HAP faculty members Sanja Avramovic and John Cantiello honored with teaching awards by Stearns Center  

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The College of Public Health congratulates Sanja Avramovic for receiving a Teaching Excellence Award from the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning and John Cantiello for being recognized as an Online Teacher of Distinction by the Stearns Center.  

“Drs. Avramovic and Cantiello are examples of teaching excellence, and what we strive for in the College of Public Health. I’m delighted to see them receiving the recognition they deserve from the Stearns Center for their excellence, innovation, dedication, and expertise,” said Dean Melissa Perry. 

Sanja Avramovic
Sanja Avramovic

The Teaching Excellence Award recognizes the significant work that faculty members devote to course planning and preparation; support of student engagement and learning; curriculum development; and innovative teaching, advising, and undergraduate and graduate mentoring. 

“Receiving the Teaching Excellence Award reinforces my belief that hard work and dedication can truly pay off. Since I began my career at Mason, I have had the opportunity to teach students from diverse backgrounds. I strongly believe that students learn in different ways, and an instructor needs to be aware and willing to accommodate different learning styles. This realization has shaped my philosophy of teaching and mentoring,” said Avramovic, assistant professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy (HAP). 

“As a professor, my first and foremost goal is to help all students achieve success in learning and achieving their goals. While the meaning of success is different for different people, for the majority of students I’ve taught, their notion of success incorporates some notion of preparing for success later in life and building their careers. Because of this, I now incorporate aspects of career development into my teaching. I have also been mindful of this as it relates to serving as a career and research mentor to students as well as a course-teaching faculty,” continued Avramovic.  

John Cantiello
John Cantiello

A Teacher of Distinction is a faculty member who has been a finalist for the Teaching Excellence Award, and who is recognized across campus for exceptional teaching and commitment to teaching-related activities.  

“I'm deeply appreciative to be recognized for my online teaching efforts and for the opportunity I’ve had to help build our online academic programs. I'm excited to continue to refine my courses as our department broadens our range of online offerings to cater to the growing needs of our diverse student community. Just as in health care, accessibility is important in education. I'm glad Mason is working to make education accessible to so many,” said Cantiello, associate professor in HAP.