Distinguished Educator

Be recognized for sharing your knowledge and skills with fellow educators.

The Distinguished Educator designation is the highest honor in Academy membership. It is awarded to a faculty member who consistently demonstrates excellence in teaching and peer mentoring to promote the development of the next generation of effective and innovative teachers.

Due to the competitive nature and prestige of the award, no more than two individuals will be named Distinguished Educators each award cycle.

Distinguished Educators are UNMC faculty members who serve as trusted resources and help guide their colleagues in developing teaching skills, enhancing pedagogical approaches and improving student learning outcomes. 

They engage and inspire students and educators to learn, think critically, encourage collaboration, and foster a supportive culture of teaching and learning at UNMC.

Distinguished Educators are committed to faculty and student success and demonstrate the impact of their teaching and mentoring. They continuously seek to improve their teaching practice and stay current with the latest pedagogical research and innovations.

Distinguished Educators must have demonstrated evidence of teaching proficiency, innovation, robust application of pedagogical approaches and learning based on evidence-based practices.

The Distinguished Educator designation is the highest honor in Academy membership. As such, it comes with additional benefits, on top of what you gain as an Academy Member.

Opportunity to note oneself as an “IAE Distinguished Educator” for P&T, teaching awards and other opportunities 
Recognition at IAE InnovatED Symposium
IAE Digital Service Transcript
Automatic Academies Collaborative Speaker’s Bureau Member

The nominee must hold a faculty appointment and demonstrate excellence in service, teaching, mentoring, educational scholarship, continuous self and professional development and empowering other educators at UNMC. 

Academy Membership Requirements
Applicants must be an active Academy Member for at least two years at the time of applying to be a Distinguished Educator.

Associate, Affiliate and Emeritus Members are not eligible.

Activity Requirements for Distinguished Educators
After achieving the designation, Distinguished Educators are required to engage in at least three of the following activities per year and complete a renewal process every five years to maintain the designation:  

Serve as an active member of the Distinguished Educators Special Interest Group
Serve as an active IAE teaching peer feedback trainer/mentor
Complete at least two peer feedback reviews each year (or as needed)
Participate in the Teaching Launchpad yearly as a contributor or organizer
Participate in the InnovatED Symposium yearly as a contributor or organizer
Mentor 1-2 IAE members per year (formal mentees assigned by IAE) 
Lead a unique teaching or mentoring initiative (TBD by IAE leadership and Distinguished Educator)

Applications are by nomination (self or other).

After nomination, faculty will be given instructions on how to submit the online application, which will include:

Teaching Narrative

Write a comprehensive 2 page (maximum) narrative illustrating your educational approach. Learn how to write a teaching narrative.

Letters of Recommendation (2 are required)

1 letter from your department chair/director or dean
1 letter from your teaching mentee (advised/coached/guided or formally mentored) and/or student (current or previous)

Portfolio

Submit at least 1-2 exemplary artifacts demonstrating the examples showcased in your narrative.

Current Distinguished Educators

Betsy Becker, DPT, PhD

Distinguished Educator Since 2024
Associate Professor
Chair, Department of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
Director, Physical Therapy Education
College of Allied Health Professions

Dr. Betsy Becker is an esteemed educator and leader at UNMC. Her career is marked by innovative teaching methodologies and research in educational technology, instructional development and curricular design. Committed to advising and mentorship, she guides students and faculty toward excellence, fostering effective professional networks.

Dr. Becker’s influence extends beyond UNMC, evidenced by her contribution at both state and national levels, advancing educational initiatives and policies. Her strategic guidance fosters collaborative learning environments, enhancing student experiences and promoting faculty development across UNMC’s Kearney and Omaha campuses.

Read Dr. Becker's bio

Teresa M. Cochran, DPT, PhD

Distinguished Educator Since 2025
Associate Professor
Associate Dean
College of Allied Health Professions
Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex, Kearney

An associate professor and board-certified clinical specialist emerita in geriatric physical therapy, Dr. Cochran’s teaching philosophy centers on developing moral agents in health care who are equipped to meet the complex needs of patients and populations today, while possessing adaptability and vision to guide the future of care. She emphasizes that learners must recognize the foundational role of societal trust, and the trust placed in them by patients to facilitate health care decisions during times of uncertainty and vulnerability.

