Our Faculty

Dr. Linda Cushman

Columbia President Lee Bollinger will honor Linda Cushman, PhD, associate clinical professor of Population and Family Health, and Michael Sparer, PhD, JD, professor and chair, Department of Health Policy and Management, with the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at this year’s University-wide commencement ceremony.

Each year, Columbia recognizes five faculty members from across the University for outstanding teaching. Having two winners from the Mailman School receive the University’s highest teaching award in the same year is a powerful tribute to the tremendous skills of Drs. Cushman and Sparer.  

Innovative Educators

Dr. Michael Sparer

The Mailman School community has long recognized the tremendous skills that Dr. Cushman and Dr. Sparer demonstrate in the classroom. Dr. Cushman teaches Research Design and Data Collection, a required course for all Population and Family Health students which fosters participation with hands-on exercises, small group work, and presentations.

In 2007, Dr. Cushman was honored by the School with the Teaching Excellence Award which the student body awards to faculty “whose stimulating classroom presentation inspires and challenges students, and whose contributions through teaching and advising will be long remembered.” In addition to receiving the 2004 Dean's Award for Innovation in the Curriculum, she is also a fellow of the Glenda Garvey Teaching Academy, an honor to recognize excellence and promote innovation among faculty members on Columbia’s Health Sciences campus.

Dr. Sparer has also been lauded for his skills in the classroom teaching the Mailman School's required core course Issues and Approaches in Health Policy and Management. He is a two-time winner of the school’s Teaching Excellence Award and was among the inaugural group of Mailman School faculty elected to the Glenda Garvey Teaching Academy.

Recently, Dr. Sparer participated in a video primer on the healthcare reform act which showcased his ability to engagingly explain complex issues in the public health arena. In the video, he discusses the historical background of healthcare in the United States, implications of the reform, and how one of the most contested pieces of legislation in recent decades made it through the political process to become law.

Presidential Teaching Awards
Established in 1996, the Presidential Teaching Awards honor the best of Columbia's teachers for the influence they have on the development of their students and their part in maintaining the University's longstanding reputation for educational excellence.

Drs. Cushman and Sparer join an elite group of Mailman School Presidential Awardees for Outstanding Teaching: Drs. Melissa Begg, Amy Fairchild, Bruce Link and Sharon Schwartz.