Every year, the College of Science recognizes outstanding faculty and advisors for their noteworthy participation in representing and contributing to the teaching and advising mission of the University of Arizona. Congratulations to Gurtina Besla, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Astronomy and Associate Astronomer, Steward Observatory! We celebrate your dedication to educating our students and perfecting your craft of teaching and advising.
Awardees and other outstanding members of the College of Science will be recognized at the annual Faculty Reception on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.
Distinguished Early-Career Teaching Award
Gurtina Besla, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Astronomy and Associate Astronomer, Steward Observatory
This award is in recognition of outstanding classroom (in-person or virtual) teaching at the undergraduate or graduate levels. Nominees should be less than ten years as members of the University of Arizona and should have demonstrated sustained commitment to high quality, inclusive teaching in a variety of settings.
“Gurtina is one of those rare individuals who possess all the characteristics we seek in an exceptional faculty member. Dr. Besla’s portfolio of activities is especially diverse, including top-quality classroom teaching at all levels (the lower and upper division undergraduate level and the graduate level) and exceptional mentoring of graduate and undergraduate research students. The praise for her ASTR 400B course was among the highest we have ever seen, with several students ranking her among the best (sometimes the best) professors they had ever worked with, and similarly effusive comments about the course itself. Our graduate students, a famously discerning group with very high expectations, also praised the course they took with Dr. Besla. I commend Gurtina Besla and give the strongest possible support for recognizing her teaching and mentoring accomplishments.” Buell T. Jannuzi, Ph.D. Department Head, Astronomy & Director, Steward Observatory.
“Gurtina is a compassionate teacher, and through her thoughtful efforts she has developed a deep understanding of the conceptual and reasoning difficulties that students have with a wide variety of topics. She has also gained a detailed knowledge of the many implementation challenges that face college instructors working to successfully use evidence-based, active learning instructional strategies. I have watched Gurtina access students’ learning difficulties in real-time (in person and online) and successfully engage them with just the right instructional strategies or questions to help guide them get back on track – a truly expert pedagogical ability. Simply put, Gurtina is a naturally talented teacher. One visit to any of the classes she teaches, and you are immediately drawn into the learning with the students. Her passion for teaching astronomy is inspiring. Her courses are leading the nation as a model for how to best teach the real quantitative and data literacy skills one must possess to practice astronomy (and STEM) in the age of big data. I provide my enthusiastic support for Dr. Gurtina Besla’s nomination for the College of Science Distinguished Early-Career Teaching Award.” Edward Prather, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Astronomy.