{"id":2858,"date":"2026-04-13T15:06:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/campuses\/indianapolis\/?p=2858"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:07:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:07:05","slug":"jonathan-rienstra-kiracofe-receives-purdues-highest-undergraduate-teaching-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/jonathan-rienstra-kiracofe-receives-purdues-highest-undergraduate-teaching-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Rienstra-Kiracofe receives Purdue\u2019s highest undergraduate teaching honor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The impact of Jonathan Rienstra-Kiracofe\u2019<\/span>s steady presence \u2014 a professor and mentor helping Purdue undergraduate science students in Indianapolis navigate their academic journey \u2014 has been formally recognized at the university\u2019<\/span>s highest level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rienstra-Kiracofe, an associate dean in the College of Science in Indianapolis and a professor of practice in chemistry, received the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award on March 26. He was honored at a reception April 1 in Indianapolis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Charles B. Murphy Award<\/a>, Purdue\u2019<\/span>s highest honor for undergraduate teaching, recognizes up to five faculty members annually from across the university who set the standard for excellence in the classroom with their impact on student learning and engagement. A committee comprising student and faculty representatives from all colleges at Purdue chooses the faculty award winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/span>His creativity, mentorship and dedication to student success embody the transformative power of great teaching at Purdue,\u201d<\/span> said Lucy Flesch, the Frederick L. Hovde dean of the College of Science, who praised Rienstra-Kiracofe for developing the college\u2019<\/span>s footprint in Indianapolis and solving many technical and logistical issues, as well as his previous work in West Lafayette. \u201c<\/span>He led transformative innovations, spearheading the modernization of our general chemistry laboratories and introducing state-of-the-art facilities and inclusive practices that foster active learning,\u201d<\/span> she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his role as associate dean in Indianapolis, Rienstra-Kiracofe has been instrumental in refining course design and equipment to reflect evolving standards and student needs. Notably, the Academic Success building in Indianapolis, slated to open by fall 2027, will have two new chemistry teaching laboratories modeled after labs in Chaney-Hale Hall of Science in West Lafayette. Pioneered by Rienstra-Kiracofe, these \u201c<\/span>smart labs\u201d<\/span> will include digital lab manuals, wireless Bluetooth probes and sensors, and iPads for each student to use while conducting their experiments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond instructional excellence, Rienstra-Kiracofe is widely recognized for mentorship, most especially to graduate teaching assistants and undergraduates in need of extra support. Countless undergraduate students have benefited from his individualized guidance that delves deeply into complex material yet extends further than course requirements, including support with research opportunities and graduate or professional school preparation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/span>I can attest to his thoughtfulness and genuine interest in wanting to see students succeed,\u201d<\/span> said Abha Gupta, a sophomore studying computer science and co-president of the Computer Science Club in Indianapolis. \u201c<\/span>Every time I have approached Dean RK with a problem, regardless of it being academic, about extracurricular aid or just questions in general, he does a great job of gaining full context to provide as much feedback as he can.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through sustained excellence, thoughtful mentorship and a deep commitment to undergraduate education, Rienstra-Kiracofe embodies the spirit and purpose of the Charles B. Murphy award. His impact is evident in student achievement and the growth of science programs at Purdue in Indianapolis as well as in the city\u2019<\/span>s broader academic community.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The impact of Jonathan Rienstra-Kiracofe\u2019s steady presence \u2014 a professor and mentor helping Purdue undergraduate science students in Indianapolis navigate their academic journey \u2014 has been formally recognized at the university\u2019s highest level. Rienstra-Kiracofe, an associate dean in the College<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24],"class_list":["post-2858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":24,"user_id":25,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sharelwelch","display_name":"Sharel Welch","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df0e45484f8b5e849814cf350c1eb3f84dcd5911a861daecd983ffad8f6b43a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2860,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2858\/revisions\/2860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2858"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}