore not only individual excellence but also a spirit of collaboration and innovation that is more vital now than ever.
Ron Kuka, recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Leadership at the individual unit level, has long been a pillar of our Creative Writing program. With over three decades of dedication, Ron helps our program attract some of the world’s most outstanding writers and serves as faculty advisor for The Madison Review. Moreover, Ron’s commitment extends beyond the university as director of the Wisconsin Prison Humanities Project at Oakhill Correctional Institution. UW Law Professor Steven Wright remarks that “Ron and the Wisconsin Humanities Project are a powerful exemplar of the Wisconsin Idea in action.”
Emily Hall has been honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Leadership at the school, college, and larger university level. As director of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program and the undergraduate Writing Fellows Program, which has expanded impressively from 15 to 50 fellows, she has transformed writing instruction and mentoring at UW–Madison. Her leadership has aided over 500 students each semester and steered critical innovations during challenges like the pandemic and the rise of generative AI.
Building on this success, Emily Hall and Abby Letak were jointly recognized with the Collaborative Teaching Excellence Award by the College of Letters & Science. Working as the Writing Across the Curriculum teaching team, they have revamped training for new teaching assistants and cultivated inclusive, innovative practices that enhance the culture of writing at UW–Madison and enrich both student and faculty experiences. In her recent role leading a graduate seminar in cooperation with The Delta Program, Abby Letak, with her fresh focus on mental health, wellbeing, and self-care, plays a key role in driving these transformative efforts.