Marc Liberatore Receives 2025–2026 UMass Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award
Senior teaching faculty member recognized for inclusive instruction, curriculum leadership, and long-standing impact on computer science education
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Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) Senior Teaching Faculty member Marc Liberatore has been selected as one of five faculty recipients of the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s 2025–2026 Distinguished Teaching Award, one of the university’s highest honors for exemplary teaching.
The Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes instructors whose teaching has had a lasting impact on students and the university community. Recipients are chosen through a competitive two-step review process conducted by committees made up of previous award winners. Each year, the university selects five faculty honorees—three tenure-track and two non-tenure-track—as well as two graduate teaching assistants.
Liberatore is the fourth CICS faculty member to receive a UMass Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award, joining professors Ramesh Sitaraman, Charles Weems, and William Verts.
A member of the CICS faculty since 2009, Liberatore has taught a wide range of courses over the course of his career, from introductory computing and data structures to digital forensics, computer systems, artificial intelligence, computer networking, and computer crime law. In recent years, he has been especially well known to CICS students for teaching CICS 210: Data Structures, a foundational course for many undergraduate computing pathways.
According to the university’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), Liberatore’s teaching is grounded in a simple but powerful belief: “Everyone can do computer science.” That philosophy shapes an intentional classroom culture designed to strengthen students’ problem-solving abilities while helping them build confidence and a sense of belonging in the field. “It’s not just for boys or people who started programming at five. You can learn to code, to design programs and algorithms, to think computationally.” Liberatore said. “All of my work with students is informed by my belief that learning computer science is for anyone who wants it.”
The CTL’s award profile also highlights Liberatore’s lasting impact on students, noting that former students recalled both the way he welcomed them into his courses and the way he encouraged them as they moved on to new challenges. Beyond the classroom, the profile points to his important role in shaping the college’s introductory curriculum to better serve students across majors and colleges.
“Marc has long been one of our most impactful lecturers,” said Keith Marzullo, Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Dean. “This award recognizes both the excellence of his instruction and the professional care he brings to helping students grow as computer scientists.”
The honor adds to a growing list of university-level recognitions for Liberatore. In 2025, he received an inaugural UMass Amherst Delphi Leadership Award, which recognized his sustained advocacy and leadership on behalf of non-tenure-track faculty. He was also appointed to the UMass Amherst Office of Faculty Development’s 2025–2027 Internal Advisory Board.
Within CICS, Liberatore previously received the college’s Outstanding Teaching Award and has been recognized multiple times as a Distinguished Teaching Award nominee or finalist before receiving this year’s honor.
In addition to his teaching, Liberatore’s research focuses on improving network forensic tools and techniques, with particular interest in the weaknesses of practical anonymity systems such as Tor.
Recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award receive a monetary prize, and their names are inscribed on the Distinguished Teaching Award memorial wall in the Integrative Learning Center.
