English Department and College of Arts and Sciences Lecturer of the Year: Dustin Crawford
Congratulations to Senior Lecturer Dustin Crawford, the 2025-26 English Department Lecturer of the Year! In addition to being named the department’s award recipient, Dustin went on to be named one of two recipients for the College of Arts and Sciences award.
As a teacher, lecturer, and leader, Dustin puts his all into everything he does, ensuring he can help his students succeed at USU. Beyond his duties as a lecturer, Dustin provides insight in the process of USU general education redesign and the establishment of the Center for Civic Excellence, serves on the Breadth Humanities and the English Department’s Lecturer Advisory Committees, and became the first lecturer in the history of the English Department to design and lead study abroad experiences.
“Dustin’s teaching evaluations are consistently among the very highest in the department. Students value his courses because they feel seen, challenged, and mentored by an authentically engaged educator,” says English Department Head Brian McCuskey. “It is difficult to imagine a faculty member at any rank who spends more informal and formal time with students. He is routinely seen conversing with students after class, during casual campus walks, in hallways, and in his office — usually in extended conferences that reflect real investment in their growth.”
Dustin is committed to mentorship outside of the classroom, teaching University Connections every fall, mentoring an undergraduate research project, supervising an Honors contract, and serving on three master’s thesis committees. These projects are a testament to his willingness to individualize teaching and to the trust students have in him.
In his committee roles, Dustin helps strengthen lecturer identity, mentor new faculty, and improve communication channels across the university and English Department. His commitment to not only the students but the fellow faculty members helps foster an environment of growth, professional development, and inclusion.
“In every dimension of the criteria for this award — sustained excellence, innovative pedagogy, teaching reach beyond the classroom, and institutional citizenship — Dustin exemplifies the highest ideals of lecturer teaching at Utah State University,” Brian shares. “His work strengthens students, enriches faculty culture, advances general education, and models integrity, foresight, and deep devotion to the craft of teaching. He is, without question, one of the most influential educators shaping undergraduate experience at USU.”