A professor at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) has been honoured for his dedication to providing students with meaningful, real-world learning experiences. UNBC Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management professor Pat Maher received the Willi Unsoeld Award last month at the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) – Northwest Region conference in Squamish, BC.

The award is given annually to an educator who has made a profound and lasting impact on the field of experiential education in the association’s northwest region, which is made up of Alaska, Alberta, BC, Idaho, Montana, the Northwest Territories, Oregon, Washington and the Yukon.

“Anytime you win an award, it’s just awesome, but to win an award bearing the name of Willi Unsoeld is even more amazing,” says Dr. Maher of the award bearing the name of the legendary American mountaineer and pioneer of experiential education. “It’s also very touching to have been nominated by two students. To know that I’m making a positive difference in the lives of UNBC students means a lot to me.”

AEE regards experiential education as "a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values.” During his time at UNBC, Dr. Maher has led five field schools to locations such as Haida Gwaii, the Stikine River, and, in 2009, she helped lead “Students on Ice University Expedition to Antarctica” the first-ever undergraduate field school to that continent. In many of his classes, Dr. Maher also involves his students in community-based research projects involving organizations like Parks Canada, Tourism Prince George, and the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. 

“I’m incredibly committed to this method of education. Field schools are just one of the most visible parts of the greater whole,” says Dr. Maher, who is also the editor of the internationally recognized Journal of Experiential Education. “I’m very pleased UNBC’s strategic vision involves such a meaningful and important style of teaching.”

Dr. Maher’s plans for his students in the near future include participation in the next University Expedition to Antarctica set for 2013.

Media: Dr. Pat Maher is currently on sabbatical in Norway. Please email him at maherp@unbc.ca to arrange a time for a phone interview.

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Dr. Pat Maher and former student  Sydney van Loon in Antarctica in 2009.