James and Mary Ross Provost's Award for Excellence

Andrea Litt

The James and Mary Ross Provost’s Award for Excellence is presented to Andrea Litt, a professor in the Department of Ecology. The award recognizes a faculty member with superior outcomes in research and teaching, particularly in first-year, sophomore or core courses, and carries a $2,500 honorarium.

Litt’s research and teaching focus on understanding the relationships between wildlife and their habitat, as well as how humans influence these relationships. In her 13 years at MSU, she has been awarded nearly $3.5 million in competitive grant funding, produced more than 40 publications and taught hundreds of students.

"Dr. Litt is one of those faculty members that department heads and deans always hope for —those that are both excellent researchers and phenomenal teachers,” wrote Michelle Miley, associate dean of the College of Letters and Science, in a letter supporting Litt’s nomination. “[Her] scholarship and teaching are highly integrated because she is so deeply devoted to the land-grant mission.”

In recent years, Litt has redesigned courses and developed new projects to maximize student learning, engagement and preparation for careers in wildlife conservation and management. She consistently receives enthusiastic positive feedback from both students and faculty peers.

“Dr. Litt has a fervent dedication to maintaining high-quality experiential learning courses for our students,” wrote Miley, adding that she receives high scores and laudatory comments from students in “all of her courses, all of the time.”