My Last Lecture Award
In 1955, notable UCLA professors were given the chance to put all of their life lessons and advice for students into one “last lecture.”
In 2010, the Alumni Scholars Club (ASC) brought back this tradition through the Marty Sklar My Last Lecture Award. This award was established to honor a UCLA professor who is an inspiration to students.
On May 13, ASC will host an award ceremony where the winning professor will give an inspiring lecture on the question posed to the original lecturers 70 years ago: What would you tell your audience if you had but one lecture to give – your last lecture on this earth?
Vote for the My Last Lecture 2025 Professor
After receiving thousands of votes in the initial professor nomination phase, we are excited to announce the top three nominees for this year's award (in no particular order): Dr. Bonnie Goff, Dr. John Branstetter and Dr. Steve Bennoun.
Vote for the professor you'd like to receive this year's award by Friday, April 4. The professor with the most votes will present a ceremonial lecture this spring, responding to one question: “What would you say if this were your last lecture on Earth?”
For questions, please email gbrown@support.ucla.edu.
Nominated Professors
Dr. Bonnie Goff is a developmental psychologist who specializes in the neurobiological impacts of early-life adversity. Raised in a fundamentalist Christian cult, she navigated the complexities of her uniquely challenging childhood with resilience, which has profoundly influenced her academic and professional pursuits. Dr. Goff earned her Ph.D. from UCLA in 2016 and has lectured here since 2017. In 2023, she received the Psychology Department's Distinguished Teaching Award. Beyond academia, Dr. Goff is an advocate for mental health awareness and inclusivity, drawing from her personal experiences as a mother of two young boys, including one who is autistic.
Dr. John Branstetter is currently a continuing lecturer in the Department of Political Science. He received bachelor’s degrees in Russian and political science at Michigan State University as well as a masters of science in politics at the University of Edinburgh. He completed his Ph.D. at UCLA in fall 2017. Dr. Branstetter specializes in political theory, with a focus on East Asian thought and critical theory. He is widely appreciated among the UCLA student population. He received the 2019-2020 UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, and strongly believes that anyone can learn anything when they are supported, encouraged and excited.
Dr. Steve Bennoun is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Psychology at UCLA, specializing in enhancing student learning in mathematics and science courses. He focuses on teaching mathematics courses that have strong connections with biology and the life sciences as well as using active learning in his courses. He earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in mathematics from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and completed his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Prior to joining UCLA, Dr. Bennoun served as an active learning lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Cornell University, where he focused on integrating active learning strategies into mathematics curricula and assessing their impact on student learning.
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