School of Arts and Sciences

Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching

The Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching honors an individual for their outstanding teaching. 

The $2,500 award is presented annually at the April faculty meeting.

Faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited to submit nominations. The recipient is selected by the Dean of Arts and Sciences upon the recommendation of a committee consisting of three faculty, including previous Teaching Prize recipients, in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Decisions are based on nomination letters, teaching evaluations, Faculty Activity Reports and CVs. Submit a nomination.

2025 Recipient | Toni Shapiro-Phim, Associate Professor of Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation

Nominator Comments

• “Professor Shapiro-Phim is my inspiration. I admire her more than anyone I have met in my 4 years at Brandeis. She has done impactful work in refugee camps around the world and cares deeply about human rights issues. Toni sparked in me a deeper passion for social justice than I ever thought possible.”
• “Working with her as a student is liberating because when you have an idea or a goal, she immediately wants to help you find the resources to achieve this goal … Anyone who has worked with Toni has something glowing to say because she brings love, light, and learning wherever she goes. To learn from her is to witness magic in the making.”

Past Recipients