Awards

President's Award for Distinguished Teaching - 2026

About Mary Embry

Mary Embry is a Teaching Professor in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University, where she has established a distinguished record of teaching excellence, curricular leadership, and pedagogical innovation. Her teaching in Merchandising is defined by a sustained commitment to community engagement, interdisciplinarity, and sustainability, with impact extending across local, national, and international contexts. Since 2007, Professor Embry has been a leader in community-engaged pedagogy, earning three consecutive Beth Wood Distinguished Service-Learning Awards. Her courses have produced nationally recognized student outcomes, and her teaching innovations have been widely disseminated through publications and presentations at disciplinary and teaching-and-learning conferences. She has also led cross disciplinary initiatives that bring together students in merchandising, art, and design to address complex, real-world challenges. Sustainability is central to her teaching and curricular leadership. She has developed key courses, including Intensive Freshman Seminar and General Education offerings, and directed immersive international programs in Ecuador, Guatemala, and Italy. She has also served on the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board and contributed to the adoption of sustainability literacy as a General Education requirement at Indiana University. Professor Embry’s institutional impact includes service on the Bloomington Faculty Council, College Committee for Undergraduate Education, and College Career Readiness Task Force. Through the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, Embry frequently serves as a mentor, reviewer, advisor, and collaborator. Within Eskenazi, she has held multiple leadership terms on the Faculty Advisory Board and as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Merchandising Area Coordinator. Her excellence has been recognized with two Indiana University Trustees Teaching Awards.