An English instructor from The University of New Mexico-Gallup earned a Teaching Excellence Award for her dedication to growing as an educator and finding innovative ways to reach students in the classroom.
Tracy Lassiter, an associate professor and coordinator of digital learning at UNM-Gallup, earned the UNM Teaching Excellence Award for Reflection and Continuous Improvement during the 2026 spring semester. She was one of 22 educators who were honored during an awards ceremony in Albuquerque on April 8.
For a Research 1 university to take time to acknowledge the quality of the instruction that’s going on, to recognize what they call the hard work of the heart work that comes from trauma-informed teaching, is really wonderful,” Lassiter said. “Because that’s what we, at the branches, especially are focused on doing. Some days it’s a tough job, and to have someone say, ‘Wow, thank you, thank you for doing all that you do,’ it felt great.”…