Ulibarrí earns the Dean’s Honoree Award for undergraduate teaching amid a landmark year of policy leadership and research
It’s been a busy year for Nícola Ulibarrí. Among the Department of Urban Planning & Public Policy professor’s accomplishments in 2026 are:
- Serving on the faculty committee that considered the reappointment of Dean Jon Gould;
- Leading studies and serving on expert panels addressing the growing size, intensity and frequency of wildfires;
- Accepting a Resilient Energy Economies Initiative research grant to study how California communities and workers handle refinery closures;
- Releasing and giving formal presentations on her report commissioned by UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab regarding California’s water distribution woes;
- Welcoming the inaugural Master of Public Administration cohort as MPA Program Director.
- Guiding the MPA and Master of Public Policy program that she also directs to their first rankings as among the country’s best;
- Collaborating on the UC Irvine Climate Coalition’s multidisciplinary Healthy Coasts Project, which aims to develop sediment solutions for Southern California beaches.
Given all that, you might wonder how Ulibarrí has time to teach. But not only did she manage to lead classes throughout 2026, she’s being recognized as one of UC Irvine’s best: Ulibarrí was recently named this year’s Dean’s Honoree Award recipient for the School of Social Ecology by the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI).
Ulibarrí, who joined the UCI faculty in 2016 after obtaining a doctorate in environment & resources from Stanford, says she appreciates being honored for excellence in undergraduate teaching.
“Teaching is a critical part of the UC mission, yet often tends to be overlooked in favor of research,” she confides. “It's an honor to have the time and attention I've spent creating meaningful learning experiences for our students recognized with this award.”
Ulibarrí will be among the professors, instructors and teaching assistants from across campus honored during DTEI’s 34th Annual Celebration of Teaching on Sept. 17 at the Anteater Learning Pavilion.
Besides Ulibarrí and Department of Psychology Professor of Teaching Joanne Zinger, who received the 2026 Excellence in Digital Learning Award, the DTEI singled out two School of Social Ecology professors for Celebration of Teaching Honorable Mentions:
- Psychology Professor Paul Piff for the Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year, which is being awarded to Alessandra Pantano of the School of Physical Sciences;
- Department of Criminology, Law & Society Associate Professor Brandon Golob for Excellence in Pedagogical Development, which is being bestowed to Katherine Thompson-Peer of the Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences.
— Matt Coker