“Today marks a special day for celebrating teaching excellence at Trent University,” said Dr. Cathy Bruce, director of the Centre for Teaching & Learning, speaking at the annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence held at Trent earlier today where the 2015/16 teaching award winners were revealed and a special $124,000 gift announcement was unveiled.

The generous gift is part of the current $50 Million Campaign: Unleash the Potential, and will support two major projects: the creation of four new teaching fellowships and the establishment of the new Deborah Berrill Design Studio.

Named in honour of Trent alumnus and founding director of the University’s School of Education and Professional Learning, Dr. Deborah Berrill ’69, the new design studio will provide a space for the Centre for Teaching and Learning to support faculty across all disciplines in learning about, and implementing the most recent developments in higher education teaching practice. The donor asked to forgo recognition in order to honour Professor Berrill.

"Teaching excellence does not happen by accident, it happens by design,” said Professor Bruce. “This generous philanthropic gift will fund a professional design studio where instructors will be able to develop and test innovative teaching techniques, and try out leading-edge learning technologies. We anticipate that the design studio will include collaborative spaces for viewing and refining teaching practices, for encouraging teaching scholarship and learning together, and for incubating and hatching powerful pedagogies.”

Speaking of the honour, Professor Berrill, who is now retired from Trent, said: “I am thrilled about the Design Studio. Through this space, the Centre for Teaching and Learning will be able to support faculty across all disciplines in learning about, and implementing the most recent developments in higher education pedagogy and practice. I am truly overwhelmed and very humbled that someone who understands the aspects of what excellence in teaching and learning requires wants my name associated with this wonderful studio. I am deeply, deeply honoured.”

In addition to the design studio, the gift will also support the creation of four new Trent Teaching Fellowships. These teaching fellowships will be awarded for three years each and are accompanied by a $6,000 dollar prize to be used for teaching development. Each fellow will engage in teaching scholarship to further improve the learning experiences for students at Trent University. The first two fellowships will begin this fall. The other two fellowships will be launched in fall of 2017. “This is incredibly important work that elevates and celebrates the importance of teaching in the university context,” said Prof. Bruce.

“The donor is delighted to be in a position to help Trent continue to be a place where teaching excellence is not only valued, but well supported,” explained Julie Davis, vice-president, External relations and Advancement at Trent. “The work of the Centre for Teaching and Learning has really impressed our donor. They hope that by providing initial seed funding for four teaching fellowships, that we will be able to find others who share these values to establish endowments to permanently support two teaching fellows per year. These gifts, as part of the Unleash the Potential Campaign, demonstrate the impact that philanthropy can have in many aspects of the University’s mission.”

Along with the gift announcement, provost and vice-president Academic, Dr. Jackie Muldoon, the host of the event, announced the 2015/16 teaching award winners. Recipients were presented with awards and celebrated by students, staff, faculty and members of the community in the Great Hall of Champlain College. The 2015/16 teaching award recipients are:

Dr. Joel Baetz, English Literature, Trent University Durham

Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching

Professor Baetz is presented with the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes faculty and staff members who stand out from others in encouraging learning, bring unique experiences to the teaching space, challenge students to do their best work, serve as inspiration for students, and demonstrate exemplary concern for students. Prof. Baetz is recognized as an authentic, enthusiastic, and insightful educator, and mentor whose carefully considered teaching methodologies engage students as active participants in the process of learning and discovery. One of his nominators stated, “What supersedes Joel’s guidance toward academic excellence is his enthusiastic, insightful and engaging instruction which ignites a passion and desire in his students to pursue excellence, advance critical thought, and relate our studies to the world and life around us.”

Professor David Newhouse, Indigenous Studies and Business Administration

Award for Educational Leadership and Innovation

The Award for Educational Leadership and Innovation recognizes faculty and staff members who make a distinctive impact through their leadership, teaching, innovation, and successful communication. Professor Newhouse is honoured for leading by example, for his dedication to the refinement of teaching methods that facilitate student learning, his vital contributions to undergraduate and graduate programs and the deeply influential role he has played in the development of teaching tools and approaches incorporating Indigenous thought and traditions. “These techniques facilitate student learning, build student confidence, and prepare students for the world beyond university,” said one of Prof. Newhouse’s nominators, adding: “He also has a unique understanding of how to generate student seminar leads that facilitate individual and group learning, model Indigenous responsibility and relationships, and contribute to capacity building at all  levels.”

Ms. Lesley Hewett, Forensic Science

Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance

This award recognizes teaching assistants who excel at encouraging learning in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory or field settings. Highly regarded by her students for her approachability, fairness, and helpfulness, and for her adaptable teaching style, Ms. Hewett, a laboratory demonstrator in the Forensic Science program at Trent, is recognized for her enthusiasm for teaching and her commitment to student learning and success and applauded for her efforts to implement the latest technologies and procedures to ensure that students have access to, and can apply innovative analytical tools and approaches. In response to winning the award, Ms. Hewitt said: “I am very excited and honored to accept this award. It's easy to be passionate and invested in my job with students that are always enthusiastic, responsive, and engaged.”

Dr. Shirley Williams ‘79, Indigenous Studies

CUPE 3908-1 Award for Excellence in Teaching

This award is presented to a member of the part-time faculty at Trent University, represented by CUPE Local 3908 - Unit 1, and recognizes the positive impact contract instructors have on students and their learning. Professor Williams, an elder and professor emeritus in Indigenous Studies at Trent, is recognized as an engaging educator whose caring, patient, and positive approach to teaching fosters a warm, welcoming, and inspiring learning environment for students. Her teaching creates powerful spaces where language and knowledge is imparted to younger generations, and where students feel comfortable, motivated, and supported. In the words of one of her nominators, “Shirley is a great example of all Trent has to offer. She bridges the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canada in a positive and meaningful way. She is a warm and caring person, and uses humour and a big smile to foster a spirit of resilience, determination, and positive actions for the future.”

For more information about the Celebration of Teaching Excellence, including past and current teaching award recipients, visit trentu.ca/teaching