Students give top grades

24 profs and four TAs win SU excellence awards

By Paul Power

The University of Calgary Students’ Union has celebrated the accomplishments and positive impact of university instructors with its annual Teaching Excellence Awards.

The Teaching Excellence Awards is an initiative by the SU to honour U of C instructors for their outstanding contributions to the academic life of students. Twenty-four instructors and four teaching assistants received awards this year.

“The Students’ Union is committed to ensuring that students have the very best university experience and believes in recognizing those individuals who contribute to assisting students in reaching their highest potential,” said Brittany Sargent, VP Academic of the SU. “This year’s nominees have made a significant impact on the lives of students.”
The Students’ Union invites students to nominate teachers they feel are deserving of the award each November and March. Professors and teaching assistants (TAs) require multiple nominations to be considered.

Teachers are chosen for their ability to communicate broad and accurate knowledge of subject matter, as well as for their self-confidence and ability to create enthusiasm among students. Other criteria include success at challenging students, ability to cultivate creative thinking on the part of students, availability for consultation outside of class along with fairness and consistency in grading.

The Teaching Excellence Awards winners for 2007-2008 are:

Winners:
• Marilyn Engle (Fine Arts)
• Ron Glasberg (Communication and Culture)
• Jack MacIntosh (Humanities)
• Reed Ferber (Kinesiology)
• Nancy Moules (Nursing)
• Pouyan Jazaveri (Engineering)
• Isabelle Barrette-Ng (Science)
• Anthony Russell (Science)
• Alison Dube (Social Science)
• Kevin Young (Social Science)
• Jessica Ayala (Social Work)
• Valerie Gilbert (Education)
• Ron Murch (Haskayne School  of Business)

Honourable Mention:
• Jo Kadi (Communication
 and Culture)
• Mark Migotti (Humanities)
• Aaron Tubman (Kinesiology)
• Arin Sen (Engineering)
• William Huddleston (Science)
• Heather Addy (Science)
• Ian Hunt (Science)
• Harry Hiller (Social Science)
• Scott Raymond (Social  Science)
• Arlene Eaton-Ericson (Social Work)
• Hussein Warsame (Haskayne School of Business)

Outstanding Teaching Assistants:
• Jamie Mitchell (Medicine)
• Patrick Wise (Science)
• Rim Toukabri (Science)
• Carla Alexander (Social Work)