University of Minnesota Alumni Association
 
Alumni Association Home > Distinguished Teaching Awards > Past Distinguished Teaching Award Recipients  
Michel M. Sanders
"The students are completely respectful, interactive, and amazing learners. The challenge is to keep up with them, and their questions often nudge me into learning more myself. It is the best of both worlds, as I get the fun of both teaching and learning."

Michel Sanders has "the right priorities: students first, all others second," writes her department head. As course director for the core biochemistry class for first-year medical students, Sanders balances six lecturers, three clinical sessions, and delivering material herself while inspiring students, a former student says, "in a difficult field that most students try to avoid." In fact, Sanders consistently earns near-perfect scores in that course, including no unsatisfactory evaluations out of 150 reviews.

As director of a first-year course, Sanders is dedicated to students and becomes "the de facto mentor … to countless students," her department head writes. As director of graduate studies in her department, she recruits and encourages many more students. She includes students in her internationally recognized molecular endocrinology research lab, teaching them "to conduct research in a thoughtful, critical, and independent manner." Her teaching philosophy of relevance, approachability, respectfulness, and organization led a colleague to write, "When I want to improve my delivery or material, I go to Michel. She is the pro and the one we consult…. She combines absolute first-rate science with excellence and leadership in teaching and steadfast service to the University and its students."

Former students are unbridled in their praise, admiration, and gratitude. "She is compassionate yet challenging, understanding yet commanding; she is dedicated to the personal and professional betterment of each of her students."