Ronald Kleinknecht Excellence in Teaching Award

The Ronald Kleinknecht Excellence in Teaching Award is presented annually to one instructor or visiting faculty member from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences who has made outstanding contributions to teaching at WWU. The award was established by Ronald A. Kleinknecht, the founding dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Nominations for the 2026 Ronald Kleinknecht Excellence in Teaching Award are now CLOSED. Thank you to those that took the time to nominate a faculty member for this award! 

Selection Criteria

The following criteria and policies are meant to secure comprehensive evaluation and maintain goodwill in the process.

  1. No person will receive this award more than once.
  2. Only the name of the winner of the award will be announced on completion of the process.
  3. The candidate must be an instructor or visiting faculty member in the College.
  4. Nominees will be asked if they wish to be candidates and, if so, required to submit materials to the committee. ­
  5. The award is a teaching award, not a research award; materials submitted should speak to teaching. ­
  6. To secure consistency in the evaluation process:
    • Supporting materials from the candidate will be limited to no more than three years. Student evaluations should be representative of courses taught within three years of teaching at Western. The candidate should provide copies of syllabi, reading lists, writing assignments, final exams, and any related materials used in the courses; more is not necessarily better in these materials.
    • The candidate will supply the committee with two letters of support from students and two letters of support from faculty members, based on observation of the candidate’s teaching.
    • The candidate will provide a current vita.

The candidate may provide up to two pages describing aspects of his/her teaching that may not be covered by the requested materials.

Award/Recognition

The award recipient will be presented with a Western medallion award at the Celebration of Excellence Awards in May. Depending on availability of funding, the award will normally include a $1,000 stipend.

Award Administration

College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Office

Nomination Process

Nominations are solicited from alumni, students, and faculty members. A selection committee will review the candidates’ files and designate the recipient of the award. The committee will consist of one College affiliated tenure-line faculty member, one College affiliated student (selected by the AS Vice President for Academic Affairs), one previous award winner, and will be chaired by the Dean of the College.

Nominations for the 2026 award are now CLOSED. Thank you to those that took the time to nominate a colleague by the January 23, 2026 deadline!

2026

Professor Kusakabe wearing a black blouse, tan blazer, and an award medallion

Madoka Kusakabe - Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Madoka Kusakabe has been a dedicated member of the Western Washington faculty since 2010. Kusakabe serves as a senior instructor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Her teaching encompasses Japanese language, literature, film and culture, reflecting both breadth and depth of expertise. Drawing on extensive professional experience in Japan and a sustained commitment to pedagogical innovations, Kusakabe teaches and coordinates all levels of Japanese courses in varying class sizes. She has cultivated an intellectually vibrant and all-inclusive learning environment that foregrounds cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives. Her thoughtfully designed curriculum engages students with the historical, sociopolitical, cultural, and technological dimensions of Japan, inspiring a lasting appreciation for Japanese studies. In the classroom, she challenges students to move beyond their perceived limitations, fostering creativity, confidence, and intellectual independence. Through her guidance, students develop critical thinking skills, cultural awareness, and the capacity to engage meaningfully with diverse perspectives -- qualities essential to becoming responsible global citizens. Kusakabe received her B.A. in history from Chuo University in Japan, her M.A. in Asian Studies and Japanese pedagogy from University of Oregon, and her Ph.D. in Japanese literatures and films from University of Oregon.

Past Awardees

1 awardee(s) for this year

2025 Awardees

Dr. Matthew Seifert standing on Old Main Lawn wearing a WWU award medallion

Matthew Seifert - Psychology

Matthew Seifert is a senior instructor in the Department of Psychology. After completing undergraduate studies at WWU in 2009, he obtained a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Florida Atlantic University. He has taught at WWU since 2016 and teaches a range of courses, mostly in the areas of cognition, neuroscience, and statistics. His main area of academic interest is how the human visual system creates and manipulates internal representations of the environment, and this area is often represented in his upper-division courses in cognition and neuroscience.

As a WWU alum, Matthew now has the opportunity to teach a few of the same classes he took as an undergraduate. He enjoys being able to compare his experiences as a student and an instructor to keep students’ perspectives in mind while teaching, and to help them think critically about course content from different points of view. His favorite parts of teaching are interacting with students from different backgrounds, and watching when attitudes shift from thinking of courses as simply required tasks to seeing the content as interesting and relevant to everyday life. He also very much enjoys hearing back from former students about their pursuits after graduation.