Jennifer Collins – University Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship, and Service Award

The classroom is a space to openly engage in discussions if you are a student in one of Professor Jennifer Collins' political science courses. She is proud to have developed the Gender and Politics in Comparative Perspective course to help students analyze the role of gender in politics around the world. It's one of more than a dozen courses Collins has taught since joining the Department of Political Science in 2007.

When Collins leads discussions in her world affairs courses, she can speak directly from her own decade of experience living, working, and researching in Central and South America. She first worked in Nicaragua with Witness for Peace and then in Ecuador with the Latin American Council of Churches doing English language liaison work. She has written extensively on the indigenous movements and politics in the Andean region, culminating with her monograph, Social Movements and Radical Populism in the Andes: Ecuador and Bolivia in Comparative Perspective, published by Lexington Books in 2022.

"Writing, keeping a hand in scholarship, and staying up to date with developments in my area, makes me a better professor," Collins said.

Her expertise in teaching from a global lens, along with her scholarship and mentorship of students in research and clubs has earned her the 2024 Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship, and Service Award.

Collins strives to expose her students to a global mindset and the value of understanding others to work toward cooperation and just outcomes.

"I endeavor to create a classroom environment where students feel comfortable discussing and grappling with difficult and controversial topics respectfully," said Collins. "I incorporate discussion of current events because it powerfully illustrates the relevance of the theories and concepts we are studying, and because global citizenship requires taking an interest in what is happening in the world. I hope students leave my classes with a deeper understanding of the ways in which we are deeply interconnected with other peoples and events around the world."

Dr. Collins has been consistently working to highlight global, diverse voices, organizing over 30 public events on campus in her time as a faculty member. She helped coordinate the Latin American/Caribbean Speakers Series, inviting scholars, activists and prominent journalists to raise awareness about Latin America and the Caribbean as well as U.S. Latino populations and their concerns.

Writing in his award nomination letter, fellow Professor John Blakeman, political science, noted how Collins cares deeply about her students' experience in and out of the classroom.

"Jennifer keeps her courses as current as possible, which is not easy given the constantly shifting domestic and international political environments," Blakeman said.

While not an exhaustive list, Collins lends her time in a variety of ways that also enrich her students' college experience. As Executive Director for the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (WIPCS), she invites her students to present papers at the WIPCS annual conference. She has secured grants to bring speakers, including Pulitzer Prize winners, to lecture on campus. She works to bolster student success as the Department of Political Science chair and recruitment liaison. Collins was also instrumental in working with students to establish the Pointers Vote Coalition (PVC) in 2022, a civic engagement advocacy club for students. Due in part to work by Dr. Collins and PVC, the national ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge named UW-Stevens Point as among the Most Engaged Campuses for growing civic engagement and voter turnout.

Then, there is her dedication as the faculty adviser of UWSP's United Nations Student Organization (UNSO), the campus's model UN student club. Under her mentorship, the club has rebounded, doubling in size since the COVID-19 pandemic. They travel to a spring competition at the National Model UN Conference in New York City. It requires each member of the student delegation to be well prepared to effectively convey arguments on behalf of the country they represent during the conference.

"Jennifer is directly engaged in helping students develop those key research, writing, and advocacy skills. A lot of the club's success at Model UN competitions comes from her coaching and mentoring," said Blakeman. "Many students have gone on to successful careers in consulting, non-profit work, and even finance and banking. And some have joined the Peace Corps or earned Fulbright grants to teach abroad."

The conference experience models the functions of the United Nations, putting students in simulations where they work together to craft resolutions to global problems, debate issues from the stance of their assigned country, and practice the art of diplomatic negotiation. For the closing ceremony, student delegates take their seats in the actual UN General Assembly Hall!

"I came in with no idea as a freshman what to do. I had a fear of public speaking," said UNSO student club president and senior Maddie Baeten. "She helped us break out of our shells and prepare our resolution to give the best representation possible."

Baeten and her fellow UWSP delegates were awarded an Honorable Mention for their performance representing Cuba last spring. She looks forward to working with Collins and organizing members for the next academic year with the group participating in the American Model UN in Chicago this fall.

Collins is proud of her political science students and confident that they graduate from UWSP inspired to collaborate and contribute in meaningful ways, no matter where their degrees take them.