Faculty Recognized for Distinguished Teaching

Dr. Faizan Alawi
Dr. Joan Gluch

Philadelphia – Two Penn Dental Medicine faculty members have been recognized by Penn with university-wide teaching awards. Dr. Faizan Alawi is among the recipients of the 2018 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and Dr. Joan Gluch received the 2018 Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty. Both awards are sponsored by Penn’s Office of the Provost and selected through nominations from the Penn community; this year’s recipients were honored at a reception held April 25.

The Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching is awarded to up to eight members of Penn’s Standing Faculty each year — four in the non-health schools (Annenberg, Design, Engineering and Applied Science, GSE, Law, SAS, Social Policy & Practice, Wharton) and four in the health schools (Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine). The Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty is awarded to two members of the associated faculty or academic support staff who teach at Penn, one in the non-health schools and one in the health schools.

Both the Lindback and Provost’s Awards are given in recognition of distinguished teaching, described in the award guidelines as teaching that is intellectually demanding, unusually coherent, and permanent in its effect, with the capability of changing the way in which students view the subject they are studying. In addition, the Provost’s Office notes that the Lindback and Provost’s Awards have a symbolic importance that transcends the recognition of individual merit and serve as reminders to the University community of the expectations for the quality of its mission.

Dr. Alawi, who is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Pathology, has been a member of the Penn Dental Medicine faculty since 2001. In his role as Associate Dean, he led the redesign and implementation of the predoctoral curriculum over the past three years. In addition, he teaches pathology classes to both predoctoral and postdoctoral students at Penn Dental Medicine, Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Alawi is a two-time recipient of the Penn Dental Medicine Basic Science Award for Teaching Excellence.

Dr. Gluch, Associate Dean of Academic Policies, Division Chief of Community Oral Health, and Professor of Clinical Community Oral Health, has been part of the School’s faculty for 25 years, and has led the efforts in academically based community service learning for students at each year of dental school.

“Both Drs. Alawi and Gluch continue to contribute in many ways to the School and one of these contributions is excellence in teaching. Their outstanding dedication to teaching our dental students is reflected by the Lindback and Provost’s awards,” says Interim Dean Dana Graves. “They are very deserving of this recognition.”