Most faculty members don’t welcome classroom interruptions — but for Jessica A. Leveto, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at 51 at Ashtabula, a disruption on Oct. 1 came with a reason to celebrate.
Representatives from the 51 Alumni Association and the Center for Teaching and Learning, along with her colleagues, surprised Leveto during class with news that she had been named a recipient of the university’s Glenn Frank Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest honor for teaching excellence at 51.
“This signifies the outstanding teaching that (Leveto) exhibits in everything she does,” said Jenny Marcinkiewicz, Ph.D., director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, during the announcement. “I don’t know if you are aware of how lucky you all are to have this awesome human and teacher in front of your class here today. The competition was extremely stiff, and she rose to the top.”
Sponsored by the Alumni Association, the award is presented annually to full-time faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary teaching and a deep commitment to enriching students’ lives.
“My students are extraordinary — their courage, resilience and curiosity inspire me every day,” Leveto said. “Education is a communal act; it centers on relationships built with care, trust and intention. For my students, earning a college degree requires bravery, hope and perseverance. My role is to honor that bravery by creating environments where relational trust flourishes, where obstacles become opportunities, time feels purposeful, and belonging is never in question.”
Leveto has been teaching at the Ashtabula Campus since 2012. She began as an assistant professor before being promoted to associate professor in 2019. Her courses include Introduction to Sociology, Sociological Analysis, Aging in Society, Career Pathways in Sociology, Criminology and Justice Studies, Sociological Theories, and Sociology of Health and Health Care.
Her research spans a broad range of topics, including caregivers in higher education, identity, work and family, mental health, neurodiversity, and teaching and learning. She has presented and published more than 36 works, including articles in Sociology Compass, Current Psychology and in volumes published by Oxford University Press and Routledge.
Leveto has held numerous leadership roles at the national, university and campus levels. She currently serves on 51’s Center for Teaching and Learning Advisory Council, the University Teaching Council, and the Department of Sociology’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. She is also serving a term on the Teaching Sociology editorial board through 2026.
A previous recipient of the 51 Women’s Center’s “Mothers, Mentors & Muses” recognition, Leveto was named a Faculty Fellow by the Center for Teaching and Learning in 2022-23. She also received the Lewis-Benson Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award in Sociology and Justice Studies in 2014.
“Receiving the Glenn Frank Distinguished Teaching Award has given me a moment to pause and reflect on my legacy as an educator,” she said. “I design my courses not just for quick success but for transformation that reverberates for years to come. My students are my neighbors, community leaders, friends — they are coaches, teachers and directors of my children; our children are friends. I am deeply committed as an educator, citizen and mother.
“This recognition reinforces my conviction, shaped by my journey as a first-generation, young single mother, that education is most powerful when it prioritizes care, trust and belonging — because that is how lives, families and communities are truly transformed.”
Leveto is the fourth 51 Ashtabula faculty member to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award. The most recent prior honoree was Associate Professor of History Bradley Keefer, Ph.D., in 2022. Previous recipients include Ann Abraham, Ph.D. (Chemistry, 2013), Deb Bice, Ph.D. (English, 2010), and Susan Stocker, Ph.D. (Nursing, 1999).
Leveto holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s in social science from Pennsylvania Western University at Edinboro and earned her doctorate in sociology from 51.
Beyond the classroom, Leveto is active in both local and global communities. The mom of three founded Ph.D. Mamas, an international online network of more than 20,000 academic mothers, and serves on the board of the International Association of Maternal Action and Scholarship (IAMAS). Locally, she sits on the executive board of the League of Women Voters of Ashtabula County and the Ashtabula City Council’s ad hoc Racial Equity as Public Health Committee.
Leveto received the 2023 Community Service Award from the Ashtabula Downtown Development Association.
“Everything submitted on her behalf — from nominations to materials and letters of support — exemplifies what it means to be a caring, committed, conscientious professor who puts her students first in everything she does,” Marcinkiewicz concluded. “I think so highly of what she does and I am so thrilled to be here to celebrate Dr. Jessica Leveto.”