Samuel Tham, CSU Best Teacher Award Winner for 2024

Journalism and Media Communication professor Samuel Tham is a winner in the annual Colorado State University "Best Teacher Awards" for 2024. Tham is a first-generation college student who earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and his M.A. from the University of Missouri. Before teaching, Tham founded an online gaming company and worked in advertising. His return to academia came from his passion for teaching - an important trait he learned from his father, Richard, who was also a teacher. Tham strives to bridge the gap between industry experience and skills with theoretical concept to his students and believes in the need to show kindness, to build critical thinking skills, and to have students demand more of themselves in their lives.
Video and photo credits: Greg Luft, Joe Champ, Samantha Medley and Ivy Secrest.