Calvin News

Professor Elizabeth Oommen awarded Calvin’s highest teaching accolade

It’s a busy weekday at Calvin University for Professor Elizabeth Oommen of the Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPAUD) department, fresh off the submission of a grant proposal and deep into the final weeks of the semester. Amid the familiar rhythms of teaching and advising comes a surprise to the educator: Oommen has been named the 2026 recipient of the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching.

Calvin’s highest teaching honor, the award celebrates the university’s Christ-centered faculty and the way their integrated faith and teaching form students and advance Calvin’s mission.

“Students consistently speak of her teaching as challenging in the best possible way,” said President Greg Elzinga. “They describe courses that sharpen critical thinking, integrate theory with real-world cases, and invite them to see their studies as part of a larger calling.”

Formed through faith — and faithful colleagues

For Oommen, whose research and teaching focus on swallowing, motor speech disorders, and voice disorders, the honor has been a chance to name those in her own journey who have shaped and inspired her.

“I recognize that I am truly standing on the shoulders of giants and acknowledge my continuing growth in teaching, learning, and scholarship,” Oommen said.

“I owe this growth to my mentors at Calvin and beyond, departmental friends, Calvin colleagues, students, and of course my dear family and friends; all of whom have invested time in my teaching and learning, provided feedback—things that I did and did not want to hear—prayed for me, and encouraged me.”

Oommen, who earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees outside of Christian education, described applying to Calvin with “no official experience integrating faith with learning,” and looking forward to what research and scholarship at a faith-based institution would bring.

“Being a member of a Christian family in the workplace and being able and expected to extend my faith and values into my teaching and scholarship has been a blessing and refreshing change,” Oommen reflected. “In doing so, one of the major themes that has continued to be my focus is the practice of hospitality. I have tried to embody these aspects of hospitality in my interactions with students and colleagues.”

Hospitality that shapes community

Department Chair Brian Kreisman noted, “What I appreciate most is that her integration of faith feels genuine and grounded; it shapes how she treats people and how she frames the purpose of academic work. Beth helps students see their education not just as professional preparation, but as part of a larger calling to serve others well.” 

In the spirit of Christian hospitality, Oommen launched community meals to provide mentorship to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), international, and third-culture SPAUD students. In the midst of the 2020 global pandemic, Oommen fostered connection by formalizing this peer mentoring program with Professors Brian Kreisman and Peggy Goetz. Together with Goetz, Oommen led discussions, intercultural learning activities, and community building—all while sharing Indian, English, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian foods.

“Students who participated in the program reported they appreciated having a BIPOC professor and mentor,” said Oommen’s colleague, Professor Heather Koole, “and that the community and mentorship they experienced through the program increased their confidence and sense of belonging.”

Koole added that participants reported that the peer mentoring program increased their determination to advocate for students, clients, and colleagues of varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

A mentor whose impact multiplies

These group gatherings are only the beginning of the ways Oommen, who also won the inaugural Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching in 2025, has shaped her students. 

“I often have our graduates come back to talk to students in our master’s program, and anyone who has gone to work in a medical setting has talked about how well-prepared they were from her classes,” Goetz said of Oommen.

The SPAUD department’s operations manager, Emily Vedra, said that Oommen’s mentoring has poured into the talented leaders of the department. “Almost all of the alumni who come back to work for us [return] because of the connections they have with Beth,” Vedra noted. “These students-turned-colleagues are knowledgeable and effective in their roles and much of that can be attributed to Beth’s influence.”

Vedra said that six current Calvin faculty and staff have been directly taught or mentored by Oommen, including Clinical Instructor and Professor Alyssa Scholten.

For Scholten, Oommen’s friendship for over a decade has impacted her career—and beyond. “She was the professor of my first class on my first day at Calvin, and asked me to join her for research,” Scholten said. “She has walked alongside me every step of the way through my undergraduate and graduate journey and then continued to remain in my corner even as I stepped into my career.”

Celebrating excellence

Elzinga presented Oommen with the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching among colleagues and friends at the annual Faculty Awards and Tributes Reception, held April 29, 2026.

He ended his remarks by saying of Oommen, “Colleagues appreciate how she approaches her work with humility, wisdom, hospitality, and care. She listens well. She follows through. She consistently does what is best for students and colleagues alike.”

“This is exemplary teaching. It is rigorous and compassionate, intellectually demanding and deeply human. It forms students for a profession, yes, but also for lives of service, integrity, and faithfulness.”