Speed School’s Jason Saleem Honored with 2025 Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching

By Michael Phillips

Headshot portrait of Jason Saleem

Associate Professor Jason Saleem of the Industrial Engineering Department has been named a recipient of the University of Louisville’s 2025 Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching – one of the highest honors for teaching excellence across the university. The award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in teaching and student mentorship, is a meaningful milestone for Saleem, who joined UofL a decade ago with a focus on research.

“I’m very proud of this recognition and award from my colleagues and students,” Saleem said. “I started at UofL 10 years ago and I’ve learned a lot about myself over that time. I came to UofL primarily to pursue my research agenda, with very little teaching experience. And while I’ve had some success building my research program, it turns out that teaching seems to be the part of the job that I’m especially good at and have an inherent ability.”

That ability has been affirmed through consistently high student evaluations, nominations for awards like “Faculty Favorite” and “Student Champion.” For Saleem, his connection with students goes well beyond the lecture hall.

“Empathy,” he said, when asked what resonates most with students. “I try to relate to my students on a personal level. I share my own academic and professional journey, including the challenges I’ve faced and lessons I’ve learned along the way. By being authentic and approachable, I hope to build trust and rapport with my students. This personal connection makes the coursework more relevant and meaningful.”

“I sincerely care about all of my students beyond the goal of them learning the course material,” he continued, “and I take my charge as their teacher very seriously. However, beyond serving as simply a teacher, I view myself as a mentor to the students.”

When it comes to preparing future engineering leaders, Saleem has made a point to keep in touch with those he has taught and mentored. “I’ve heard from former students over the past 10 years and have seen them glow and flourish in their professional careers after graduation from UofL,” he said. “Knowing that I may have positively impacted their education and career brings me great pride.”

Looking ahead, Saleem is also continuing to innovate in the space of engineering education. In 2023, he was awarded a National Science Foundation grant titled “Introducing a Mixed-Methods Approach to Engineering Students through Human-Centered Design.” “This research project investigates the potential benefit of a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative methods) to engineering design within the realm of human-centered design,” he explained. “This grant enables me to introduce mixed-methods training into the existing engineering curriculum, initially, within an Industrial Engineering undergraduate course.”

Ultimately, Saleem’s goal is to help prepare engineers for the increasingly interdisciplinary and collaborative world of professional practice. “The long-term impact,” he offered, “is to better prepare engineering professionals for interdisciplinary work and to enable future engineers to more systematically craft designs to better meet the needs of a wide diversity of clients.”