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Before retiring this month and after a more than 30-year career at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Catherine Santanello, PhD, professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences received this year’s Paul Simon Outstanding Teacher-Scholar Award.

Santanello began her career at SIUE as an instructor of biological sciences in 1993; she then moved to the Office of the Provost, where she worked as the Director of the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Initiative until 2005. She then went to the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and will be retiring from this position at SIUE this August.

“It has been a long and terrific career," Santanello said. "I love teaching, and I love doing my research.”

The Paul Simon Outstanding Teacher-Scholar Award is awarded to tenured SIUE faculty members who effectively integrate their original research and creative activities in the classroom.

“I have seen some of the people who have won in the past, and I held them up to high standards and esteem,” Santanello said. “I am very proud and pleased; this is such an honor. My first thought was, ‘Wow, what a way to go out.’”

As a professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Santanello has taught subjects such as microbiology, histology, infectious diseases, immunology, and other basic science courses. Some of her research has involved vector-borne pathogens.

“I look at different pathogens carried by fleas, ticks, mosquitos and kissing bugs to see which pathogens exist and how common they are in particular areas of the Midwest,” Santanello said.

Santanello said she enjoys using an integrative teaching style by telling her students stories from her previous experiences in histopathology labs and cancer research, as well as incorporating the earlier case studies that she has written into her teaching. 

“I think that is one of my signatures,” Santanello said. “I am able to integrate stories into my teaching—it helps students learn and remember the topics that I teach.”

Her preferred way of instructing her students is through the Socratic method, which involves asking students various questions to discuss throughout her lectures. Within her classroom, Santanello said she often sees students communicating and learning from each other. Her favorite part of teaching is watching her students begin to understand the information they are learning.

“I do not like to be on stage where I am just talking endlessly,” Santanello said. “I have students who are intimidated to speak up in class, but I see the progression throughout the semester, where in the beginning it is just a few students speaking, and then by the end, almost everybody is speaking up at some point. It shows that students are in a comfortable learning environment and paying attention.”

Santanello said she will miss teaching and working with her colleagues within her department. She said she will miss her research, but she is finishing two publications and may occasionally return to SIUE to teach a course in the future.

“It has been a real honor to have been chosen—to not just get this award, but to be able to teach and be hired at SIUE,” Santanello said. “It’s been a good career, and I don’t have any regrets about coming to SIUE.”

PHOTO:  Catherine Santanello, PhD