Students recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching

On April 23 the Students’ Union (SU) paid tribute to 41 faculty members, instructors, and teaching assistants for their commitment to student success at its annual Teaching Excellence Awards ceremony.

The SU’s campus-wide recognition program gives undergraduate students the chance to decide which instructors and teaching assistants have made a lasting, positive impression in the classroom over the past year. Student feedback is the basis on which all nominees and winners are determined.

“What I love most about the SU Teaching Excellence Awards is that the instructors we’re honouring were nominated by their own students,” said Jessica Revington, SU vice-president academic. “This means that award recipients genuinely care about their students’ well-being and success, both in their classes and beyond.”

This year, the SU received 1,165 nominations from students. Based on these, the SU’s Teaching Excellence Awards committee shortlisted nominees and conducted more than 100 class visits in the fall and winter semesters to collect written feedback. The winners were then decided after the committee analyzed just over 2,000 evaluation forms.

Winners of the SU Teaching Excellence Award receive an Apple Award and a framed certificate. In addition, the SU will make a $5,000 donation in recognition of the winners to the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.

The SU has been honouring outstanding teaching at the university since 1975, with the Teaching Excellence Awards being handed out in their current form for the first time in 1984. From the start, the awards were intended to provide students with the opportunity to give feedback on the quality of university instruction. They have contributed to teaching excellence remaining a key priority for the institution, exemplified by the Eyes High vision to enrich the quality and breadth of learning at the University of Calgary. 

For more information about the SU Teaching Excellence program and the award criteria, please visit www.su.ucalgary.ca/TEA.

Teaching Assistants

• Dr. Matthew Adams (Science)
• Dr. Fatima Chleilat (Kinesiology)
• Dr. Christopher James Hooey (Science)
• Dr. Chris Joshna (Science)
• Dr. Daniel Anthony Levenson (Science)
• Dr. Fathia Messaoudi (Science)
• Dr. Ruth Spivak (Arts)
• Dr. Nicole Taylor (Science)
• Dr. Ryan Brendan Toth (Science)
• Dr. Colton Unger (Science)

Instructors

• Dr. Mayi Arcellana-Panlilio (Medicine)
• Dr. Gordon Atkins (Veterinary Medicine)
• Dr. Mark Baron (Arts)   
• Dr. Heather Bensler (Nursing)
• Dr. Jo-Anne Brown (Science)
• Dr. Valerie Campbell (Arts)
• Dr. Cari Din (Kinesiology)
• Dr. Alireza Fazlirad (Engineering)  
• Dr. Ryan Hamilton (Engineering)  
• Dr. Lorian Hardcastle (Law)
• Dr. David Marshall (Arts)
• Dr. Micheal Pawliuk (Science)
• Dr. Houston Peschl (Business)
• Dr. René Plume (Science)
• Dr. Syed Rahat Ali Jafri (Business)
• Dr. Jean-François Richer (Arts)
• Dr. Laurie Tuck (Education)

Honourable Mentions

• Dr. Eleonora Buonocore (Arts)
• Dr. Peter Hoyer (Science)
• Dr. Noreen Irvine (Business)    
• Dr. Manuel (Les) Jerome (Social Work)
• Dr. Joe Kadi (Arts)
• Dr. Safaneh Mohaghegh Neyshabouri (Arts)
• Dr. Uttandaraman Sundararaj (Engineering)
• Dr. Leah Tellier (Nursing)
• Dr. Philip Tuck (Education)
• Dr. Sean Tuff (Kinesiology)

Hall of Fame Inductees

• Dr. Heather Addy (Science)
• Dr. Brad Kilb (Kinesiology)
• Dr. Cameron Knight (Veterinary Medicine)
• Dr. Leighton Wilks (Business)