The 2025 CEETL Exemplary Teaching Awards:
Esther Chan, Lecturer Faculty, English, LCA
We proudly recognize Esther Chan for her deep commitment to inclusive, equity-centered instruction for first-year multilingual students. With decades of experience supporting underrepresented writers in GE Area 2 courses, Professor Chan exemplifies how culturally responsive pedagogy can transform student learning. Through scaffolded assignments like the Literacy Narrative, Report Card, and Book of Delights, students are encouraged to reflect on their lived experiences, explore their identities, and build confidence as academic writers. Her trauma-informed approach includes multilingual video supports, personalized check-ins, and a classroom culture grounded in care and community. Students consistently highlight how Professor Chan's courses create a space where their voices and experiences are validated and celebrated. Professor Chan’s work reaffirms the power of writing as a tool for agency, connection, and belonging.
Sanika Doolani, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, COSE
We celebrate Dr. Sanika Doolani for her successful efforts at creating a problem-based, inquiry-focused approach to her computer science courses. Professor Doolani’s work is outstanding in many ways, but we call particular attention to the Reality Experience Design (RED) Lab, a new HCI and Virtual Reality research space on campus that she created. The lab creates a space for both research and community building. As such it involves students and helps them integrate deep learning principles, including “the importance of enjoying the learning journey, fostering resilience, and embracing the complexity of problem-solving.” Professor Doolani encourages students to document and narrate their learning, and connects such efforts at self-reflection not only to learning but to students’ later career goals and plans.
Xue Han, Associate Professor, Finance, LFCOB
Professor Xue Han is celebrated for her innovative, equity-driven teaching in the field of finance. Through real-time case studies, resume workshops, and inclusive guest speaker panels, Dr. Han creates a learning environment that demystifies finance for all students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Her efforts to integrate zero-cost materials, connect students with campus resources, and promote financial literacy reflect a deep care for students’ academic and professional growth. In courses like FIN 353 and FIN 785, she equips students with the tools to succeed in both coursework and career development. Dr. Han’s excellence lies not only in content delivery, but in her commitment to inclusive mentorship, DEI-aligned pedagogy, and student-centered learning.
Martha Kenney, Associate Professor/Chair, Women & Gender Studies, LCA
Professor Martha Kenney is honored for her visionary course, Gaming from the Margins, which brings together intersectional feminist theory and hands-on media creation. Students not only analyze race, gender, and queerness in video games but also design their own games using tools like Twine and Unity. These projects amplify student voices and encourage creative self-expression across identity lines. With assigned games by Indigenous, trans, and queer designers, Professor Kenney invites students into a media ecosystem where they are both critics and creators. Her commitment to anti-racist pedagogy, accessibility, and joyful learning makes WGS 582 a model for how transformative education can look in digital spaces. Her students leave with new tools for storytelling, solidarity, and social change.
Alyssa Kubota, Assistant Professor, Computer Engineering, COSE
We celebrate Alyssa Kubota’s contributions to student success in Engineering courses, particularly through her innovative redesigns of lower division courses. Professor Kubota is a dedicated educator who works to connect the classroom to the real-world. She uses hands-on, experiential learning, and ensures that learning is both accessible and meaningful. We applaud her efforts to connect classroom learning with community stakeholders and to involve students in professional, real-world engineering projects. Professor Kubota is an excellent curriculum designer who encourages students to think critically and creatively, often encouraging students to add personal touches to their engineering projects. Her course materials are a model of accessibility and clarity, with a “bounded but open” design that supports students while encouraging them to become agents of their own learning.
Eric Lamm, Professor, Management, LFCOB
Dr. Eric Lamm uses a problem-focused strategy for managing workplace stress, particularly workload-related stress. He immerses students in the role of a district manager, handling multiple urgent and important tasks under time pressure, helping them practice prioritizing based on urgency and importance, delegating appropriately, and communicating effectively. He applies experiential learning by creating emotional engagement through realistic challenges and competition, reinforcing concepts like distinguishing between urgent versus important tasks (using Covey’s framework), and highlighting the value of timely communication and delegation. His commitment to preparing students for the workplace, using a wholistic approach is evident in his pedagogy. He keeps his students engaged by having them apply what they have learned in real life simulations. CEETL is pleased to recognize Dr. Lamm.
