Associate Professor Kate Linnenberg has received the 2022-23 James R. Underkofler Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Beloit College’s highest honor for teaching. Linnenberg will be recognized for academic achievement during an April campus ceremony.

Kate Linnenberg has received Beloit College's top teaching honor.

Since arriving on campus in 2004, Linnenberg has sparked students’ interest in inequality, collective behavior, and gender, inspiring them to view the world in relation to their personal experiences.

Students nominate a faculty member for the Underkofler Award, with a committee of past Underkofler honorees selecting the winner.

Beloit students say Linnenberg has an “astronomical impact” on them: “She does everything within her power to help students whenever she can and is extremely empathetic and caring. I have never met a professor who has been as involved and invested in her students’ success as she is,” her nomination read. Linnenberg also helps students master complex material, bringing the material to life, while also promoting an equitable classroom environment.

Beloit President Scott Bierman said Linnenberg embodies Beloit College’s mission to engage students’ intelligence, imagination, and curiosity and approach the world’s complex problems ethically and thoughtfully. Linnenberg will be recognized for the honor during a May campus ceremony.

“We celebrate Beloit’s good fortune in having Professor Linnenberg as a member of our faculty and are delighted to recognize her with this well-deserved honor,” he said.

Linnenberg earned both her B.A. in sociology with a minor in French and her M.A. in sociology from the University of Virginia. She earned her Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University. Linnenberg’s courses include Introduction to Sociology, Social Statistics, Research Methods, Families in Transition, Sociology of Sex and Gender, Health Medical Care and Society, Global Family Issues, and Sociology Capstone.

Linnenberg’s earlier research focused on fatherhood, specifically how variables such as couples’ relationship quality and timing of paid work shifts affect fathers’ involvement. Her recent research investigates how community-based learning courses influence civic engagement post-college and how these classes develop skills that prepare students for careers and life.

The Underkofler Award is sponsored by the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and Alliant Energy. The award is named for Alliant’s longtime CEO in appreciation of his distinguished service and deep respect for undergraduate teaching.