Maximilian Auffhammer Receives Distinguished Teaching Award

Maximilian Auffhammer, assistant professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) and International and Area Studies, has received Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award for 2009.

Auffhammer, an environmental economist who has taught at Berkeley since 2003, received praise from faculty and students alike for his enthusiasm, his ability to present complex ideas clearly, and his care for his students.

In both IAS and ARE, Auffhammer’s vibrant classes have become popular choices for students with a variety of backgrounds. Students who are initially intimidated by economics especially point to Auffhammer’s skill in making the material accessible, fascinating, and relevant. One student wrote, “I have done poorly in econ before, and this is a 180-degree change for me. I now actually like econ!”

Auffhammer’s colleagues agreed. The Committee noted that “not more than one in a hundred . . . faculty members achieve the kind of success in the classroom that he routinely achieves, year after year.”

The Distinguished Teaching Award is bestowed annually by the UC Berkeley division of the Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching, which comprises faculty members and students. It was instituted in 1959 and is considered one of the highest honors for a professor or lecturer. Only 227 professors have received the award to date.

As part of the screening process, committee members read at least two years’ worth of the candidates’ student evaluations, which can number into the thousands, evaluate their teaching philosophy and course materials, and observe them as they teach.

“I do this job because I love every minute of it,” said Auffhammer. “The mix of students from every corner of the world and part of society provides for the most stimulating intellectual environment I have ever encountered. The greatest moments in my professional career have happened in the classroom. The feeling of having done my job and having done it well is priceless. I am grateful to the university and my students for giving me the opportunity to teach here.”