Showing the Love for Teaching Excellence at Trent University Durham GTA
Students recognize dedicated Trent Durham faculty year after year with OUSA Awards
Trent University Durham GTA students experience many amazing things on campus. Podcasts, community-based research projects, and “nerding out” in the hallways after lectures with faculty who love what they do, occur on a regular basis. So does well-deserved recognition from appreciative students to dedicated professors.
Celebrated as educators who inspire learning, Trent Durham faculty have been awarded the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) Award for Teaching Excellence for six consecutive years.
In honour of the recognition, Trent’s Centre for Teaching & Learning rolled out the red carpet at the inaugural OUSA Award Celebration of Teaching Excellence hosted at Trent Durham on November 27.
The award recipients include: Dr. Daniel Travers, History (2019); Dr. Alba Agostino, Child & Youth Studies (2018); Dr. Amanda Paxton, English Literature (2017); Dr. Joel Baetz, English Literature (2016); Dr. Jim Cosgrave, Sociology (2015); and Dr. Ben Bauer, Psychology (2014).
“It is a moving affirmation that the work students and I do together in the classroom is as meaningful to them as it is to me,” states Dr. Amanda Paxton, professor of English Literature.
Dr. Daniel Travers, a Trent alumnus who taught History, describes this student-driven accolade as the “highest bestowment any professor could envisage.”
“This award was a promise for my future self to live up to that standard,” reflects Dr. Joel Baetz, professor of English Literature and 2016 winner.
Reflecting on Trent Durham’s reputation for teaching excellence, Dr. Cathy Bruce, the dean of education, states: “Trent Durham faculty really know their students as people and as learners. Secondly, the amount of community-based work that occurs here is powerful. The faculty make every effort to connect to the community. It’s a signature of this campus.”
Rayna Porter is VP of university affairs for the Trent Durham Student Association (TDSA) and VP of administration and human resources of the steering committee at OUSA, which represents university student associations across Ontario. Part of her role is to seek and coordinate award nominees from the student body.
“We have wonderful professors here,” she observes. “I am proud to have learned so much from them.”
Dr. Scott Henderson, dean and head of Trent Durham, believes excellent teaching is key to the growing campus and its engaged students. He states, “I am thrilled we have the opportunity to honour these outstanding teachers, whose work exceeds even the very high standards we have at Trent Durham.”
Professor Paxton confirms, “The rumours are true: Trent prioritizes teaching and student experience. The Trent Durham campus is exceptional for the closeness and community that profoundly encourage learning and personal growth.”