The Excellence in Teaching Award, sponsored by the New Jersey Health Foundation, Inc. was presented to Fredrick Coffman, Ph.D. at Convocation on May 20 for his outstanding accomplishments as an educator during the 2025 academic year.

Coffman’s nomination for the award came from the Department of Health Informatics, but his impact on students and programs at spans across departments and schools at Rutgers.

Dr. Barbara Demarco and Dr. Fredrick Coffman, at Convocation

Coffman splits his time as an educator between bioinformatics courses in the Department of Health Informatics and biomedical sciences courses in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, while also utilizing his expertise as an adjunct professor in the Department of Pathology at the medical school.

This busy schedule has not reduced Coffman’s impact on the Department of Health Informatics. He created multiple courses in response to specific program needs, which he continues to teach.

Coffman contributed heavily to the design and execution of the new Doctor of Health Informatics program. He is working to modify his existing courses to better align with the new program as well as developing an advanced bioinformatics course in conjunction with Dr. Priya Kachroo, utilizing his expertise in communicable disease mechanisms.

That expertise also allowed Coffman to help significantly with the supervision of Ph.D. students in the clinical informatics and bioinformatics tracks, helping to manage the dissertation students   by guiding them to completion and success with not only their doctoral degrees but also their careers.

Students appreciate his enthusiasm for his subjects, clear expectations and learning objectives, and his ability to explain information in multiple ways for those with different learning styles. One notable approach is to create mini-slide decks to focus on answering particularly salient questions asked by students in class.

“Dr. Coffman truly is so passionate about his work and knowledge, and it really shows,” said one of his students in feedback included in the nomination form. “I feel encouraged to ask questions and learn more on my own time. I am excited that he will be teaching us in the upcoming semester.”

Coffman’s philosophy of preparing his classes for not only the basic concepts of their field, but for how their fields will evolve after they graduate, is sure to set his students up for success.