The Academic Senate and Federation have announced their top awards, comprising 15 academics across various disciplines throughout the university.
The awards cite the impact these academics have had on their fields, on UC Davis students and on the broader community through public service.
Read more about the College of Letters and Science recipients below, from the citations prepared by the senate and federation award committees.
Distinguished Teaching Award – Undergraduate Teaching
Keith David Watenpaugh, Professor and Founding Director of Human Rights Studies Program
Professor Keith David Watenpaugh has demonstrated unparalleled dedication to human rights and the UC Davis community. In 2015, he founded the Human Rights Studies program and pioneered a curriculum where none had existed before, developing two new Human Rights courses, HMR 1 and HMR 134 with almost 4,000 enrolled students in the last 10 years. He has founded the Article 26 Backpack initiative, which focuses on protecting the right to education for refugees and at-risk young people through fundraising, communication strategies and engaging in research and advocacy. This initiative has had a lasting and far-reaching impact at UC Davis and well beyond.
Distinguished Teaching Award – Graduate and Professional Teaching
Hsuan Hsu, Professor of English
Professor Hsuan Hsu’s graduate teaching and mentoring earn consistent praise from students and colleagues as “stellar,” “generous” and transformative. He guides students through the intellectual and professional dimensions of academic life, pairing rigorous instruction with sustained, attentive mentorship. Students laud Professor Hsu for his ability to make professional expectations clear while encouraging ambitious scholarship. Colleagues highlight the depth of his mentorship across coursework, dissertation stages, and professional development, often extending into collaborative research and co-authored publications. As one student notes, he “always shows up,” offering incisive feedback and maintaining high standards alongside steadfast encouragement and care.
Distinguished Service Award
Monica Torreiro-Casal, Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Chicana/o/x Studies
Monica Torreiro-Casal teaches and mentors students in Chicana/o/x Studies and provides extensive service to immigrant and diverse populations. She serves on UC committees that promote affirmative action, diversity, and equity, and developed and led the Healing Through Creative Arts Expression Program, which supports undocumented students and immigrant students from mixed immigration status families at UC Davis. Torreiro-Casal has collaborated extensively on curriculum development, graduate and undergraduate mentorship, research, and community-based training aimed at improving the mental health of underserved populations at the international, national, state, and local levels. Torreiro-Casal’s commitment to community well-being, equity, and public service is evident in her work and goes far beyond what is expected of her role.
Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
Priscilla San Souci, Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Psychology
Priscilla San Souci has taught a remarkable variety of courses across modalities and is characterized by her undergraduate students, graduate TAs and colleagues as an outstanding teacher. Students have praised her “rare ability to make a large class feel personal” and her mentorship that extends “far beyond just the curriculum.” In addition to her efforts to promote student equity and belonging in her teaching and mentorship, San Souci has also contributed significantly to improving her department's curriculum and pedagogy, redesigning the History of Psychology course, co-creating a hybrid Developmental Psychology course and helping with a major overhaul of the Research Methods in Psychology course.
This article originally appeared on the UC Davis News website.
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