Robert Stephan, Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Religious Studies and Classics, has received the Archaeological Institute of America’s 2025 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
The award, presented at the AIA’s 126th Annual Meeting in January, is the latest in a string of teaching awards for Stephan, following: the 2024 Leicester and Kathryn Sherrill Creative Teaching Award, the 2021 University of Arizona Five Star Faculty Award, the 2021 Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence, the 2020 College of Humanities Distinguished Teaching Award, and the 2019 College of Humanities Distinguished Advising/Mentoring Award.
Stephan, who excels at creating an engaging and active learning environment in large classes, is teaching nearly 1,500 undergraduate students this semester. Currently, his favorite class to teach is CLAS 150C1: Pyramids and Mummies, an introduction to ancient Egyptian history and archaeology, he told the AIA.
Stephan is exploring new ways to make archaeology exciting and relevant for a new generation (and a new demographic) of students, especially those who may never get to see these sites in person. Using video games and interactive, virtual reality videos, he’s bringing the ancient world to students, on campus and in their own homes.
“While most of my students won’t major in Classics, History, or Archaeology, the more people who have an appreciation for archaeology and the diversity of world cultures, the better off we are as a society. Teaching archaeology in these accessible, interactive ways is my way of building that appreciation,” he told the AIA.
Stephan recalled his own introduction to archaeology, when he went from a disengaged students in the back of the classroom to near the front of the room, hanging on the professor’s every word. That professor, Sue Alcock, just happens to be the 1999 recipient of this very same Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
“At the time, I never imagined that I would be one of those ‘future archaeologists.’ But as I’ve come to understand, teaching archaeology is like running a dig—helping students excavate curiosity and knowledge, layer by layer, until they uncover the rich story beneath the surface. Now, I hope to convey that thrill of discover to my own students, so that they leave each class having unearthed something profound—not only about archaeology but also about their own passion for learning about the world,” Stephan said.