Faculty members who received 2025 Undergraduate Teaching Awards were, clockwise from top left, Lauren Ginsberg, Natalie Klco, Kristin Stephens-Martinez and Katya Wesolowski.
Four Trinity Faculty Receive 2025 Undergraduate Teaching Awards
Four faculty in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences were recently recognized by the Arts & Sciences Council for outstanding achievements in undergraduate teaching.
Each year, the Council’s Committee on Undergraduate Teaching honors outstanding faculty for their commitment to their students, for engaging them deeply in research and scholarship, for their continued development as innovative teachers and mentors, and more.
Members of the council — in collaboration with the dean's office — select the award recipients by considering student evaluations, teaching statements and recommendations submitted by colleagues. Four awards are given each year, spanning the breadth of undergraduate disciplines offered in the college.
This year’s recipients are:
- Lauren Ginsberg, Associate Professor of Classical Studies — Richard K. Lublin Award
- Natalie Klco, Assistant Professor of Physics — David and Janet Vaughan Brooks Award
- Katya Wesolowski, Lecturing Fellow in Cultural Anthropology — Howard D. Johnson Award
- Kristin Stephens-Martinez, Associate Professor of Computer Science — Robert B. Cox Award
In an announcement to faculty and staff, Gary G. Bennett, Dean of Trinity College, and Deborah Reisinger, Trinity's Dean of Undergraduate Education, congratulated the winners.
“This is an annual tradition of deep meaning, for it honors a defining quality and long-held value of Trinity College: excellence in teaching,” they wrote.
Read more about the 2025 honorees:
Lauren Ginsberg, Associate Professor of Classical Studies — Richard K. Lublin Award in the Humanities
An expert in Roman history and ancient civilizations, Lauren Ginsberg is celebrated for designing courses that are both intellectually rigorous and deeply engaging, guiding students to think critically about the ancient world while drawing connections to the present.
Her teaching centers on active student participation. As Ginsberg explains, “My teaching directly challenges these traditional narratives of Rome and the idea that ancient history is fixed or unable to yield new perspectives. I empower students to engage in the process of ‘doing’ ancient history through authentic activities which mirror professional research methods.”
In her classes, students regularly work hands-on with a wide range of primary sources — from poetry and political speeches to graffiti and gravestones — learning how to piece together fragmentary evidence into meaningful historical interpretations. With museum-quality replicas of Roman coins, for example, students studied iconography, how the coins circulated through society and how they were used for political messaging, uncovering how visual stereotypes shaped Roman perspectives.
Her syllabi, workshops and source-analysis assignments are carefully crafted to prepare students to approach difficult questions with no easy answers. Ginsberg seeks to create a challenging yet supportive environment, with students praising her unflagging enthusiasm for her subject and sharing how her courses gave them not just research skills, but confidence in their ability to think critically.
Natalie Klco, Assistant Professor of Physics — David and Janet Vaughan Brooks Award
A theoretical physicist specializing in nuclear physics and quantum information science, Natalie Klco is redefining how students engage with quantum mechanics by integrating cutting-edge research into the classroom.
Her recent courses, including Quantum Computing and Quantum Mechanics I, reflect her pioneering approach of linking teaching with active research in quantum simulation. As Klco explains, her goal is to merge teaching and research by developing “quantum computing protocols for quantum simulating the particles and fields of nuclear and high-energy physics” to achieve what she calls “quantum many-body physics education.”
Student testimonials praise her for creating a collaborative, supportive environment where peers are colleagues rather than competitors. Through her guidance, students gain not only technical expertise but also the metalingual skills necessary to navigate across disciplines such as chemistry, mathematics and computer science.
Klco’s influence reaches from undergraduates to graduate students, many of whom continue to work with her as teaching assistants, building their own pedagogical and research expertise. Her ability to fuse rigorous scientific inquiry with student-centered teaching makes her a model of innovative higher education practice.
Katya Wesolowski, Lecturing Fellow in Cultural Anthropology — Howard D. Johnson Award in the Social Sciences
A scholar, dancer and anthropologist, Katya Wesolowski’s teaching draws from the African Diaspora, from Brazil to Angola, where movement and embodied practice become powerful tools for understanding culture, identity and belonging.
Her courses blend seminar and studio experiences, immersing students in experiential learning. In her course Performing Brazil, for instance, students created carnival parades complete with floats, costumes and samba songs — projects that challenged them to critically explore race, class, gender and representation in Brazilian culture. As one student reflected, the course “allowed me to express thoughts and ideas in new ways while also teaching me how to discuss difficult topics such as racism.”
Wesolowski adapts her teaching with remarkable flexibility, from pandemic-era collaborative online ethnography projects to community engagement initiatives that connect students with Duke service workers. Her approach emphasizes collective knowledge creation and invites students to embrace risk-taking and creativity.
The award committee praised Wesolowski for fostering intellectual and personal transformation, inspiring students to engage with cultures and communities far beyond the classroom. One student said of a class with Wesolowski that, “This is the first anthropology class I have ever taken, and it fulfillingly deepened my knowledge about Brazil and taught me the appropriate ways in which we should study other cultures, not objectifying them, infantilizing them, or speaking for them, but listening to them. And it has taught me that dance is a valuable communication form, at times even more valuable than text.”
Kristin Stephens-Martinez, Associate Professor of Computer Science — Robert B. Cox Award in the Natural Sciences
Since joining Duke seven years ago, Kristin Stephens-Martinez has taught nearly 3,000 students in courses ranging from small seminars to large lectures, while also mentoring more than 30 undergraduates in research and independent studies.
The awards committee was struck by her deep commitment to student-centered learning and her innovative and equitable approach to teaching. Her active learning classrooms thrive on peer instruction, real-time discussion and collaborative engagement, creating an environment where even the largest course feels personal. Stephens-Martinez employs mastery-based grading, flexible deadlines, exam retakes and late-token systems.
“These are not just policies,” Stephens-Martinez said. “They are signals to students: what matters most is learning, not high-stakes test-taking under pressure.”
Beyond campus, her impact extends through her inclusive teaching blog, which has drawn more than 17,000 views, and her widely followed CS-Ed podcast. “My teaching is a primary source of inspiration for my research in computing education,” Stephens-Martinez said.
This award recognizes not only her innovative pedagogy but also her ability to build community and spark intellectual curiosity at Duke and beyond.
