Students recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching

On April 18, the Students’ Union honoured 39 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 weigh in on which instructors and teaching assistants have made a lasting, positive impression in the classroom over the past year. All nominees and winners are determined entirely based on student feedback.

“The Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Awards is a unique celebration of outstanding teachers who perfect their practice, cultivate a positive classroom environment, and empower students to take ownership of their learning experiences. More importantly, these are teachers who have left a lasting impact on their students,” said Tina Miller, SU vice-president (academic). “Award recipients genuinely care about their students’ well-being and success, both in their classes and beyond.”

This year, the SU received 1,146 nominations from students — more than double the number submitted last year. Based on these, the 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.

2018 Teaching Excellence Award Recipients

• Teaching Assistants: Christopher James Hooey, Tony Stevens, Pier-Luc Champagne, Benjamin Blyth, MohanaGowri Arumugam, Jennifer Retzlaff, Joshua John Horacsek, Allison Bajt, David Ledo, Mike D. Law

• Instructors: Caleb Lee (Arts), Ted McCoy (Arts), Anne Moore (Arts), Dick Averns (Arts), Leighton Wilks (Business), Catherine Burwell (Education), Ahmad Ghasemloonia (Engineering), Uttandaraman Sundararaj (Engineering), Brad Kilb (Kinesiology), Jonnette Watson Hamilton (Law), Jason Waechter (Medicine), Mayi Arcellana-Panlilio, PhD (Medicine), Zenaida Roxas Boerhave (Nursing), Claude Laflamme (Science), Heather Addy (Science), Jo-Anne Brown (Science), Cari Gulbrandsen (Social Work), Cameron Knight (Veterinary Medicine)

• Honourable mentions: Howard Kislowicz (Law), Randy Head (Education), Brianna Strumm (Social Work), William Bridel (Kinesiology), Melissa Eastveld (Nursing), Chris Morton (Engineering), Gareth Jones (Arts), Melanie Kloetzel (Arts), Catherine Mitchell (Nursing), Jennifer Koshan (Law)

• Hall of Fame Inductee: Larry A. Wood

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.