With passion and purpose, Gettysburg College professors remain committed to supporting students through mentorship and excellence in and out of the classroom.
Inspiring and empowering students to Do Great Work are hallmarks of Gettysburg College’s first-class faculty. During the Spring 2026 semester, six faculty members were recognized for mentorship and teaching excellence.
Learn more about these recipients.
Gettysburg College Distinguished Teaching Award
Political Science Prof. Caroline Hartzell
Political Science Prof. Caroline Hartzell, the founding director of the College’s globalization studies program, teaches courses in international relations, specializing in international political economy, particularly issues of conflict and conflict management, development, and globalization.
Her research focuses on cross-national civil war settlements and the effects domestic and international institutions have on conflict management. Hartzell, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis, was a Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and her research has also been supported by the National Science Foundation and Sweden's Folke Bernadette Academy. Her current research involves surveys and experiments that explore the role of citizens in peace processes and an investigation into the effects that power-sharing peace settlements have on women in societies emerging from civil wars.
The Citizens in Peace Processes co-founder has published journal articles, co-authored books, and co-edited books on the effects that power-sharing settlements of civil wars have on peace. From 2015-2020, Hartzell was the editor of the journal Conflict Management and Peace Science. She also serves on the editorial boards of the journals the American Journal of Political Science and Ethnopolitics.
Upon receiving notice of the award, Hartzell said that she was “flabbergasted and delighted to receive this recognition from an institution she cares for deeply, and where she has been spent her working life delighting in being involved in the learning and growth of students of whom she is very proud.”
About the Gettysburg College Distinguished Teaching Award
The Distinguished Teaching Award is the highest honor that members of Gettysburg College’s faculty can bestow on a colleague. The winner of this award is selected annually by the Faculty Development Committee.
The Luther W. and Bernice L. Thompson Distinguished Teaching Award
Anthropology Prof. Kirby Farah
Anthropology Prof. Kirby Farah leads a variety of courses at Gettysburg College, including Introductory Archaeology and Field Methods in Archaeology. She also teaches several 200-level electives, many of which are in collaboration with other academic departments.
Her research focuses on the civilizations of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. With a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside, her dissertation looked at the social and political dynamics in the Postclassic (A.D. 900-1521) town of Xaltocan before and after Aztec imperial rule, as well as modern day politics and culture relating to its pre-Hispanic heritage. Since 2024, as part of the Belize Estates Archaeological and Survey Team, Farah has been researching the Classic period Maya site of Chan Chich, specifically investigating an elite courtyard complex.
Farah proudly conducts her research alongside Gettysburg College students, including a select group that joins her in Belize. She also co-directs the College’s on-campus archaeological project with Anthropology Prof. Ben Luley, excavating artifacts from the Hopkins Custodial House just north of Penn Hall.
“Receiving the Thompson Award is such an honor,” said Farah. “I love teaching at a place that values the liberal arts and supports collaborative research between students and faculty. I am grateful to my colleagues for recognizing my efforts in teaching and look forward to continuing to evolve and adapt alongside the ever-changing needs and interests of our wonderful students.”
About The Luther W. and Bernice L. Thompson Distinguished Teaching Award
The Luther W. and Bernice L. Thompson Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes a faculty member whose teaching is recognized as outstanding by faculty colleagues. Each year, after a careful review of the teaching of all recent candidates for tenure, the Faculty Personnel Committee recommends one faculty member to receive The Luther W. and Bernice L. Thompson Distinguished Teaching Award. This award is presented during the final faculty meeting of the academic year.
Dr. Robert E. Dutton, Class of 1946 Memorial Mentorship Award
Environmental Studies Chair Andy Wilson
Environmental Studies Chair Andy Wilson teaches several courses that discuss environmental issues and the principles of ecology. His upper-level courses take a deep dive into wildlife ecology, as well as conservation biology in collaboration with the Biology Department.
With a Ph.D. from Penn State University, his research focuses on birds, particularly how environmental change impacts bird populations. In working with large-scale Citizen Science projects, analyzing large data sets with a spatial component, Wilson has developed expert knowledge in the field, which he regularly shares with his students.
With an interest in technology, he also finds ways to incorporate advanced tools into his research and classes. His focal research program uses drones to count songbirds, while smartphone applications, trail cameras, and audio recorders are employed in his classroom.
Wilson said “being nominated for this award by his colleagues was a great honor and genuine surprise. Gettysburg College students are wonderful people, and mentoring them is always rewarding, a privilege, and brings me great joy.”
About the Dr. Robert E. Dutton, Class of 1946 Memorial Mentorship Award
The Dr. Robert E. Dutton, Class of 1946 Memorial Mentorship Award is presented to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in advising and mentoring students. This award is presented during the final faculty meeting of the academic year.
Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize
Spanish Prof. Verónica Calvillo
Spanish Prof. Verónica Calvillo, a native of Juárez, Chihuahua, México, who was raised in Albuquerque, N.M., is passionate about teaching current Latinx community and cultural topics in the United States and Latin America culture and society.
Her research focuses on Chicano and Latino literature, immigration studies and film, and the construction of identity in contemporary literature. She received her master’s degree in Hispanic literature and her Ph.D. in Spanish (Chicano and Latino literature) from the University of New Mexico.
A first-generation college graduate, Calvillo believes in mentoring and guiding her students so they can achieve a higher education and succeed beyond their years at Gettysburg College, assisting them in their pursuit of a graduate degree, if desired, or a career.
“I firmly believe that everyone deserves an opportunity to receive an education, and sometimes it only takes one person to believe that it is possible to achieve this milestone,” said Calvillo. “For me, this was the case, so I am forever thankful to all my mentors who believed in me and helped me to be where I am today. I hope I can be that person for some of my students who take my classes and seek my advising or mentoring.”
About the Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize
Established by Bruce S. Gordon ’68 along with fellow classmates, friends, and supporters, the Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize recognizes a Gettysburg College faculty member for transformational excellence in teaching and service through diversity. Each year, a call for nominations is sent to faculty, staff, and students. The provost and academic divisions, in collaboration with the chief diversity officer, select the recipient of the award from the pool of nominations.
The Johnson Center for Creative Teaching and Learning Excellence in Teaching Award
Environmental Studies Prof. Sarah Principato
Environmental Studies Prof. Sarah Principato teaches a variety of courses, such as Earth System Science, Geologic Disasters and Global Change, and Glaciers and Records of Climate Change. She is geologist with specialties in glacial geology and records of climate change, and she is a fellow of the Geological Society of America.
In addition to teaching classes, another important component of her work is conducting research with students in the lab and in the field, and she has published several papers on the glacial history of Iceland with student co-authors.
After graduating from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in geology and a minor in math, Sarah earned her M.S. in geology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and then completed her Ph.D. in geological sciences at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado - Boulder.
“I am so grateful to my Environmental Studies colleagues for nominating me for this award, and I am sure many of my colleagues are equally deserving of it,” said Principato. “I enjoy teaching students about the wonders of the Earth, and it is an honor to be recognized. Gettysburg College students are awesome, especially environmental studies majors, and whether in the field, lab, or classroom, they are the reason I love this job so much. Thank you for this award.”
About The Johnson Center for Creative Teaching and Learning Excellence in Teaching Award
The Johnson Center for Creative Teaching and Learning (JCCTL) Excellence in Teaching Award is given to an exceptional teacher based on a faculty member’s quadrennial review where excellence in teaching has come to the forefront as so exceptional that it stands apart from the work of many other gifted teachers. It is awarded during the final Faculty meeting in the academic year in which the quadrennial review was submitted.
Center for Public Service’s Faculty Award for Community Engagement
East Asian Studies Prof. Yoko Nishimura
East Asian Studies Prof. Yoko Nishimura teaches social science courses on Japanese society and culture. Alongside her students, she examines topics such as wealth inequality, Japan–U.S. relations, the relationship between Japanese religions and anime and manga, and gender issues during World War II.
Nishimura is dedicated to connecting students with the community through initiatives that promote social justice and education. She has partnered with the Gettysburg Borough to strengthen ties with its sister city, Sekigahara, Japan, including a student exchange program. This past January, she also served as the faculty advisor for the Center for Public Service’s Morocco Immersion Project.
With expertise on the archaeology, history, religions, wealth inequality, and languages of East Asia and the Near East, her work focuses on material culture and historical documents related to people who inhabited these regions since prehistoric times. She earned both her master’s degree and Ph.D. from UCLA, where she developed a research focus on domestic artifacts, everyday activities, and economic inequality among non-elite populations.
Through her archaeological research, Nishimura also advocates for the study of artifacts housed in museums far from their original excavation sites, highlighting the importance of making these collections more accessible to researchers. Her recent projects investigate how everyday household objects, such as tools and utensils, were used in third-millennium BCE settlements in Japan and Turkey, offering new perspectives on daily life and social organization in ancient communities.
“It has been a privilege to collaborate with our community partners to strengthen the partnership between Gettysburg College and the Gettysburg community while creating meaningful opportunities for our students,” said Nishimura.
About the Center for Public Service’s Faculty Award for Community Engagement
The Center for Public Service’s Faculty Award for Community Engagement is given to a faculty member who connects Gettysburg students to the greater community and engages with students in the work for social justice in a meaningful, transformative way.
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By Megan Miller
Photos by Tyler Caruso, Miranda Harple, Shawna Sherrell, Jason Minick, and courtesy of Sarah Principato
Posted: 08/18/26