Doctoral candidate Katie Clonan-Roy is awarded coveted fellowship for her excellence in teaching

June 12, 2015

Each spring, departments across the university submit their nominations for a fellowship with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Those selected organize and facilitate a variety of workshops, both department and campus wide. Due to the vast number of teaching assistants in the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), GSE students are rarely recognized.

Katie Clonan-Roy’s portfolio, however, impressed the judges. She is a 5th year doctoral candidate in Penn GSE’s Education, Culture & Society Division with a focus on Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies.

 “I am committed to learning more about teaching in higher education and improving my praxis,” Clonan-Roy said. “I want to become a professor at a small, liberal arts college and believe this opportunity will expand how I think about teaching and allow me to better understand and support collegiate learning.” 

Stanton Wortham, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, has been Clonan-Roy’s advisor during her time at Penn GSE. “Katie is smart, committed, well-organized, and consistently positive about the subject matter and her students,” he said. “She imagines new possibilities and creates her own solutions without having to be guided.”

She hopes to offer workshops on both teaching through inquiry and deconstructing boundaries of power. “I am eager to work with faculty members on this,” she said. “I have learned how to teach from working with Stanton Wortham, Mike Nakkula, and Alex Posecznick.”

Clonan-Roy has been a teaching assistant for Gender and Education (EDUC590), Ethnographic Research Methods (EDUC 721), and Developmental Theories and Applications with Adolescents (EDUC 557).

“As a successful doctoral candidate completing an interesting and important dissertation project, Katie is well-positioned to pursue an academic career,” Wortham said.

In recognition of her hard work, Clonan-Roy has been awarded $6,000.

CTL promotes teaching excellence at the University of Pennsylvania by striving to help professors and instructors excel in their teaching. Instructors of all levels, from acclaimed professors to new and struggling TAs, are able to engage with one another through workshops, faculty-led discussions, and one-on-one consultations.



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