Shapiro Named Top Northwestern Instructor
School of Education and Social Policy professor Lilah Shapiro was honored with a Northwestern University Teaching Excellence Award for her innovative classroom instruction and her unflagging investment in the success of her students.
The award includes a salary stipend for the next three years and professional development funds. The term begins at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.
Shapiro, who will become the Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Professor of Instruction, is SESP’s fifth consecutive winner and seventh overall. She joins Shirin Vossoughi (2022), Cynthia Coburn (2021), Danny M. Cohen and Mesmin Destin (2019), David Rapp (2015), and Dan McAdams (1995), all current SESP faculty members.
Twice voted one of Northwestern’s most outstanding professors, both by SESP students and Associated Student Government, Shapiro is known for forging important personal connections that extend well beyond the classroom.
She implemented innovative grading systems, helped students think about complicated ideas and issues, and embraced challenges such as answering the amorphous question of what it really means “to know” something.
Her courses push students to think broadly and deeply about what has influenced their life trajectories and how they understand the world. She helps students learn to see multiple perspectives and take others' experiences and beliefs seriously.
One of her signature classes, “Understanding Knowledge” underscores SESP’s mission: Leveraging the power of education and learning to create positive change in students. “The class encourages students to grapple with surprising or difficult ideas, including ones that may challenge their own values and/or deeply held beliefs,” she says.
Shapiro earned her doctorate in comparative human development from the University of Chicago and her bachelor’s degree in English and vocal performance from Oberlin College. Her current research interests include identity, narrative, ethnicity and race, religion, class, and American culture.
“She has significantly impacted our curriculum, inspired students to question, integrate, and challenge standard ways of thinking, and provided safe environments to help our students thrive,” said School of Education and Social Policy Dean Dan P. McAdams.
Read more about Lilah Shapiro who was recently promoted to associate professor of instruction.