‘Tremendously effective teachers’: Five UC Berkeley instructors receive Distinguished Teaching Award

Five UC Berkeley instructors have received the 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award, the campus’s highest honor for teaching excellence. The Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching announced the selection on March 10, highlighting that this year’s recipients are “tremendously effective teachers” and that each of them “genuinely cares about and connects with their students.” 

Given since 1957, the Distinguished Teaching Award underscores the profound impact instructors have on their students’ learning experiences and future careers. This year, the committee evaluated 95 nominations based on each teacher’s effective course design, ability to inspire independent thinking, enthusiasm in teaching and creation of an inclusive classroom.  

The 2025 awardees are Helen Bateup, associate professor of neuroscience; Dan Garcia, teaching professor of computer science; Kranthi Mandadapu, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering; Mark Sandberg, professor of Scandinavian and of film and media; and Sarah Stanley, associate professor of molecular and cell biology.

The recipients will be honored at the Distinguished Teaching Award Ceremony on Wednesday, April 23, at 5:30 p.m. in the West Pauley Ballroom, Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center. A reception will follow. 

In its report on the five awardees, the committee said that in teaching about neuroscience, Helen Bateup makes it a point to incorporate current research into the classroom and demonstrate how it can be applied in “the real world,” an approach that one student noted is “empowering” and that it “spurred lively discourse.” 

The committee also highlighted Bateup’s focus on creating an inclusive learning environment, where she aims to bring empathy, kindness and understanding to the classroom with the goal of establishing “an environment where these challenging diseases, which have affected many students personally, can be discussed openly and addressed from a biological standpoint.”   

In computer science, Dan Garcia’s teaching innovations have set standards that are being adopted across the department, said chair Claire Tomlin. He has also led initiatives, she added, “which have influenced the teaching of computer science, both nationally and internationally.” 

In promoting equity in education, the committee noted that Garcia has challenged traditional grading methods, advocating to assess students on demonstrated proficiency rather than meeting deadlines. Of Garcia’s ability to create a supportive classroom, a former student said that Garcia “plants seeds of encouragement and joy.” Tomlin agreed: “He cares deeply about opening up computer science to everyone.”

It’s a deep sense of responsibility for his students’ learning and the betterment of society that drives Kranthi Mandadapu’s teaching in chemical and biomolecular engineering. Although Mandadapu sets rigorous expectations, the committee noted, students attest to his equally strong commitment to providing the support they need for success. 

The committee highlighted Mandadapu’s desire for each of his students to find joy in learning. “It is my belief that teaching, in essence, is a two-way process,” Mandadapu wrote in his reflective teaching statement. “The inspiration to be a teacher comes from the enthusiasm and curiosity of students, and the inspiration to learn comes from the enthusiasm of the teacher.”

Colleagues and students described Mark Sandberg, a professor of Scandinavian and of film and media, as having a “gentle enthusiasm” and a “magic touch,” with an ability to put everyone in the classroom at ease. One former student said this created a calm environment that encourages open and collaborative conversations and in which students could freely build upon each others’ ideas. 

As Sandberg prepares to retire at the end of this academic year, another former student, now a professor, said he was inspired by Sandberg: “In Mark’s long career at Berkeley, he has demonstrated unwavering generosity toward his students and colleagues. … Mark is everything I aspire to be as an instructor, and I have learned so much from his example.” 

In her teaching about infectious diseases, Sarah Stanley prioritizes critical thinking over memorizing, the committee writes in the report. A former student recalled Stanley’s “infectious enthusiasm” and dedication to explaining complex concepts in many different ways until everyone in the class understood, often excitedly punctuating a key point from her slides during class. 

The committee also highlighted Stanley’s work with Berkeley graduate students in the annual Summer Research Institute in Uganda, where they help to train African students in techniques in immunology and molecular biology. Stanley shared that the process helps students gain insights into the health challenges facing East Africa and develop a deeper understanding of the barriers to conducting research in resource-limited settings.