Melissa Gross, associate professor of movement science and director of the Behavioral Biomechanics Laboratory, is one of three finalists selected for Baylor University’s 2026 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. The Cherry Award is the only national teaching award – with the single largest monetary reward of $250,000 – presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching. The winning professor will be announced by Baylor in spring 2026.

As Cherry Award finalists, each professor will receive $15,000, as well as $10,000 for their home departments to foster the development of teaching skills. Finalists will present a series of lectures at Baylor during fall 2025 and a Cherry Award lecture on their home campuses.

The Cherry Award recipient will receive $250,000 and an additional $25,000 for their home department and will teach in residence at Baylor during fall 2026 or spring 2027.

A biomechanics researcher noted for her interdisciplinary work, Gross has published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and served on the editorial board for the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. A past president and fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics, she has secured over $1.5 million in grant funding from NIH, NSF, and Veterans Affairs.

In 2014, Gross received the Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship, which recognizes tenured U-M faculty whose commitment to and investment in undergraduate teaching has had a demonstrable impact on the intellectual development and lives of their students. She has held leadership roles in academic innovation and digital education, including serving as director of the School of Kinesiology's Innovative Teaching and Learning initiative (2013-2019) and U-M's Women in Science and Engineering program (2019-2024). Gross currently serves on the executive committee for the U-M Center for Interprofessional Education.