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Jeffrey Stackert, Caroline E. Haskell Professor of Hebrew Bible in the Divinity School and in the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures and in the College, approaches teaching with a principle that might seem counterintuitive: rigor is a form of care.

“A way of being generous is to be exacting,” he says. “We’re going to push you really, really hard. And we’re going to support you as best we can.”

That philosophy shapes both his classroom and his advising. Stackert works closely with students, often one-on-one, guiding them through the technical demands of philology, argumentation, and interpretation. The result, students say, is a style of mentorship that is as challenging as it is transformative.

As one student shared: “He offered critical yet supportive feedback on [my work]…his guidance and critical questions have shaped me as a scholar.

Stackert has helped build the Divinity School’s Hebrew Bible program into a leading center for the field, with a distinctive emphasis on languages, method, and early engagement with primary texts. At the core of that approach is a deceptively simple goal: teaching students how to recognize excellence.

“The first thing students need to learn is where to set their expectations,” he explains. “What does it mean to work at a high level?”

That standard is reinforced through detailed, sustained feedback. As one former student recalls, Stackert’s comments do more than evaluate; they teach. He “demonstrates which arguments are successful and which are not,” offering tools to refine ideas and strengthen evidence-based claims.

For Stackert, the work does not end with the dissertation. He views doctoral education as preparation for a career and remains closely involved as students enter the job market and beyond. “We’re training them for a career, not just a dissertation,” he says. 

That long-term investment extends well beyond graduation and often evolves into collaboration, as former students become colleagues, an outcome that reflects both his meticulous training style and the durability of his mentorship.

“I feel very responsible to help these students in any way that I can,” Stackert says.

The transformative education offered at the University of Chicago begins in the classroom, with the teachers who inspire, engage and inform their students. 

UChicago annually recognizes faculty for their incredible teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students through the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards, believed to be the nation’s oldest prize for undergraduate teaching; and the Faculty Awards for Excellence in Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring, which honor faculty for their work with graduate students.