Shuyi Liu, Assistant Professor, Psychology, COSE
Dr. Liu demonstrates her strong commitment to innovative and inclusive teaching practices by applying role-playing, debates, and real-world projects to engage students critically and personally with psychological concepts. She integrates diversity, social justice, and cultural awareness into her courses, fostering an inclusive environment that supports diverse student backgrounds and learning styles. Dr. Liu is also deeply dedicated to mentorship, having guided numerous undergraduate and graduate students through academic and professional development, including clinical supervision and research opportunities. Her teaching effectiveness is reflected in consistently excellent student evaluations, and she actively pursues professional growth to enhance her pedagogical skills. Overall, her work embodies SF State’s mission of equity, inclusion, and student success. CEETL is pleased to recognize Dr. Liu.
Mahmood Monshipouri, Professor, International Relations, LCA
We recognize Mahmood Monshipouri for his excellent undergraduate teaching. Professor Monshipouri regularly teaches courses on Middle East Politics and Human Rights and as the chair of his department notes, he has earned a strong reputation for supporting students as they grapple with issues ranging from human rights to power dynamics in the Middle East. Through active learning, Professor Monshipouri creates a sense of belonging in first-year students, regularly taking his students on walks in the Quad, discussing issues that matter to them, and inspiring them to persist in their education. He is a fierce advocate for student well-being and relationship- building. His work with students is integral to their development as lifelong learners and members of the SF State community.
Ponipate Rokolekutu, Assistant Professor, Critical Pacific Islands and Oceania Studies, CoES
We celebrate Professor Ponipate Rokolekutu for innovative deployment of pedagogies of the global south to empower students. Dr. Rokolekutu creates space in her classes for “vulnerability, critical thinking, and co-construction of knowledge, allowing students to bring their whole selves into the classroom.” In addition, Professor Rokolekutu leads the Oceania Scholars Program which supports AANHPI Student Achievement through cultivating student voice, land-based inquiry, and Indigenous resistance. Her students critically interrogate settler colonialism and militarization but Professor Rokolekuto also encourages celebrations of joy, resistance, and art in her classes, allowing space for students to produce poetry, posters, and land acknowledgments that reflect their personal and community connections. We applaud this deeply student-centered, holistic approach rooted in student empowerment, resistance and critique.
Michelle Sinapuelas, Assistant Professor, Chemistry , COSE
We applaud Michelle Sinapuelas for her commitment to peer learning and active learning in chemistry courses. Professor Sinapuelas has redesigned lower division chemistry courses to a studio-based format where lecture and laboratory class components are blended and taught simultaneously, enabling hands-on active learning throughout. Moving chemistry learning from deductive (lecture-style) to inductive, Dr. Sinapuelas regularly innovates her lessons to allow students to discover and experiment with lessons by working together in class. She has also redesigned grading practices in her courses to support equity and ensure students have multiple opportunities to engage with course material and show their learning.
Saskia Van Kampen, Associate Professor, Visual Communication Design, LCA
Associate Professor Saskia van Kampen has played a crucial role in transforming the Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Communication Design at San Francisco State University by introducing consistent pedagogy, a common glossary, and course leads to ensure curriculum cohesion. Despite challenges like the pandemic, she maintained leadership and helped strengthen the department. She revamped core graphic design courses to increase rigor and introduced a new, popular class called Image Making for Designers. Professor van Kampen is recognized nationally and internationally for her contributions to design education, particularly supporting first-generation students. Her efforts have significantly improved student preparation and success in a competitive field compared to private institutions with more extensive programs. CEETL is pleased to recognize Dr. Saskia Van Kampen.
Joan Wong, Lecturer Faculty, English, LCA
Professor Joan Wong is a highly experienced and dedicated writing instructor at SF State, with nearly 31 years of service. She has made significant contributions to the First-Year Writing Program through her student-centered, inclusive, and equity-driven teaching approach, which deeply supports students’ academic growth, writer identities, and sense of belonging. Her innovative assignments, such as the “What is School For?” project, and personalized strategies like one-on-one meetings and peer feedback, have been praised by students for improving their writing skills and confidence. Dr. Wong actively engages in equity-minded pedagogy initiatives, using institutional data to redesign courses to better support diverse student needs, especially first-generation students. Despite challenges like budget cuts, she remains committed to fostering an equitable learning environment and advancing inclusive teaching practices. CEETL is pleased to recognize Dr. Wong.