President’s Teaching Award
2022 Recipients
Maria Assif
Department of English
University of Toronto Scarborough
Ken Derry
Department of Historical Studies
University of Toronto Mississauga
Charlie Keil
Cinema Studies Institute
Faculty of Arts & Science
Melody Neumann
Department of Cell & Systems Biology
Faculty of Arts & Science
Sanjeev Sockalingam
Department of Psychiatry
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
About
Founded in 2006, the President’s Teaching Award (PTA) is the highest honour for teaching at the University of Toronto. The PTA recognizes sustained and ongoing excellence in three interrelated areas:
- Educational Leadership
- Teaching Excellence
- Educational Innovation
Across all three of these categories, nominees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Winners of the PTA receive an annual professional development allowance of $10,000 per year for a period of five years. In addition to this monetary prize, recipients of a President’s Teaching Award are also designated by the University as a member of the Teaching Academy for a minimum period of five years. Through their activities and participation within the Teaching Academy community, these educators play a prominent role in increasing the profile of the University’s commitment to high quality learning and teaching.
Expectations
The President’s Teaching Award (PTA) recognizes and celebrates high quality and innovative learning and teaching demonstrated through a sustained commitment to educational leadership, teaching excellence, and educational innovation, alongside a commitment to principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
PTA winners are awarded an annual professional development allowance of $10,000 for five years. In addition to this prize, winners are appointed to the President’s Teaching Academy for an initial five-year term. After this initial five-year term, the University encourages ongoing participation and engagement with the Academy. The goal of the Teaching Academy is to contribute to the advancement of teaching at the University. The Teaching Academy is committed to University-wide advocacy for teaching and learning based on their involvement in a range of yearly initiatives.
As a member of the Teaching Academy community at the University, recipients are expected to
- Meet regularly to discuss matters relevant to teaching and pedagogy
- Offer advice to the Vice President & Provost and the Director of the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI)
- Participate in activities that promote and model excellent teaching
- Assist in the assessment of teaching when required
- Act as advocates for excellence in teaching internally and externally to U of T
- Play an advisory role for the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation
Academy members may be invited to participate in a range of University events, including addressing Convocation, delivering public lectures, participating in conferences and new faculty orientations, or facilitating teaching and learning workshops. The establishment of the Teaching Academy has created a valuable community of educators who provide ongoing leadership, advice and support to division, department, and central initiatives, as well as University administration.
Eligibility
The PTA is open to any appointed faculty member – tenure stream, teaching stream or clinical faculty – at the University who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to teaching excellence as well as educational leadership at the institutional level or beyond. For this reason, faculty who are pre-promotion are not eligible. Please note this is not an end-of-career award – while nominations of senior faculty are most welcome, this award carries an expectation of active ongoing involvement with the Teaching Academy and is therefore not well-suited to faculty nearing or entering retirement.
For information on other awards more suitable for early career faculty, such as the Early Career Teaching Award, please see the Awards and Funding page on the website of the Vice-President & Provost.
Criteria
To be considered for the PTA, nominees must demonstrate excellence in three equally weighted categories. It is understood that these categories do not exist in a vacuum, but continually animate and inform one another. The Selection Committee is committed to a holistic review of nomination packages and is looking for applicants whose packages tell a story and provide a rich narrative context for their approach to educational excellence.
Across all three categories a commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility should be both salient and explicit in the nomination package. Promoting the integration of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility-related considerations in post-secondary education and practices such as the goals identified in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the University’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism is foundational across the PTA criteria.
1. Educational Leadership
Educational leadership can happen at any level, whether that is institutional, divisional, disciplinary, or community-based. Leadership involves advocating for and implementing significant transformation in teaching and learning. Examples might include building capacity to better integrate and support community-based learning experiences in curricula, designing and then sharing innovative approaches to engaging students in the practice of disciplinary research, or driving forward improvements for the preparation of students in professional practice. Equally key to leadership is the development and fostering of change leading to a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse post-secondary education landscape.
2. Teaching Excellence
Teaching excellence occurs in myriad ways both inside and outside the classroom. Given the necessarily diverse nature of teaching practices across disciplines, we understand teaching excellence as the intentional actions of an instructor to create an exceptional learning environment by engaging in pedagogical practices designed to maximize student learning. This will undoubtedly include a focus on inclusive practices, meaningful and authentic connections to disciplinary research, engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning, and continual and iterative critical reflection on teaching practices.
