The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts has named sociology professor Alexandra Murphy a 2018 recipient of the Individual Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education.   This award recognized faculty members who are exceptionally dedicated to the educational experiences of undergraduates, and who demonstrate this dedication through achievements and innovations in their classrooms.

The college was especially interested in the innovations Professor Murphy has made in her Sociology 335 ("Urban Inequality") class, in which she has shown a deep commitment to creating classroom experiences for students that challenge them to think hard, with both nuance and empathy, about some very difficult sociological issues.  In particular, they noted her adoption of a semester-long "simulation" in which students must adopt the subject position of a given person in a given local community and analyze a wide range of data on everything from housing prices to police budgets from that perspective.

Congratulations, Alex!