Contract and Limited‑Term Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching Recipients
Congratulations to the 2024 recipient!
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Laurel Schut
College of Sustainability
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Laurel Schut (she/her) is an Instructor at ±«Óătv University’s College of Sustainability. She has (co)designed and currently teaches Food Systems & Sustainability (SUST 3101), Environmental Decision Making (SUST 3000), Introductory Conflict Management for Sustainability (SUST/MGMT 2105), and two summer field courses: Local Approaches to Sustainability (SUST 3301) and Measuring Food Sustainability (SUST/AGRI 3302). Laurel has a deep interest in effective, creative, and care-based teaching and is engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) with current projects including curriculum mapping of the Environment, Sustainability and Society (ESS) program; first-year literacy assessments; improving students’ conflict communication competencies and comfort levels; developing strategies to counter eco-anxiety and build resilience in students; and the trust relationship between teachers and students in higher education. As an advocate for “rest as resistance” (Hersey, 2022), Laurel is also a Faculty Associate with the Centre for Learning and Teaching where she explores the connections (and tensions) between faculty well-being, community care, and teaching effectiveness.
2023
Dr. Tom Ue, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, is this year’s Contract and Limited-Term Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching recipient. He is being recognized for his strong emphasis on inclusive excellence in his teaching and his valuable work with international students, particularly those students whose first language is not English. Dr. Ue’s ability to use his research activities to inform his teaching practices; his commitment to his professional development; and his capacity to help students make connections across different disciplines are truly impressive.
Biography
Professor Tom Ue is a world-leading authority on the Victorian writer George Gissing and a prolific researcher producing insights into great works of English literature and cinema through monographs, book chapters, and journal articles. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society; he has earned the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship; and he is the recipient of ±«Óătv Legacy Awards in research (2022), service (2023), and now teaching (2023). Professor Ue cares deeply about equity and experiential learning: he has supervised numerous students in research projects, and he is currently at work, with his former student James Elgin Munday, on a new book about Ernest Cline’s bestselling novel Ready Player One (2011). According to Munday, “Professor Ue’s teaching, and guidance were significant in my interest in English and my development as a writer. His nomination and subsequent support undoubtedly influenced my winning the Barbara Bennett Chittick Prize. This award, along with Professor Ue’s mentorship, has encouraged me to continue pursuing English and writing.”