2021 Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Awards winners announced

The Students’ Union (SU) is honouring 40 faculty members, instructors, and teaching assistants for their commitment to student success from a safe distance this year. The annual Teaching Excellence Awards is the SU’s campus-wide recognition program which gives undergraduate students the chance to decide which instructors and teaching assistants have made a lasting, positive impression over the past year. Students determine all nominees and winners.

“This year has been extremely challenging for teaching and learning at all levels,” says Semhar Abraha, SU vice-president academic. “Everyone has had to adapt and sacrifice in different ways. We are so proud to be able to highlight teachers who went above and beyond to support their students, especially during this difficult year. We hope these teachers know how much they are appreciated.”

This year, the SU received a record 1,356 nominations from students. The SU’s Teaching Excellence Awards committee shortlisted 125 nominees and analyzed approximately 2,500 evaluation forms. For the second year, the SU will forgo an in-person awards ceremony. The committee has produced a short video to congratulate and celebrate these instructors virtually.

Winners of the SU Teaching Excellence Award will receive an Apple Award and a framed certificate when they are able to return to campus. In recognition of the winners, the SU will also make a $5,000 donation to the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.

The SU has been honouring outstanding teaching at the university since 1975, with the Teaching Excellence Awards being handed out in their current form for the first time in 1984. From the start, the awards were intended to provide students with the opportunity to give feedback on the quality of university instruction. They have contributed to teaching excellence remaining a key priority for the institution, exemplified by the Eyes High vision to enrich the quality and breadth of learning at the University of Calgary. 

Honourable Mention – Teaching Assistants

• Joshuah J. Lockett-Harris, Faculty of Arts
• Colton Unger, Faculty of Science

Teaching Excellence Awards - Teaching Assistants

• Valerie Brunskill, Faculty of Science
• Hoi Ching Bernice Cheung, Haskayne School of Business
• Laura Elizabeth Crack, Faculty of Kinesiology
• Milanpreet Kaur, Faculty of Science
• Eden-Raye Lukacik, Faculty of Arts 
• Marc Herman Lynch, Faculty of Arts
• Mohana Mukherjee, Faculty of Arts
• Henrique Gabriel Gularte Pereira, Faculty of Science
• Meghan Sharp, Faculty of Science
• Lareeb Umer, Faculty of Science

Teaching Excellence Awards - Honourable Mention

• Eleonora Buonocore, Faculty of Arts
• Edwin Cey, Faculty of Science
• Corey Flynn, Faculty of Science
• Tiffany Gloeckler, Faculty of Social Work
• Barbara Martin, Werklund School of Education
• Steven Paget, Haskayne School of Business
• Nigel Shrive, Schulich School of Engineering
• Richard Zach, Faculty of Arts

Teaching Excellence Awards

• Ebba Kurz, Cumming School of Medicine
• Derritt Mason, Faculty of Arts
• Craig Maynes, Faculty of Arts
• Mary Grantham O'Brien, Faculty of Arts
• Annette Tézli, Faculty of Arts
• Carol A. Gibbons Kroeker, Faculty of Kinesiology
• Dr. Fenner Stewart, Faculty of Law
• Krista Wollny, Faculty of Nursing
• Ryan Henry, Faculty of Science
• Sean Stotyn, Faculty of Science
• Mindi Summers, Faculty of Science
• Lola Emiko, Faculty of Social Work
• Søren R. Boysen, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
• Justin Knibbe, Haskayne School of Business
• Ayesha Malhotra, Haskayne School of Business
• Alexander Mark Bruton, Schulich School of Engineering
• Yves Pauchard, Schulich School of Engineering
• Miwa A.Takeuchi, Werklund School of Education

Hall of Fame

• Mayi Arcellana-Panlilio, PhD, Cumming School of Medicine
• Cari Din, Faculty of Kinesiology