A Celebration of Teaching Excellence

by Ron J Richard, CFL

On behalf of the University of Windsor, Professor Neil Gold, Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Dr. Alan Wright, Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning, hosted an event that brought together some of the University's finest teaching professors, both past and present, in a Celebration of Teaching Excellence.

This inaugural event celebrated professors who had earned recognition at the national level, through the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education’s (STLHE) Council of 3M Teaching Fellowships Program; at the provincial level via the Ontario Council of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) Teaching Award; and locally, through the Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching.

Instructors, current and retired, mingled and reminisced about their work and their students. Dr Nihar Biswas, Acting Vice President, Research, and Mr. William Wright, past president of the University of Windsor Alumni Association, joined Dr. Wright and Faculty of Education Dean Pat Rogers in reading short citations in honour of each of the award-winning professors. Many deans, faculty colleagues, and family members of the honourees were in attendance, demonstrating their support for the contributions of these individuals to the university’s learning culture, and for the value of teaching and learning in higher education.

Provost Neil Gold

Neil Gold

Professor Gold spoke to the fact that many of us recall and were inspired by a great teacher at some point in our academic development, and that, ultimately, teaching and learning are the “core business of universities” and the support of graduate and undergraduate students “the raison d’etre of the university”, the very heart of why the university exists.

Justin Teeuwin, President WUSA

Justin Teeuwin

Representing the student body, Justin Teeuwen, President of the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance quoted philosopher and educational theorist Alfred North Whitehead, arguing that the role of the university is to bring together “the young and the old in imaginative forms of learning.” He emphasized that students need active, engaging and caring educators.

Dean Pat Rogers

Pat Rogers

Dean Rogers, who introduced the two 3M Teaching Fellows, articulated characteristics that winners of this award share: caring, innovation, and a connection with their students. A 3M Fellow herself, she expressed the importance of faculty recognition and of opportunities to share with other committed educators through organizations such as STLHE and the Council of 3M National Teaching Fellows.

Vice-Provost Alan Wright

Alan Wright

Dr. Wright closed the evening with an address that explored the potential for growth in the practice of teaching, the scholarship of teaching, and the culture of teaching at the University of Windsor. He emphasized the importance of recognizing, celebrating and rewarding teaching at the local, provincial and national levels. Dr Wright also announced that the University of Windsor has been invited to host the national conference of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in 2008, citing this major event as an example of the University’s commitment to the further growth and recognition of a culture of teaching and learning.

The Celebration of Teaching Excellence was an event that, as Neil Gold put it, was long overdue, and it was clear that it was the first of many such events to come.