Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Anna K. Fridley, Distinguished Teaching Award (Tenure Track): Christine Lux, Founders Day Faculty Awards, Academic Year 2023-24. Portrait of Christine Lux.

Christine Lux

Christine Lux, Don and Sue Fisher Endowed Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Department of Human Development and Community Health in the College of Education, Health and Human Development, has won the 2024 Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Anna K. Fridley Distinguished Teaching Award. The award is given to a faculty member whose accomplishments with students reach beyond the classroom and the library. It is sponsored by the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and carries a $1,000 honorarium.

Lux, who also serves as the faculty adviser to the Child Development Center and ASMSU Early Learning Center, is known as an energetic and passionate instructor who engages daily with her students in meaningful ways. She is said to go beyond the classroom walls to support students in their work with young children while providing mentoring, role modeling, opportunities for collaborations and connections to resources.

Lux teaches her students about early childhood development while also providing them with support and meaningful experiences to bring those lessons to life, according to nomination materials. For example, Lux invites children enrolled in MSU early childhood programs to participate in classroom experiences such as weekly gym time, where MSU students then have opportunities to practice leading children in health enhancement activities. Lux also demonstrates to students how to successfully teach lessons and lead group meetings. And while visiting students in their field placements, she engages with young children to role model developmentally appropriate interactions.

“Lux’s teaching styles are creative and interactive, and her connections with students are honest and powerful,” her nominator concluded.