Award Criteria
The Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance recognizes teaching assistants who excel at encouraging learning in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory, or field settings.
Eligibility:
Graduate students, undergraduate students, and full-and part-time staff who have assisted in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory, or field settings. Self-nominations are not accepted. This award can only be received once, previous award winners are ineligible for nomination. Please review the list of previous award winners listed below.
How to Nominate:
Nominations will be cumulatively collected during two nomination windows during the winter and fall terms.
Nomination Window 1: April 9-25, 2025
Nomination Window 2: December 18, 2025-January 12, 2026
To nominate an instructor, complete the online form below. The online form will be live from 8AM on the first day of each nomination window and close at 4PM on the final day.
» Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance nomination form
Complete the "Nominator Information" and the "Candidate Information" sections on the Nomination Form. Tell the story! Complete the "Candidate Qualifications" section by providing specific examples of how/why your candidate should be considered for the Award.
For helpful information on writing strong nominations, including exemplars, please see the Trent Teaching Commons' "How to Write a Strong Nomination for a Teaching Award" page.
How is the Award Determined?
The recipient of this award is determined by the Senate Teaching Awards Subcommittee. The Senate Teaching Awards Subcommittee’s decisions are based solely on the information that nominators provide. The strongest nominations provide specific details about a candidate's interaction with students, providing clear examples that illustrate the ways in which they excel at encouraging learning in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory or field settings.
The award has a monetary value of $750 and is accompanied by a framed certificate. The award is announced at Senate and is presented at the Celebration of Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Research in April each year.
Timeline
April-January: Nominations are cumulatively collected during two nomination windows open during the winter and fall terms (nomination windows are listed above).
Early January: Nominations close.
Mid-January: Trent Teaching Commons prepares nomination packages.
Late-January: Collated nomination packages are circulated to the Senate Teaching Award Subcommittee (STAS) for review and scoring.
Early February: Deadline for all STAS members to submit scores to Trent Teaching Commons.
Mid-Late February: Trent Teaching Commons sends finalized shortlist to committee members.
Late February: Meeting to deliberate and decide award.
March: Award recipient, finalists, and nominees are notified.
April: Recipient is awarded their certificate and prize at the annual Celebration of Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Research.
Previous Recipients
- Mark Trumble (Mathematics & Statistics)
- 2023-2024 Conner Leshner (Psychology)
- 2022-2023 William Kim (Biology)
- 2021-2022 Kalyca Hebert (Psychology)
- 2020-2021 Emma Pirie (Indigenous Environmental Science and Studies)
- 2019-2020 Kelly Wright (Chemistry)
- 2018-2019 Sarah McNeilly (Cultural Studies and Media Studies)
- 2017-2018 Malinda Gray (Indigenous Studies)
- 2016-2017 Mike Perry (Canadian Studies)
- 2015-2016 Lesley Hewett (Forensic Science)
- 2014-2015 Joshua Noiseux (Political Studies)
- 2013-2014 Ashley Neale (History)
- 2012-2013 David Marshall (Physics & Astronomy)
- 2011-2012 Evan Senkiw (Politics)
- 2010-2011 Anne Sloggett (Business Administration)
- 2009-2010 Yani Kong (Cultural Studies)
- 2008-2009 Kristina Ottosen (English Literature)
- 2007-2008 Barry R. Best (Chemistry)
- 2006-2007 John Breukelaar (Physics & Astronomy)