Professor David Newhouse, director of the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies at Trent University, has been named among Canada’s most outstanding university educators and winner of one of ten prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowships.

“Prof. Newhouse’s creativity, compassion and dedication have underpinned his excellence as a teacher of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. His decades long leadership of the Indigenous Studies program at Trent has led to transformative change within individuals, and within educational institutions throughout Canada, bringing more prominence to and acceptance of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) within the academy,” shares Dr. Michael Khan, provost and vice-president Academic at Trent University. “Professor Newhouse has steadfastly committed to teaching at all levels, and Trent has benefited particularly from his mentorship and guidance of first-year students, the teaching of whom he views as a ‘privilege’.”

As a talented and inspiring educator in Indigenous Studies, Prof. Newhouse has supported many landmark achievements at Trent University including the launch of Canada’s first Indigenous Studies Ph.D. program, founding the First Peoples House of Learning, and helping to craft the University mandate that ensures every undergraduate student completes at least one course with an Indigenous focus. His trusted leadership over the decades has helped Trent build Indigenous perspectives in its policies, research ethics and academic programming.

“It is an honour to be recognized by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and 3M. These achievements are the result of the collaborative efforts of many who believe in the importance of bringing Indigenous Knowledge into the academy,” says Prof. Newhouse. “I hold fast to the belief that it is not enough to teach about Indigenous Peoples, but that Indigenous Knowledge can inform pedagogy and academe in all its facets, extending its rafters to include it.”

As director of Trent’s Chanie Wenjack School of Indigenous Studies, and the long-serving chair of Indigenous Studies, Prof. Newhouse has transformed individual lives by providing academic, cultural and emotional support to Indigenous students, many of whom bolstered his nomination with letters of support.

“Professor Newhouse’s ‘gentle rigour’ always encouraged me to go deeper with my reflections, to ask more complex questions, and to strive to connect complex ideas together in a way that was unconventional,” shares one former student in a letter of support. “In many ways he provided a very important foundation for me to launch my academic career as an interdisciplinary scholar and to be courageous with my ideas.”

Nationally, Prof. Newhouse has provided leadership through organizations such as Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship is sponsored by both 3M Canada and the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). Founded in 1986, the Fellowship honours exceptional contributions to teaching and learning at the post-secondary level.