Dr. Chelsea Lancelle, assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is this year’s recipient of the UW-Platteville Early Career Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence. The award recognizes a tenure-track faculty member who has made distinguished contributions to the mission of UW-Platteville as an outstanding teacher.
“I am beyond thrilled to have received this,” said Lancelle. “My goal when I entered graduate school was to teach, and I knew I wanted to teach at a smaller institution where I could get to know and connect with my students on a personal level.”
Lancelle teaches geology courses, covering topics that include physical geology, geology for engineers and hydrogeology.
“During my time at UW-Platteville, I’ve gotten to make the connections with students that I was really hoping for,” said Lancelle. “I love hearing from them about how geology has changed how they look at the world. Some of my past students still keep in touch and send me pictures of rocks from their travels. To have received this award is truly a huge honor, especially when I know there are many deserving instructors across the university who work hard to do the best for their students as well.”
Lancelle earned her Ph.D. and Master of Science in geoscience from UW-Madison and a Bachelor of Science in geology and mathematics from St. Norbert College. She joined UW-Platteville in 2016 as a lecturer and transitioned to assistant professor in 2019.
"In Dr. Lancelle’s time at UW-Platteville, she has worked hard to ensure she is delivering a quality education to her students,” said Dr. Christina Curras, professor and chair of the UW-Platteville Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “She has attended many teaching workshops, locally and nationally, since she started working at UW-Platteville, and she has presented at these workshops as well. While she puts significant time into making sure she herself is doing all she can to ensure a good learning experience for students, that is not enough for her. Her recent and current research is actually focused on figuring out how she can also influence students’ motivation and attitude toward their courses, specifically their general education science class."
Lancelle was also selected to take part in the 2020-21 Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars Program, through which she will complete a scholarship of teaching and learning project that will explore a teaching methodology to help students succeed.
Lancelle will be recognized at the UW-Platteville faculty and staff convocation on Thursday, Aug. 26.