Professor Christine Berkesch wins Sarah Evans Leadership Award
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (3/24/2025) – Professor Christine Berkesch has been honored with the 2025 Sara Evans Leadership Award in recognition of her outstanding mentorship efforts, research achievements, and leadership contributions at the University of Minnesota. The award, sponsored by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost and the Women’s Center, recognizes faculty and academic professionals who are leaders in the advancement of women or gender-marginalized people at the University of Minnesota through leadership, academic excellence, advocacy, engagement, or program development.
Professor Christine Berkesch joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 2013, and earned the title of full professor in 2024. Her research sits at the boundary of commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. One aspect of her works extracts geometric information from non-flat geometric spaces from special collections of matrices of polynomials, which are used for geometric modeling applications across the sciences and engineering, including architecture and model building. In tandem with her research, Berkesch serves as one of three undergraduate faculty advisors in the School of Mathematics. Her work as an advisor helps undergraduates plan their coursework, choose a specialization, and stay on track to graduate.
Beyond her academic commitments, Berkesch exemplifies notable commitment to mentorship. She was the local host of the program at the University of Minnesota in 2021 and has served as the Mentorship Leader for the Minnesota cluster of the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Program since 2014. The EDGE Program provides ongoing support for women pursuing careers in the mathematical sciences at several critical stages of their careers. Berkesch is also involved in mentoring through the Gender Minorities in Mathematics student group, the UMN chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics.
Head of the School of Mathematics Benjamin Brubaker writes: “I've been privileged to have a front row seat to watch Christine's leadership in action. From her person-to-person mentoring to her high-level strategic design roles, she has expanded opportunities for early career mathematicians in the department and the wider discipline. It is very gratifying to see the University recognize Christine's considerable efforts with the Sara Evans award.”
For excellence in research and education, Berkesch has been previously recognized with an AMS Sectional Meeting Invited Address (2022), the AWM Research Symposium Plenary Address (2022), the Purdue University College of Science Early Career Alumni Award (2019), and the University of Minnesota Taylor Career Development Award (2019).
The Sarah Evans Leadership Award Namesake
This award is named after Sara Evans, an outstanding scholar and pioneer in her field of history, as well as a campus leader in multiple venues, including leadership for women’s equity and social justice. Professor Evans’ research focused on the history of feminism as a social movement, motivated by her own involvement in civil rights, anti-war, and women’s rights activism. Named a Regents Professor in 2004 and Distinguished McKnight University Professor in 1997, Professor Evans served as Chair of the Department of History and Director of the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies during her tenure at the University of Minnesota. Quoted in 2005 as she was retiring, Sara remarked, "You need to learn the joy of asking a good question and finding out ways to the answer – that will lead you to your life's work." (From The Women’s Center)