Congratulations to Paradise Valley Community College Professor Julie Lazzara, named a recipient of the 2021 Wayne Weiten Teaching Excellence Award given by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Division 2 of the American Psychological Association). Other recognitions include the 2021 NISOD Excellence Award and the 2019-2020 League for Innovation Employee Excellence Award.
Professor Lazzara began her career with Maricopa Community Colleges in 2006 as an adjunct instructor for Rio Salado. Dr. Tom Lombardo was her first department chair and she still considers him to be a pivotal mentor in her career. She later became an adjunct for both CGCC and PVCC. She began at PVCC in 2009 and became a full time faculty member there in 2014. Today, Lazzara teaches primarily Introduction to Psychology and Lifespan Development courses in various formats including Honors sections. Keeping busy, she is currently a 2020-2021 OER Research Fellow for the Open Education Group, was recently a 2020 UNSDG Open Pedagogy Faculty Fellow, and is working on her PhD in General Psychology with an emphasis in cognition and instruction.
“I am honored to receive this national recognition from my peers who share my passion for teaching psychology,” said Julie Lazzara. “To share the subject that I love with my students and then see them apply it to their lives is extremely rewarding.”
In addition to teaching, Julie participates in professional development whenever she has the opportunity, including attending and presenting at numerous teaching and psychology conferences. She has co-authored, reviewed, and edited several articles, texts, and ancillary materials. Her research interests include the scholarship of teaching and learning, open educational resources, open pedagogy, and emerging adulthood.