Her 23-year teaching career is deeply influenced by Dr. Lee Shulman’s concept of signature pedagogies (discipline-specific teaching methods that shape professional identity), and she echoes Dr. Parker Palmer’s view that teaching involves risk, courage and relational engagement among students and colleagues.

Dr. Cochran’s approach reflects a commitment to principled, student-centered education in development of a collaboration-ready workforce. She was awarded the 2024 Impact in Education Interprofessional Education Scholar Award and holds the CQuence Distinguished Professorship for Innovation in Health Care, recognizing her work within CAHP, UNMC, and at the national forefront of interprofessional education.

Read Dr. Cochran's bio.

Kristen M. Cook, PharmD, BCACP

Distinguished Educator since 2025
Clinical Associate Professor, UNMC Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science
Director of Campus Culture

Kristen Cook’s career began in Veterans Affairs and community health settings, where she cared for patients from diverse backgrounds and addressed both pharmacotherapy and social determinants of health. These experiences shaped her teaching philosophy, inspiring her to prepare students to become compassionate, adaptable providers.

At UNMC, Dr. Cook is known for her innovative simulation-based teaching, which challenges students to stretch beyond their comfort zones and collaborate under pressure. She believes teaching thrives through shared experience and she actively engages in peer observation, faculty development and co-teaching to foster growth among colleagues and learners alike.

Her creative spirit—rooted in her early passion for writing—drives her to continuously reimagine educational practices. A powerful example of her impact came when a former student credited her suicide prevention lab with giving them the confidence to intervene during a clinical rotation.

Dr. Cook’s philosophy is simple yet profound: “Teaching takes courage… and a back-up plan.” Her dedication to student-centered, collaborative education continues to shape the culture of pharmacy education at UNMC.

Read Dr. Cook's bio.

Nancy E. Krusen, PhD, OTR/L

Distinguished Educator Since 2024
Professor
Director, Occupational Therapy
College of Allied Health Professions

Dr. Nancy Krusen is the founding program director for the entry-level occupational therapy clinical doctorate at UNMC. Her educational philosophy is grounded in occupational adaptation and translational science. Occupational adaptation proposes the development of adaptive strategies to manage daily life challenges. Translational science engages knowledge users to create innovations for health and wellness. These values help her f ind the just-right challenge in service, teaching and learning, mentoring, and education-based scholarship.

At the end each day, Dr. Krusen asks herself whether she has made a difference. She believes that educators plant seeds for trees in the shade of which we may never sit. She values the past and looks to the future and feels there is always more to learn and more to do.

Read Dr. Krusen's bio.

Justin Mott, MD, PhD

Distinguished Educator Since 2024
Director, MD-PhD Scholars Program
Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
College of Medicine

A strong advocate for mentoring both faculty and students, Dr. Justin Mott believes in assessing each mentee individually, based on their strengths, needs, goals and weaknesses. In addition to liver disease and DNA and RNA biology, Dr. Mott teaches about principles of leadership, communication, emotional intelligence, bias, overcoming barriers to inclusion, and conflict resolution to students and faculty.

He has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Distinguished Graduate Student Mentor Award and the UNMC-wide Impact in Education Varner Educator Laureate Award.

Read Dr. Mott's bio.

Geoffrey A. Talmon, MD, MEd

Distinguished Educator Since 2024
Professor and Vice Chair for Medical Education, Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology
Associate Dean for Medical Education
College of Medicine

Dr. Geoffrey Talmon has more than 15 years of experience mentoring and guiding both faculty and students at UNMC. He was the inaugural director of the Interprofessional Academy of Educators, the UNMC Impact in Education Varner Educator Laureate awardee in 2021, and the University of Nebraska Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award recipient in 2023.

His innovations include development of a pathology externship, an off-ramp master’s degree for medical students, and the first pathology course for high schoolers in the nation. Dr. Talmon was one of the leaders of the College of Medicine’s curriculum redesign and served as pathology residency director. The book he co-edited, “Mind the Gap: Generational Differences in Medical Education,” is the first work dedicated to managing intergenerational conflict in medical education.

Read Dr. Talmon's bio.