Celebrating Excellence in Teaching: Professors García and Parikh Honored with the 2025 William Pollak Award

At this year’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice Hooding Ceremony, Associate Professor Angela S. García and Associate Instructional Professor Shipra Parikh were honored with the 2025 William Pollak Award for Excellence in Teaching. Established nearly three decades ago, the award recognizes outstanding faculty whose teaching is rigorous, engaging, and deeply inspiring to students. This year marked the first time two faculty members were jointly recognized with this distinguished honor. The awards were introduced by student speaker Safa Khan, President of Student Government and a graduating student in the Trauma Responsive Social Work program, underscoring the strong voice of students in selecting the recipients.

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Professor García, a sociologist of immigration, law, and the state, brings critical insight to how undocumented immigrants navigate the complexities of U.S. immigration systems. Her courses on social policy, immigration, governance, and research methods encourage students to ask hard questions and connect academic inquiry to community realities. Students described García as a “humble badass,” reflecting her ability to create intellectually challenging, grounded classroom spaces where students felt empowered and “able to see themselves in academic spaces, especially those who never quite felt they belonged.”

Professor Parikh, a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of experience in child welfare, violence prevention, and community healing, creates classroom environments that foster relational learning and deep self-reflection. One student, quoting the words of Notorious B.I.G., described her as embodying “all the ladies in the place with style and grace,” a nod to her profound empathy and the “care, compassion, and thoughtfulness” with which she approaches teaching and student growth. As another student shared, “The classes I’ve taken with Dr. Parikh have been small revolutions in my life, changing not only the way I practice social work, but the way I show up in relationships, the way I see the world and other people, the way I see myself.”

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Dean Deborah Gorman-Smith shared her deep appreciation for both professors’ extraordinary contributions to student learning, reflecting the School’s commitment to scholarship and practice that serve the public good. “Central to that mission is our belief in the power of research and science to illuminate the path forward… guided by rigorous scholarship, critical analysis, and a dose of humanity,” she remarked.

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In joint remarks, García and Parikh emphasized the importance of community, belonging, and voice. “This award is about voice,” they shared. “You used your voices to acknowledge us today, and here we stand representing you and what you value.”

Their words echoed a powerful message to the Class of 2025: “Wherever the work of this world becomes too much... turn to your communities. You are not alone. We stand together in solidarity and purpose.”