Jessamyn Neuhaus, director of the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE), has been named the inaugural Meredith Professor of Teaching and Learning Excellence. The appointment, part of the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship Program, is among the University’s highest teaching honors, recognizing faculty who combine excellence in the classroom with a strong record of scholarly contribution to teaching and learning.

“Jessamyn has already reshaped how our campus talks about teaching, and this appointment reflects the depth and reach of that work,” says Lois Agnew, vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer. “She brings both rigorous scholarship and genuine warmth to every conversation about pedagogy, and faculty across every school and college have felt the benefit of her leadership.”

As Meredith Professor, Neuhaus will identify a topic related to teaching excellence to guide programming over her term, working in partnership with the Office of Academic Affairs to develop workshops, peer mentoring opportunities and campuswide conversations that support faculty at every stage of their careers.

Neuhaus, a professor in the School of Education, has served as CTLE director since August 2024. During her tenure, she has revised the mission and vision of the CTLE and expanded programming and consultation services, including an annual Course Redesign Institute, increased opportunities for student-faculty pedagogical partnerships and direct support for documenting and evaluating effective teaching. As a highly collaborative leader, she has co-created programming with a wide variety of campus partners, such as Syracuse University Art Museum, the Center for Disability Resources, the College of Arts and Sciences and SOURCE, among others.

Neuhaus is working on a reimagined Meredith Symposium, a Universitywide celebration of teaching innovation and excellence, set to take place in March.

“I’m truly honored to receive this prestigious appointment,” Neuhaus says. “The Meredith Professor Program is one of Syracuse University’s most significant and enduring investments in teaching excellence, and I’m absolutely thrilled that this recognition will help me continue to build strong campus partnerships and to expand the CTLE’s outreach and impact.”

Neuhaus was previously director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and a professor of history at SUNY Plattsburgh. A recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, she has more than 20 years of classroom experience, teaching courses on U.S. history, gender studies and popular culture. She most recently taught the honors seminar, “Problems with Grades.” Neuhaus is a nationally recognized scholar of teaching and learning and regularly gives invited keynotes and plenary talks. She is the author of Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts and Nerds Who Want to Be Effective Teachers and Snafu Edu: Teaching and Learning When Things Go Wrong in the College Classroom. She is editor of the anthology Picture a Professor: Intersectional Teaching Strategies for Interrupting Bias about Faculty and Increasing Student Learning and editor of Teaching History: A Journal of Methods. Her forthcoming book, Unessays: Reimagining Research Papers in the Post-Information Age will be published in the Oklahoma University Press series, “Teaching, Engaging and Thriving in Higher Ed.”