Zhai and Herzog Among Faculty and Staff Honored for Excellence

CS Professor ChengXiang Zhai and CS Coordinator of Academic Programs Steve Herzog were two of more than 20 faculty and staff members, and graduate teaching assistants at the University of Illinois who were honored on April 26 for excellence in teaching, mentoring, and advising. Each was recognized during a reception at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center.

Zhai was recognized for being a truly outstanding, dedicated and supportive mentor, having mentored more than 60 graduate students. He is very passionate about research and teaching, and shares this passion with his students. He has an ability to identify a student’s strengths and put the student on a project that he or she can be enthusiastic about.

Herzog was recognized in part for his penchant to go beyond one-on-one advising to contribute to student success and well-being through implementing policies and creating widely used departmental resources. Herzog is called the “data czar,” responding to requests from many throughout the department.

The full story on all recipients and the impact they have had on students can be found here.