The Women’s and Gender Studies Program is proud to announce Dr. Kathryn Luchok as the recipient of the 2021 WGST Faculty Teaching Award.
Dr. Luchok has a major role in shaping the experiences of WGST students. She teaches hundreds of students in foundational courses each year. In this role as an introduction to WGST for many students, Dr. Luchok sets the stage for her students’ futures and encourages their involvement in the women’s and gender studies space. According to Dr. Emily Mann, the Associate Director of WGST, Dr. Luchok “play[s] a pivotal role in the program by teaching hundreds of students in these courses every year with excellence and recruiting students to become WGST majors or minors through [her] teaching and mentorship.”
Dr. Luchok’s students agree with this assessment. One student commented “I’ve loved every class that I’ve taken with you, and you definitely inspired me to pick up a minor in WGST.” Another student explained “I feel that the structure and the content of both classes has helped me build an important knowledge base and a passion for pursuing gender-based issues in my future career and service. Your courses helped show me that working in a field I was passionate about was a real and tangible possibility for my future.”
In addition to creating a solid foundation for WGST courses, Dr. Luchok also has a reputation for going above and beyond for her students. Dr. Luchok serves on honors theses committees, supervises student research projects, and collaborates with students on publications. As a student supervisor, Dr. Luchok was commended by a former student as “someone who consistently goes above and beyond to create meaningful work experiences for students.”
Dr. Luchok considers mentorship to be an essential part of her role. When asked about her award win, Dr. Luchok said “I am honored and humbled to receive the WGST Teaching Award this year. Besides teaching several courses each semester, I regularly have students contacting me for my expertise and for research experience opportunities. I also provide student engagement opportunities on all my research, and link students through my broad network to opportunities. My classes also often shape the trajectory of students’ careers. So I am very pleased that WGST recognizes the work of teaching and mentoring. I believe our most important job as faculty is to develop the next generation of scholars and practitioners. By modeling mentorship, I am thrilled to see former students go on to provide mentorship in their institutions and workplaces.”
The Women’s and Gender Studies Program is grateful for the involvement of Dr. Luchok. Dr. Carla Pfeffer, the Director of WGST, stated “Kathryn has always been among the vanguard of our professional faculty. Her teaching and mentorship span across both our undergraduate and graduate student populations. Dr. Luchok’s expertise in gender and reproductive health, and her interdisciplinary focus across public health, anthropology, and women’s and gender studies, has contributed to her creation of some truly excellent courses. Her sections of WGST 113: Women’s Health; WGST 388: Cultures, Pregnancy, and Birth; and WGST 392: Global Women’s Health always bring rave reviews from students. She has also been at the forefront of ensuring that WGST courses are able to be offered in both face-to-face and online formats, expanding the populations of students that these important courses are able to reach. Last summer, she received a grant from the Provost to develop an online section of WGST 304: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality that will be available for all of our instructors to use in the future. We are fortunate to count Dr. Luchok among our colleagues and are thrilled to see her contributions to WGST teaching recognized through this award.”
Header image of Dr. Kathryn Luchok by Aidan Toumey.