Three instructors have been selected as recipients of the 2025-26 Lecturers Award for Teaching and Undergraduate Education: Lernik Asserian, Todd Davies, and Katarina Guzman.

“Great lecturers,” said Jay Hamilton, the Freeman-Thornton Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, “illuminate the path of knowledge, igniting curiosity and fostering openness to new ideas. They empower students to thrive academically, embrace challenges, and unlock their potential as they move through their journey of learning and self-discovery.”

This year’s honorees, Hamilton said, have made Stanford “a more enlightening and transformative place for thousands of undergraduates.”

Candidates are nominated by their peers and selected by a committee appointed by the vice provost for undergraduate education, in recognition of innovation in teaching, student mentorship, and meaningful contributions to undergraduate education. The award is open to lecturers engaged with undergraduates or appointed within the undergraduate schools, and is jointly supported by the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the deans of the School of Humanities and Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. It is administered by the Center for Teaching and Learning.

The recipients will be formally honored at a celebration later this year.

Lernik Asserian, Mathematics

Lernik Asserian is a senior lecturer in mathematics and director of the Stanford Undergraduate Research Institute in Mathematics. The selection committee highlighted the breadth of her contributions across the department, from developing Math 18 to support incoming students to creating Math 195, a capstone course praised by students and colleagues alike.

“My approach to teaching is rooted in putting myself in my students’ shoes,” Asserian said. “Whether I am teaching an introductory math course or the capstone requirement for our majors, this student-centered perspective guides everything I do. It pushes me to create a supportive environment that empowers students to engage deeply with challenging material and view the learning process as a journey of personal growth. By showing the real-world applications of the concepts we study, my aim is to reframe mathematics from a requirement into a powerful tool for understanding the world.”

Todd Davies, Symbolic Systems Program

Todd Davies is the associate director of and a lecturer in the Symbolic Systems Program. The selection committee recognized the breadth of his contributions, including program-wide curricular leadership, the development and teaching of key courses, and tireless student advising and mentorship.

“My main goal is to help students learn how to apply and combine methods across the disciplines our curriculum draws from,” Davies said. “I also try to contextualize their educational and career choices with the questions that most interest me: In a digitized world, can all of us thrive? Can democracy work? Can we even survive? Students at Stanford, and in our program especially, are in an advantaged position for applying technology, science, and humanistic thinking to benefit the world beyond our campus.”

Katarina Guzman, Chemical Engineering

Katarina Guzman is a lecturer in chemical engineering. The selection committee was especially impressed by her dedication to students, reflected in outstanding course evaluations and numerous comments describing the critical role “Dr. Kat” played in their learning and development.

“Whether it’s brewing kombucha in a laboratory course or mathematically modeling gluten contamination at a waffle factory, I strive to provide students with engaging, playful entry points into our technical subject matter,” Guzman said. “I find tremendous joy in igniting their enthusiasm for learning and guiding them through complex topics, especially when they discover understanding they never thought possible.”