Trent University faculty and community gathered on Thursday, March 21 at Alumni House to celebrate teaching excellence at the annual teaching awards ceremony, where four awards were presented. The Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching was announced for Dr. Keith Walden, professor in the Department of History, who will be presented with the award during Convocation ceremonies in June. The Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award was presented to David Marshall, senior demonstrator in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The CUPE Award for Excellence in Teaching was presented to Dr. Martin Boyne of the Department of Modern Languages and the Award for Educational Leadership and Innovation was presented to Dr. Craig Brunetti, professor in the Department of Biology.

The Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching

Dr. Keith Walden, professor in the Department of History, will be presented with the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching at the 2013 Convocation ceremonies.

Established in 1976, the Award is made available through the generous support of Trent University founding president, Professor Tom Symons and his wife, Christine. The award is presented annually to a faculty or staff member who displays exemplary teaching and concern for students. This is the 36th year that the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching has been conferred.

“In receiving this award, Dr. Walden is recognized for his compassion, selflessness, and commitment to ensuring the success of his students. He is also credited, at the graduate level of study, for enriching the perceptions of the fields of Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies as a whole,” said Dr. Steven E. Franklin, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University.

To learn more about Keith Walden and his award, please click here.

Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award

Mr. David Marshall, the senior demonstrator in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named the 2013 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award.

Established in 2006, the award acknowledges the contributions of academic assistants and those who facilitate learning in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory, and field settings.

Mr. Marshall was nominated for his teaching assistance across four years of study at the undergraduate level. In particular, he is recognized for supporting Introductory Physics; second-year courses in Electronics, Introductory Quantum Physics, and Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics; and a third-year course in Electricity and Magnetism.

“In receiving this award, Mr. Marshall is recognized as a skilled and passionate teaching assistant who guides his students in learning difficult concepts by finding creative ways to illustrate how physics principles apply to theoretical and real-life situations,” explains Dr. Gary Boire, Trent’s provost and vice-president Academic.

To learn more about David Marshall and his award, please click here.

CUPE Award for Excellence in Teaching

Trent University's union for contract faculty, CUPE 3908 Unit 1, is pleased to announce that Dr. Martin Boyne of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures has been selected as the recipient of the 2013 CUPE Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. Boyne graduated from Trent University in 1991 and has worked in various capacities at the university over the past twenty-two years. His employment has ranged from administrative work in the Registrar’s Office, to academic support in his roles as senior tutor and acting college head. He also held increasing levels of responsibility within the Academic Skills Centre, including six years as its director. In 1993, while he was working at the Academic Skills Centre, Dr. Boyne expanded his role at the university to include teaching at the undergraduate level.  He started teaching part-time in various departments while pursuing his M.A.at the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. at Lancaster University in England. Over the years he has taught for the Departments of Ancient History and Classics, English Literature and Modern Languages and Literatures. At present, he teaches first-year linguistics and second-year phonetics for the Modern Languages and Literatures Department.

“This excellence in teaching award recognizes the positive impact which contract teachers at Trent have on their students,” explains Stephen Horner, the president of CUPE 3908. “The committee was impressed by the nominations that were submitted over the time period of 2010 to the present, which described Dr. Boyne as an outstanding teacher and educator who has great influence on students and their learning. The quality of the nomination letters for Dr. Boyne, as well as many other CUPE 3908 Unit 1 members, speaks to the important role that contract faculty are increasingly playing in the academic lives of their students.”

To learn more about Martin Boyne and his award, please click here.

Award for Educational Leadership and Innovation

Dr. Craig Brunetti, a full professor in the Department of Biology, has been named the 2013 recipient of the Award for Educational Leadership and Innovation.

Professor Brunetti joined the Department of Biology at Trent University in 2003. He is a biologist whose research focusses on how viruses interact with their host in an effort to understand how viruses cause disease and to develop better ways to treat viral infections.

In receiving this award, Prof. Brunetti is recognized for the “distinctive contribution he has made to the undergraduate Biology program at Trent,” explains Dr. Gary Boire, provost and vice-president Academic. “He is praised for his development of innovative teaching methods aimed at better engaging students in large classes, his insight in helping to develop a policy on social media in course delivery, and his unfailing commitment to excellence in teaching through sharing his experiences with faculty colleagues and through presentations to the Board of Governors.”

To read more about Craig Brunetti and his award, please click here.

To learn more about Trent’s teaching excellence visit:  www.trentu.ca/teaching

Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2013.