Three UNC School of Education faculty members were among 25 UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members to receive 2025 University Teaching Awards. Honorees were selected from 588 nominees.
Cheryl Bolick, Ph.D., associate professor, and Todd Cherner, Ph.D., clinical associate professor, were each one of four to win 2025 Distinguished Teaching Awards for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction.
Dana Riger, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor, was one of four to win a 2025 Chapman Family Teaching Award. Riger’s award comes along with funding to advance teaching in innovative ways. She hopes to use those funds to develop personalized generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) tailored to her classrooms to enhance student learning, engagement, and critical thinking.
“Teaching is a key part of the UNC School of Education’s work and a vital way our faculty members serve Carolina students and communities in North Carolina and beyond,” said Jill Hamm, Ph.D., interim dean and William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education. “Across all of our programs at the School of Education, our faculty members excel as high-impact teachers, and Drs. Bolick, Cherner, and Riger honored at the University level speaks to that teaching excellence.”
Read more about the UNC School of Education recipients and why they were recognized for their teaching excellence.
Cheryl Bolick: Teaching beyond the classroom
Bolick teaches courses in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and Minor in Education programs, as well as the Culture, Curriculum, and Teacher Education (CCTE) concentration of the Ph.D. program. She is a former classroom teacher who led some of the first efforts to integrate technology into social studies teacher education.
Specializing in social studies education and teacher education, her current research examines the impact of experiential education in a teacher education program on classroom teaching.
The University Teaching Awards Committee emphasized Bolick’s empathy and her commitment to creating engaging learning experiences among the reasons she was selected.
According to the UNC Office of the Provost website:
“Dr. Bolick’s current and former students and colleagues were overwhelming in their support of her nomination for this award. Whether she is using place-based learning approaches to train social studies educators or exploring the wilderness with her students on an Outward Bound trip, Dr. Bolick’s empathy, patience, and warmth provide a model of inclusive excellence that sticks with her students throughout their careers. Her teaching goes beyond content delivery, as she expertly integrates experiential learning, community engagement, and reflective practices to create an atmosphere where students feel valued and empowered. Her focus on social justice, particularly teaching counter-narratives and uplifting marginalized voices, inspires future educators to challenge injustice through their own teaching practices.”
Todd Cherner: Creating a sense of belonging
Cherner teaches courses in and serves as program director for the Master of Arts in Educational Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (MEITE) program, which combines learning sciences with the latest advancements in technology to produce high-quality edtech products, services, and content aligned to industry needs.
Cherner’s teaching and research seeks to identify educational technology that can be used to support student learning, collaboration, and engagement. His engaging teaching style, personalized approach to mentorship, and inclusiveness were highlighted by the University Teaching Awards Committee.
According to the UNC Office of the Provost website:
“The award committee was very impressed with Dr. Cherner’s exceptional teaching, mentorship, and dedication to student success. He fosters an active learning environment where students engage in hands-on projects, collaborate with industry professionals, and tackle real-world challenges. Dr. Cherner’s commitment to individual students is evident in his personalized guidance, from connecting them to internships to helping them navigate their professional paths. His inclusive approach creates a sense of belonging for all students, regardless of background, and he tailors his support to meet their diverse needs. Students consistently praise his ability to inspire and empower them, equipping them with the skills, confidence, and connections they need to succeed in the field of educational technology. His passion for teaching, innovative methods, and deep care for his students make him an exemplary educator and mentor, deserving of this prestigious recognition.”
Dana Riger: Serving as a go-to expert
Riger teaches in the Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) and School Counseling programs. She uses her clinical background in marriage and family therapy to help students make practical connections between course content and direct work with individuals, couples, and families.
Riger’s research focuses on online dating, dating apps, and factors that influence stigma-based behaviors. Her more recent research has explored the use of Artificial Intelligence in classrooms.
According to the UNC Office of the Provost website:
“Professor Riger has already won teaching awards for courses as varied as Family Systems and Policy, Sexuality and Identity, and Adolescent and Adult Development, with [her] reputation as ‘one of the best teachers’ at the School of Education routinely echoed by her colleagues,” said Clemens. “Students in her classes most often simply describe Professor Riger as ‘awesome.’ Yet accolades such as these mask the full range of [her] talents. Setting aside the six years she spent as an ‘anti-money-laundering’ investigator, Riger has become one of the University’s go-to experts on the positive and negative educational aspects of AI.”
Recipients of this year’s University Teaching Awards will be recognized during the University Teaching Awards Celebration in April, and again in the fall, during a men’s basketball game at the Dean E. Smith Center.