Created in 1983, the Ira H. Abrams Award recognizes teaching that is intellectually challenging and exceptionally coherent and honors faculty who embody high standards of integrity and fairness, have a strong commitment to learning, and are open to new ideas.
Goldin is known for his contributions in shaping his department’s undergraduate curriculum and for his skillful and creative approach to engaging students in Introduction to Chinese Civilization. According a faculty colleague, "since his arrival at Penn, the undergraduate education in East Asian Languages and Civilizations has been transformed by his vision and his stellar ability to deliver the gateway course." Goldin’s department chair agrees: "I can testify from personal experience how difficult it is to teach 3,000 years and more of Chinese culture in a way that is not ridiculously superficial or forbiddingly dense. That he has done it so successfully for so many years shows how much thought and effort he puts into teaching.”