3. Educational Innovation
Educational innovation is the novel execution of ideas that contribute to more effective teaching and learning practices. Innovation is also about problem-solving – identifying a need and taking steps to investigate, assess and address that need. Innovation goes hand-in-hand with experimentation and may take the form of demonstrated success using teaching grants to improve teaching and learning, impactful adaptation of a new technology or technological practice, effective cross-disciplinary work such as adapting a practice common in one discipline or professional area to a different discipline or professional area, practices of community-engaged and experiential learning, new approaches to integrating disciplinary research into teaching, and much more. Educational innovation also extends beyond the classroom and may lead to reciprocal benefits for partners beyond the University.
Nomination Process
Nominations are solicited through the Deans of Faculties who request submissions from within their divisions. The office of the Dean is responsible for the compilation of documentation.
When preparing a nomination package, nominators should consult the adjudication procedures and detailed instructions for submitting a nomination. Ensure inclusion and completion of the PTA coversheet and checklist.
Please submit the nomination package to awards.provost@utoronto.ca by the nomination deadline March 21, 2023 at 11:59 PM.
Contact
Enquiries regarding the President’s Teaching Award and nomination procedures should be directed to awards.provost@utoronto.ca
Past Recipients
The University of Toronto Teaching Academy, founded in 2006, consists of members who have received the President’s Teaching Award, the highest honour for teaching at the University of Toronto. While individual members of the Academy serve as teaching ambassadors, the collective advances teaching as a valued pillar at the University of Toronto.
Through their activities, these educators play a prominent role in increasing the profile of the University’s commitment to high-quality learning and teaching. The establishment of the Teaching Academy has created a valuable network of people who provide leadership, advice, and support to division, department, and central initiatives, as well as to University administration. The Teaching Academy also plays an advisory role for the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation. The Teaching Academy is committed to University-wide advocacy for teaching and learning based on their involvement in a range of yearly initiatives. The goal of the Teaching Academy is contribute to the advancement of teaching at the University and reflect the wide range of excellent teaching styles and approaches.
The following individuals have received the President’s Teaching Award and are members of the Teaching Academy:
2021
Jamie Kellar, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Jennifer Campbell, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Arts & Science
2020
Aarthi Ashok, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough
Jeremy Lopez, Department of English, Faculty of Arts & Science
Micah Stickel, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
2019
Michelle Craig, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Arts & Science
Paul Piunno, Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga
2018
Pier Bryden, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine
William Cluett, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Jennifer Murdock, Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts & Science
Fiona Rawle, Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga
2017
Michelle French, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine
Njoki Wane, Department of Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
2016
Alison Gibbs, Department of Statistical Sciences, Faculty of Arts & Science
Jonathan Rose, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
James Thomson, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science
2015
Greg Evans, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Diane Horton, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Arts & Science
Andrew Petersen, Department of Mathematical & Computational Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga
2014
Don Boyes, Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts & Science
Shafique Virani, Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto Mississsauga
2013
Chris Perumalla, Department of Physiology and Division of Teaching Laboratories (DTL), Faculty of Medicine
Lawrence Sawchuk, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough
Alissa Trotz, Women & Gender Studies Institute & Caribbean Studies Program, Faculty of Arts & Science
2012
Karen Reid, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Arts & Science
Ivan Silver, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine
Jim Wallace, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
2011
Paul Gries, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Arts & Science
Mark Kingwell, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Science
June Larkin, Women & Gender Studies Institute, Faculty of Arts & Science
Michael Lettieri, Department of Language Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga
Susan J. Lieff, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine
2010
Robert Brym, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts & Science
Steve Joordens, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough
Barbara Murck, Department of Geography, University of Toronto Mississauga
Paul Stevens, Department of English, Faculty of Arts & Science
Mike Wiley, Division of Anatomy, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine
2009
Andy Dicks, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts & Science
Nick Mount, Department of English, Faculty of Arts & Science
Martin Schreiber, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
2008
Zubin Austin, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Helen P. Batty, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Yu-Ling Cheng, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Clare Hasenkampf, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough
2007
Marion Bogo, Faculty of Social Work
David Dunne, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management
Corey Goldman, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science
Susan McCahan, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Judith Poe, Department of Chemical & Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga
2006
Ken Bartlett, Department of History, Faculty of Arts & Science
John Percy, Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga
Richard Reznick, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine
Keren Rice, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts & Science
Carol Rolheiser, Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning, OISE/UT