UNBC Professor Wins Prestigious National Teaching Award
June 15, 2006
A University of Northern
British Columbia professor, who has been with UNBC since it
first opened with full operations, has received Canada’s most prestigious
university teaching award.
International
Studies professor Heather Smith is a 2006 recipient of the 3M Teaching
Fellowship award. She is the first UNBC professor to win the award. It is given annually to professors who excel
in teaching and demonstrate an exceptionally high degree of leadership and
commitment to the improvement of teaching across disciplines. Over the past 20
years, only 208 3M Teaching Fellowships have been presented.
“Heather
is a gifted teacher who personifies much of what defines the educational
experience at UNBC,” says UNBC Vice-President Academic, Howard Brunt. “She is
fair but demanding, inspiring yet challenging. She has a long history of
obtaining outstanding student ratings from students who value the opportunity
to be engaged and to question their own assumptions.”
Dr.
Smith earned her PhD in Political Studies from Queen’s University in 1993. When
she arrived at UNBC in 1994, the University was about to open its Prince George campus.
Over the past dozen years, Dr. Smith has enjoyed popularity among students,
staff, and faculty colleagues, and recently accepted a position as Professional
Development Coordinator with the UNBC Centre for Teaching and Learning in
addition to teaching and serving as Chair of the International Studies program.
Her scholarly research is oriented to Canadian foreign policy, including the
role of gender and the evolution of national climate change policy.
“As
an academic, I’m trained to have my head in the classroom, but genuine teaching
also requires that my heart is there as well,” says Dr. Smith. “The best
teachers I ever had combined a depth of knowledge of their field with a grace
and insight that inspired me to go further in my field and to believe in
myself. They pushed when I needed to be pushed, trusted I could find my way,
and believed in my capacity to integrate new, and sometimes uncomfortable,
insights.”
The
ten recipients of 3M Teaching Fellowship awards for 2006 are being recognized
tonight at a gala banquet in Toronto.
The winners will also be profiled in the June 19 issue of Maclean’s magazine.
Contact:Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC - 250.960.5622