Dr. William Wagner received two teaching awards this year from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the University of Colorado Denver. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Teaching Award was awarded to him on May 3, 2019. The CU Denver Excellence in Teaching Award for the Denver Campus will be presented to Wagner at a ceremony in the Fall. Dr. Wagner was nominated for these awards by Dr. Chris Agee, Chair of the History Department. To support his nomination, he had to assemble a dossier of letters from colleagues and students, student evaluations, and materials from his courses (syllabi, assignments, Powerpoints, rubrics, examples of student work, lesson materials, etc.). Wagner compiled letters and emails from twenty-six former students and many colleagues. The end result was a document of more than 200 pages that detailed Dr. Wagner's committment to teaching.
The criteria for the awards included: 1) Quality of course design; 2) Quality of student relations; 3) Quality of teaching outside the traditional classroom; 4) Effectiveness of learning assessment techniques; 5) Creativity and innovation in overall teaching; and 6) The impact of teaching on students, the community, and professional organizations. It is clear that Dr. Wagner excelled in each of these categories. These awards recognize Wagner's dedication and creativity, and they are so very well deserved. Wagner said of the nomination and award processes, "I am very grateful to my colleagues and students who helped make this award possible, and who continue to inspire me to improve my teaching. It is a privilege to be a part of such a talented department." The CU Denver History Department congratulates Professor Wagner and thanks him for his dedication to our students.