June 15, 2006

A University of Northern British Columbia professor, who has been with UNBC since itfirst opened with full operations, has received Canada’s most prestigiousuniversity teaching award.

InternationalStudies professor Heather Smith is a 2006 recipient of the 3M TeachingFellowship award. She is the first UNBC professor to win the award.  It is given annually to professors who excelin teaching and demonstrate an exceptionally high degree of leadership andcommitment to the improvement of teaching across disciplines. Over the past 20years, only 208 3M Teaching Fellowships have been presented.

“Heatheris a gifted teacher who personifies much of what defines the educationalexperience at UNBC,” says UNBC Vice-President Academic, Howard Brunt. “She isfair but demanding, inspiring yet challenging. She has a long history ofobtaining outstanding student ratings from students who value the opportunityto be engaged and to question their own assumptions.”

Dr.Smith earned her PhD in Political Studies from Queen’s University in 1993. Whenshe 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 ProfessionalDevelopment Coordinator with the UNBC Centre for Teaching and Learning inaddition to teaching and serving as Chair of the International Studies program.Her scholarly research is oriented to Canadian foreign policy, including therole of gender and the evolution of national climate change policy.

“Asan academic, I’m trained to have my head in the classroom, but genuine teachingalso requires that my heart is there as well,” says Dr. Smith. “The bestteachers I ever had combined a depth of knowledge of their field with a graceand insight that inspired me to go further in my field and to believe inmyself. 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.”

Theten recipients of 3M Teaching Fellowship awards for 2006 are being recognizedtonight 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