Professor Karen Heimer received a 2006 President and Provost Award For Teaching Excellence. The award was created in 2003-04 as a university-wide recognition for faculty members who have demonstrated a sustained high level of teaching.

Professor Heimer has taught in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 1991. In 1997 she won a Collegiate Teaching Award, and in 2000-01 the Dean's Scholar Award for contributions to teaching and research. She has developed and taught a range of courses, from large undergraduate lectures to graduate seminars, as well as Saturday and evening courses, a pioneering online course and a popular and proven teaching seminar that prepares graduate students to excel as instructors. She has been an undergraduate advisor, honors program director and Director of Graduate Studies within the Department of Sociology, in addition to serving on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Educational Policy Committee, General Education Curriculum Committee, Collegiate Teaching Award Committee and Classroom Advisory Committee. Colleagues and students alike admire Heimer's ability to bring "energy and enthusiasm to the classroom," her meticulous preparation and effective teaching methods, and especially her commitment to mentoring the next generation of teachers and scholars. A graduate student who co-sponsored the nomination wrote, "I will consider both myself and my students to be very lucky if I am able to become even half of the teacher that she is."