The 2025 Outstanding Teaching Awards: Christy Brady

Each Friday this summer, UKNow is highlighting one of the winners of the University of Kentucky’s 2025 Outstanding Teaching Awards, given by the Office for Faculty Advancement with the Office of the Provost.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 13, 2025) — Christy Brady, Ph.D., associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences’ Department of Health and Clinical Sciences, is one of nine winners to receive the University of Kentucky’s 2025 Outstanding Teaching Awards.

These awards identify and recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT).

“I was so honored that my colleagues, who are all amazing teachers, were willing to take the time to submit a nomination for me,” Brady said. “It’s been such a pleasure to learn from them and grow alongside them in our department.”

Brady teaches courses focused on the intersection of health and society including “Cultural Humility in Healthcare,” “Social Determinants of Health,” “The Social and Cultural Evolution of Disease,” and “Global Perspectives in Health Sciences.” She also leads education abroad programs for her college comparing health outcomes in the United States to economically similar countries. She has led programs in England and France and is planning a program in Ireland for 2026. Her current research focuses on assessing the development of intercultural knowledge, skills and values through education abroad experiences.

Karen Clancy, Ph.D., assistant professor and program director in the Department of Clinical Leadership and Management, nominated Brady for the award. She says Brady strives to create high-impact learning that continually engages learners.

“[Dr. Brady] is innovative, student-centered and grounded in her pedagogical approaches,” Clancy said. “Her work is truly making a difference for students who will be future leaders in health care and society.”

Sarah Kercsmar, Ph.D., chair for the Department of Health and Clinical Sciences, submitted the nomination for Brady on behalf of her colleagues. She says in addition to being an exceptional educator, Brady is also an outstanding mentor for new faculty members.

“Dr. Brady very genuinely shared that her role is to help make the path easier for faculty who are coming next,” Kercsmar said. “This statement embodies how Dr. Brady works with faculty and students alike — she is an advocate and a guide.”

Brady earned her Ph.D. in sociology from UK, as well as a graduate certificate in gender and women’s studies. She is a nationally published scholar of teaching and learning, with a special emphasis on sharing her expertise in education abroad through conferences and publications. She has been published in the Journal of Health Administration Education; Greater Faculties: A Review of Teaching and Learning;  Food Systems and Health;  College Teaching;  Social Sciences; Journal of Communication Pedagogy; and others. She was selected as one of UK’s first TEK Faculty Fellows, completed the Teaching Innovative Institute through CELT, and was a CELT Faculty Fellow in 2017-18.

“Teaching brings me so much joy,” Brady said. “A career focused on teaching means I get to spend my time learning fascinating things and then sharing what I discover with others. I have the privilege of supporting students in pushing the boundaries of their own knowledge and skills in ways that will help them build both the lives they want and the world they dream of living in. It’s fun and meaningful work.”

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This year’s Outstanding Teaching Awards were given to six faculty and three graduate teaching assistants. Each winner received an award certificate, a commemorative engraved gift and a cash award in recognition of their teaching excellence at a campus ceremony on May 1. Read more here.