Western Teaching Awards

Tim Blackmore challenges his students to find their own voice and confidence of opinion. Blackmore’s office frequently overflows with students engaged in conversations and debates. He holds reviews sessions in the residence halls and is a regular member of the ‘Professor Panel,’ an event organized by the Writing Support Centre for incoming Western students. His teaching excellence has been recognized many times over. Six times named one of Western’s Top Teachers in the Maclean’s Guide to Canadian Universities, Blackmore has a drawer-full of USC Teaching Honour Roll Certificates of Excellence, and has received the FIMS Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.  

 

Christopher Keep Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities Christopher Keep inspires his students and colleagues. His astonishing teaching evaluations speak to his ability to connect in the classroom, but he does not excel solely as a charismatic lecturer. He has developed the teaching method he calls ‘The Learning Cell,’ whereby students form small groups and learn from each other. The exercise has gone viral and been adopted and adapted by instructors across the Department of English and beyond. As Undergraduate Studies chair, Keep also has introduced many curriculum reforms (including a certificate in theatre arts) that have been wildly popular.  

 

Graham Smith Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Science During his 26-year academic career, Graham Smith has been recognized as a teacher exceptionally invested in his students’ welfare. Not only are his courses in high demand, they are constantly cited among the best the university offers. His teaching evaluations place him far above the norm for his department and his faculty. His success has also gone beyond the classroom. During his time at Western, Smith has supervised more than 77 undergraduate honor theses. The Pleva Award is the culmination of several teaching awards won or nominated for during his career.  

 

Tom Stavraky Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry Tom Stavraky, longstanding instructor and lab manager, has one of the highest teaching loads in the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology. A previous winner of the Marilyn Robinson Award, he consistently receives high ratings for his teaching. Stavraky is renowned for his in-class demonstrations and props demonstrating physiological principles. An enthusiastic participant in outreach programs for Western science education, he developed a CD-ROM-based system for distance instruction. These unique materials were used in the first-year physiology classes in schools of nursing at Western and Fanshawe College and were later purchased and published even more widely by a commercial academic publisher.

 

  

Marilyn Robinson Award for Excellence in Teaching  

 

Benjamin R. Lester Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Science   

Since joining the economics department in 2007, Benjamin Lester has won a different teaching award each year, including Professor of the Year in Economics and the University Students’ Council Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. These come as no surprise to anyone who has visited Lester’s classroom. He seamlessly integrates complex mathematical concepts with Real World intuition and relevance. Lester has also become established as a key advisor to graduate students, known for his insightful counsel, encouragement and support through the transition to graduate school and beyond.    

 

 

Angela Armitt Award for Excellence in Teaching by Part-Time Faculty  

 

Marla Wolf Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science   

One of the secrets to Marla Wolf’s success is how she engages students as individuals. She routinely arrives early to classes and goes around the lecture room to talk to students to learn something about them. This means she is able to refer to many students by name, even in a class of 400. But being personable doesn’t count if you can’t deliver, and there is no question Wolf, who completed her undergraduate and PhD degrees at Western, brings psychology to life with her innovative use of in-class demonstrations and effective use of other teaching aids. Her teaching evaluations are among the highest in psychology.