FSoS associate professor recognized for outstanding contributions to the University
Timothy Piehler, associate professor in Family Social Science, has been honored with a 2025 University of Minnesota Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education. Each year, the University has recognized a select group of faculty members for their outstanding contributions to graduate and/or professional education. Recipients are inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers and carry the designation of "Distinguished University Teaching Professor" throughout their careers at the University of Minnesota.
Piehler is revered by students and colleagues as an outstanding educator who has made contributions in curriculum innovation, program development, and a unique ability to engage students in challenging content. As an award-winning advisor, he is a highly sought-after research mentor, centering the needs of students in all of his work.
He is also an affiliate faculty member in the Institute of Child Development, as well as in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oregon and is a licensed clinical psychologist. His research focuses on the development and evaluation of interventions in areas of child and adolescent mental health and substance use. He is also interested in quantitative methodology, including structural equation and person-centered modeling. His work has been funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant in June 2024 to help adolescents improve their mental health and prevent school based conduct issues, including aggression and violence, with an innovative mindfulness-based intervention called Learning to Breathe (L2B). Read the full story.
Piehler was awarded the New Career Excellence Award from the College of Education and Human Development in 2018, the Council of Graduate Students Outstanding Advisor Award in 2020, and the College of Education and Human Development Distinguished Teaching Award in 2024.
More about the award
This honor is awarded annually to exceptional candidates nominated by their colleges in their quest to identify excellence in graduate and/or professional education. In addition to honoring individual faculty members, the award contributes to the improvement of graduate and professional education at the University by publicizing their work to serve as resources to the whole faculty. The award is made possible through generous support of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.