Benjamin Gardner is this year’s recipient of University of Washington Bothell’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Gardner is an assistant professor in the UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.

Since joining the UW Bothell faculty in 2008, Gardner has consistently proven himself as an outstanding and successful teacher, mentor and colleague.  His commitment to pedagogical innovation is attested to throughout his dossier. Gardner is recognized for continually improving his own courses and actively sharing those new approaches and innovations, which ultimately are used throughout the curriculum and the campus.

Gardner’s record as an inspiring instructor and pedagogical innovator is equally attested to by his impressive results as a student mentor. Two of his undergraduate students have received Mary Gates Research Fellowships and a third received the UW Bothell undergraduate research award.

“I am honored to receive this award, especially at a campus so dedicated to teaching,” Gardner said. “I love being a faculty member here and teaching alongside so many great educators. My goal is always to help students question the world around them and to see everyday practices as constitutive of larger processes and institutions so that they may play an active role in shaping their lives and the lives of others.”

Former students expressed appreciation for Gardner’s dedication to student success and going beyond expectations to provide substantive feedback and support inside and outside of the classroom.

Gardner’s courses have spanned the disciplines of global studies, environmental studies, cultural studies and geography. Africa on Film, Globalization, Colonizing History in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Issues in Environmental Policy are a sampling of his courses.

“Dr. Gardner has consistently performed at the highest level,” says Chancellor Wolf Yeigh. “He fully represents the values that faculty and students at the University of Washington Bothell have for teaching and learning.”

Gardner earned his BA in Anthropology from Connecticut College, his MES from Yale University, and his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of California Berkeley. He was previously nominated for the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2011.

The UW Bothell Distinguished Teaching Award, created in 1995, is presented each year to a faculty member who has demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching, exemplifying what it means to fulfill the academic mission of the University of Washington Bothell.