Early in the course of her “Economics for Public Decision-Making” class at the George Washington University, Stephanie Riegg Cellini gives her graduate students a crash course in practical economics using an extremely valuable material: homemade chocolate chip cookies.
A professor of public policy and administration and of economics in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (TSPPPA) and Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), Cellini brings in dozens of cookies and offers them to students in a “reverse auction”—first at $5, which might garner a few takers, then at lower and lower prices. Demand goes up as prices fall, of course. By the time cookies are going for 25 cents, nearly every student wants in on the market, with many clamoring to buy in bulk.
“I don’t actually make them pay,” Cellini hastened to add. But the exercise serves as a real-life illustration of the law of demand, one to which she and her students can return repeatedly over the course of the semester.
It’s an example of Cellini’s hands-on, real-world-focused approach to the classroom, recognized in her receipt of the 2025 Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Prize for Teaching Excellence last Thursday at GW’s 15th Annual Faculty Honors Ceremony. The yearly event spotlights accomplished faculty and graduate students across the university. A full list of award winners and honorees is available here.
“In a moment when higher education faces growing challenges and scrutiny, we need occasions like this to lift up the work that matters most: the pursuit of knowledge, the mentorship of students, the commitment to truth and the belief that learning can transform lives,” GW President Ellen M. Granberg told the ceremony audience. “You represent the very best of GW, and we are proud to honor you.”
Provost Christopher Alan Bracey said the ceremony is one of his favorite moments every year. “It is a great honor to be here today to celebrate this year’s distinguished faculty and graduate student honorees,” he said. “Through their teaching, research and service excellence, they have had a significant impact on the many students who have benefited from their instruction, many of whom will be graduating from our university in less than a month. They will leave GW with new knowledge and skills acquired in large part thanks to your efforts.”
The three Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Faculty Prizes were endowed by GW President Emeritus Stephen Joel Trachtenberg as a tribute to his parents. Ilana Feldman, professor of anthropology, history and international affairs in CCAS and the Elliott School of International Affairs, won the Trachtenberg Prize for Service, while Y. Tony Yang, associate dean of health policy and population science and endowed professor of health policy in the School of Nursing with a dual appointment in the Milken Institute School of Public Health, was awarded the Trachtenberg Prize for Scholarship (Research).
“Service is a major and a crucial part of our work at the university, but it's often less seen than other aspects of our jobs,” Feldman said. “So it feels especially nice to be recognized for this part of my work.”
Yang said that the Trachtenberg research award “is a reminder that the work I do, examining the intersection of health law and policy, isn't just academic—it shapes lives, policy and systems. It pushed me to think further: What's next? Where else can we make an impact?”
The ceremony also honored faculty who have given 25 years to the university with a Silver Anniversary Award and inducted into the Society of the Emeriti faculty who are concluding their tenure as active faculty.
Receiving the Trachtenberg Award “means so much, and I’m honored and humbled,” said Cellini, whose 12 and 15-year-old children joined her at the award ceremony. But she also credited the community of remarkable GW students and colleagues from whom, she said, she has learned a lot about effective teaching.
And she loves following her students’ journeys after they leave the classroom—sometimes even unexpectedly walking alongside them. In 2022, she served as a senior consultant in the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to help with benefit-cost analyses of education policies. On her first day, she discovered that one of her colleagues not only was a TSPPPA alumna, but also had taken Cellini’s benefit-cost class five years before.
“I was thrilled to see that not only was she using the skills she had learned in the class at the highest level—the White House—but she, in turn, taught me so much about regulatory policy and benefit-cost analysis in the real world,” Cellini said. “It’s such a privilege to be able to engage with tomorrow's leaders in public administration and public policy, and I am grateful every day that I get to do that in the classroom. It’s been a lot of fun.”
To see the full list of faculty award winners, finalists and distinguished external awardees, including new faculty emeriti and the Silver Anniversary Faculty Awards, please visit the 15th Annual Faculty Honors Ceremony page.
