Jenafer Andrén-Kazunas Receives UMass Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award

The Isenberg School of Management’s chef-professor is one of five faculty members recognized with the university’s highest student-initiated teaching honor.

Jenafer Andrén-Kazunas, chef-professor and senior lecturer in the Isenberg School of Management’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Department, has been named one of five recipients of the UMass Amherst Center for Teaching and Learning’s 2025-26 Faculty Distinguished Teaching Awards (DTA).

Presented for more than 60 years, the DTA recognizes instructors who demonstrate exemplary teaching at the highest level. It is the only campus-wide teaching award initiated by students.

For Andrén-Kazunas, the recognition is especially rewarding because it reflects the experiences of the students she teaches. 

“To me, it affirms that I am truly connecting with them and creating a learning environment where my approach is resonating in a way that supports their learning,” she said.

A previous recipient of the College Outstanding Teacher Award, Andrén-Kazunas is head chef at the Marriott Center for Hospitality Management. Her classroom is a 200-seat, full-service restaurant on the 11th floor of the UMass Amherst Campus Center, where hospitality and tourism management students gain hands-on experience in food service and event operations.

In each five-hour lab section of the restaurant management course, students run the Marriott Meals restaurant, rotating through roles that include dishwashing, cooking, purchasing, serving, and managing operations. The experience allows them to build practical skills while learning how a restaurant operates behind the scenes and during service.

One student praised Andrén-Kazunas’ ability to turn demanding moments into growth opportunities.

“Even in high-pressure service situations, she remains calm, approachable and focused on teaching rather than criticizing,” the student wrote in support of her nomination.

Andrén-Kazunas said she enjoys watching students develop new skills and confidence.

“I find great fulfillment in helping students expand their knowledge—whether through mastering new concepts, developing practical skills, or gaining operational insights that will serve them throughout their careers and lives,” she said. “In truth, I may feel even more excitement than they do when they demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes.”

She also values the collaborative spirit of the HTM community.

“While all Isenberg students are motivated and driven, HTM students distinguish themselves through an exceptional sense of camaraderie and collective support,” she said.

In addition to her restaurant-based courses, Andrén-Kazunas has created opportunities for students to explore their professional interests through experiential independent studies and a pre-college program focused on student leadership development.

“Many students leave her class with a clearer sense of career direction and a stronger belief in their own abilities,” one student wrote.

From Food Service to the Classroom

Andrén-Kazunas’ interest in hospitality began at home, where she baked with her mother and grandmother. Her first job was cooking French fries at McDonald’s, launching a career that has included nearly every aspect of the food service industry.

A first-generation American, Andrén-Kazunas’ family immigrated from Sweden. She has worked in the United States and Scandinavia, with roles in high-end restaurants, small cafes, hotel management, and commercial and private catering.

“Restaurants are my true passion,” said Andrén-Kazunas, whose favorite cuisines to cook are Indian and Thai. “I thrive in their fast-paced and ever-evolving environment, where no two days are ever the same.”

Andrén-Kazunas earned an associate and a bachelor’s degree from the Culinary Institute of America in 2000 and a master’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from Isenberg in 2004.

Teaching, however, was not originally part of her career plan. Andrén-Kazunas expected to join her family’s large hospitality and tourism business, New York Cruise Lines. The company, which still operates today, includes World Yacht, a fleet of restaurant boats offering lunch and dinner cruises with Manhattan’s skyline as the backdrop. While applying to graduate school in HTM at Isenberg, though, she was offered a teaching assistantship for one of the courses she teaches today.

“Through that experience, I discovered a genuine love for teaching,” she said.

Before she completed her degree, the department chair at the time invited her to join the HTM faculty. She has been teaching food service courses at Isenberg ever since.

A Student-Initiated Honor

Undergraduate and graduate students may nominate instructors for the Distinguished Teaching Award, including faculty members whose courses they previously completed and instructors whose courses they are currently taking. Tenure-track faculty, non-tenure-track faculty and graduate teaching assistants are eligible for the honor.

Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Fouad Abd-El Khalick and Brian Baldi, interim director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, emphasized the importance of the award in their announcement to this year’s recipients.

“At the center of every educational institution is teaching, and we applaud you for making the University of Massachusetts Amherst an institution that honors our students and propels them into their future through teaching excellence,” the wrote. “Our campus advances toward our highest ideals through your hard work.”

The Center for Teaching and Learning support the professional development of faculty across disciplines and career stages, providing resources and programs focused on course design, classroom instruction, curriculum development, and other forms of instructional support.