Ruthanne Crapo Kim Receives Award for Excellence in Teaching

The Board of Trustees Educator of the Year Award for Excellence in Teaching was established in 2007. Board of Trustees bestow the award upon faculty within Minnesota State to acknowledge and reward exceptional professional accomplishment, and to encourage ongoing excellence in teaching. The award proclaims, on behalf of the entire system, the Board of Trustees’ pride in the dedication and accomplishment of its faculty who provide instruction that prepares Minnesota college and university students for their professional, scholarly and civic lives.

Ruthanne Crapo Kim

Ruthanne Crapo Kim has a deep understanding of culturally responsive and anti-racist pedagogies, which she implements very intentionally in her philosophy classroom at Minneapolis College. She actively seeks to diversify the philosophical cannon and deliberately uses global resources to capture diverse perspectives in community based and service learning.

Crapo Kim’s research on orality as inclusive and reflective of indigenous groups is not just a research focus but is also lived out in her courses and in her classrooms. She fills these spaces with active learning activities such as case study, class analysis, fish bowl and a recognition of the various ways that students can demonstrate mastery of course objectives.