Academic Director’s May Update – Events and Awards

Recognizing instructors with teaching awards and attending professional development events at Celebrate Learning Week (May 6 – 10) and the Thompson-Okanagan Teaching and Learning Conference (May 9 – 10).  

Passionate instructors provide exceptional student experiences and improved student learning outcomes. UBC Okanagan recognizes the contributions of instructors with multiple awards. The Killam Prize recipient for 2024 was Christine Schreyer (Arts and Social Sciences). Recipients for the Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation were Bill Cohen (Education), Julien Picault (Arts and Social Sciences), and Gina Whitaker (Health and Social Development). Congratulations to all award recipients and thank you for your contributions to teaching and learning at UBC. 

The Outstanding Instructor Award is a new recognition for UBCO instructors designed to replace the Honour Roll that was distributed until 2018. The award helps acknowledge more of our excellent instructors and is a steppingstone to other major awards. Outstanding Instructors are selected by their Faculty to recognize positive impact on students’ experiences in the classroom and ongoing commitment to teaching excellence. Each Faculty is allocated awards allowing for the recognition of approximately 5% of its faculty members. There were 28 recipients of the inaugural Outstanding Instructor Award.   

Submission of applications for the 2024 Teaching Fellow Award is open until May 15, 2024. Recipients of the Teaching Fellow Award join the CTL Advisory Group and contribute to teaching and learning on campus. The award has a value of $1000 and a term for a year starting July 1st. It is possible to be a Teaching Fellow in multiple years. Please consider applying to be a Teaching Fellow. 

Celebrate Learning Week is taking place from May 6 to 10. This week is the best opportunity to engage in professional development and advancement for teaching and learning. My own schedule is filled with participating and attending a large diversity of events. In partnership with TRU, the Thompson-Okanagan Teaching and Learning Conference will be held on May 9 – 10. This conference will provide practitioners and researchers with opportunities to share their work in a variety of formats and learn from others. The full schedule is now available. 

I hope your semester ended well and you have time to attend some teaching events in early May before your summer schedule begins. 

Ramon Lawrence 

CTL Academic Director