The Ditz Prize for excellence in Teaching is awarded annually, each fall, in recognition of outstanding teaching on the part of a graduate student either for a STAR course of their own design or for their role as a teaching assistant. 

This year the department is very pleased to present the 2024-25 Ditz Prize to Xueqian Zhang who was a teaching assistant in Spring 2025! Xueqian’s students praised her “excellent organization of group discussions,” her insight and helpfulness, and how engaging and responsive she was throughout the semester. Congratulations, Xueqian!