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LU appoints three new members to its Board of Governors

LU appoints three new members to its Board of Governors

Martin Gran, Karen Restoule, and Natalie Turvey join Board

(October 29, 2020) A dynamic trio of community members have been added to Laurentian University’s Board of Governors. The three new board members represent a variety of experiences, cultural backgrounds, further holding significant leadership roles  in our communities. 

“Our Board members play a critical role in guiding the University and these three new members have key qualities that will have a positive impact as we move forward. Laurentian will benefit from their experiences and leadership for many years to come. We are very fortunate to benefit from their insights and commitment to community.” Robert Haché - President and Vice-Chancellor, Laurentian University

“We could not be more pleased to welcome Martin, Natalie, and Karen to the Board. They come to us with an impressive depth of experience and exemplify a commitment to public service and volunteerism that will absolutely compliment our existing slate of engaged and dedicated Board members.  We are very much looking forward to working with each of them and extend a heartfelt welcome to the Laurentian community.” Claude F. Lacroix - Chair of the Board of Governors, Laurentian University

Martin Gran 
A hard-working self-starter, Martin Gran started as a student with Pioneer Construction and took on a variety of roles throughout his career, eventually ascending to one of the organization’s most senior roles as Chief Financial Officer, not only for Pioneer Construction but also for Fisher Wavy and the group’s equity arm, Silver Peak Capital. He has also served on the Board of Directors at the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) from 2002 to 2018 and took on the role of President of the Board in 2008, the youngest to do so in the organization’s more than 90 year history.

Gran is a graduate of Laurentian University (Master of Business Administration, 1995) as well as Western University (Economics, 1991), and he also holds a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) designation. He lives in Greater Sudbury along with his wife and three children. 

Karen Restoule 
Currently, Karen Restoule serves as the Alternate Executive Chair of Tribunals Ontario where she has been leading the delivery of administrative justice across Ontario. Previously, she worked with Indigenous leadership to advance policy in her role as Director of the Justice Sector at the Chiefs of Ontario. Karen is also the co-founder of BOLD Realities, a non-profit organization that convenes discussions and develops tools to strengthen relationships between industry and Indigenous leadership.

Restoule is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa’s French Common Law Program, where she was inducted into the Faculty of Law’s Honour Society in 2014 for using her legal education as a foundation for making a significant contribution to society. In 2018, she was named Public Policy Forum’s 2018 Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow. 

Karen is a member of Dokis First Nation and a beneficiary of the Robinson-Huron Treaty 1850.

Natalie Turvey 
A world traveler and pioneer, Natalie Turvey is a passionate advocate of journalistic ethics. The current President and Executive Director of The Canadian Journalism Foundation, a Toronto-based not-for-profit which supports and celebrates excellence in journalism through education, fellowships, research and one of the industry's most prestigious awards programs. 

Under Turvey’s leadership, the CJF co-developed a national news literacy curriculum that teaches students to cultivate habits of news consumption and critical thinking which support informed citizenship, and later expanded the program to voting-age citizens to help all Canadians understand the difference between fact-based journalism and misinformation in the digital world. This year, Natalie is leading the launch of a Black Journalism Fellowship program to develop emerging talent and give rise to Black voices and Black stories in Canada’s major media.

Turvey is a graduate of Laurentian University (Baccalauréat en éducation), Western University (Bachelor of Arts), and European University (Master of Business Administration) in Brussels, Belgium.
 

Laurentian to Present Honorary Doctorate to Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden

Laurentian to Present Honorary Doctorate to Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden

Award to be bestowed to trail-blazing scientist during 2020 Convocation Ceremony

(October 28, 2020) Laurentian University is set to commemorate the remarkable achievements of Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden with a Doctor of Science, Honoris causa, at this fall’s convocation on October 31st.

Kalin-Seidenfaden is a fundamental contributor to “The Sudbury Protocol”, an ecological approach to environmental reclamation, which was then branded at Laurentian in 2016. Tussling with the cultural and industrial norms that excluded women in historically male-dominated fields, she has been an active member of the scientific community since 1963. Her determination served her well through an eventful career as an environmental consultant, culminating in her becoming the cofounder of Boojum Research.

Kalin-Seidenfaden conducted pivotal research in 1978 on the Madawaska uranium tailings in Bancroft and Elliot Lake. Her findings ultimately led to developing ecologically safer approaches to addressing mining tailings, including biological polishing and ARUM (acid reduction using microbiology). 

For the next three decades, Boojum Research tackled environmental reclamation projects including acid mine drainage with INCO and Falconbridge sites in Levack and Sudbury, Kam Kotia mine near Timmins, pyrite tailings at South Bay mine near Thunder Bay, and international projects in Germany and Australia. In 2002, Kalin-Seidenfaden donated Boojum Research’s large volume of research reports to the J.N. Desmarais Library. She has continued this relationship with the library, supporting the collection with new contributions as her body of knowledge has grown.

Join us in recognizing Kalin-Seidenfaden’s remarkable contributions as part of the 2020 Fall Convocation ceremony. 

QUOTE
“I am delighted that Margarete Kalin-Seidenfaden has accepted an honorary degree from Laurentian University. Her global leadership in ecological engineering and environmental reclamation is a perfect example for our students of how their work and research can truly make a difference.” Robert Haché, President and Vice-Chancellor of Laurentian University
 

LU to maintain remote delivery in winter semester

LU to maintain remote delivery in winter semester

Senate votes to deliver classes through online mediums amidst pandemic

October 21, 2020

 

Yesterday, the Laurentian University Senate voted in favour of delivering the Winter 2021 semester via remote delivery. The discussion on the question focused first and foremost on providing the best possible education for our students while safeguarding the health, safety and wellness of students, faculty, and staff.

 

Other factors in the discussion included the advances made in delivering classes via remote learning, the requirements related to hands-on learning, and the overall quality of the student experience. The University will continue to deliver a small number of classes in-person, in a similar way to the fall 2020 semester, in which less than 1% of classes were delivered in person.

 

Additionally, the University will continue to welcome students in residence apartments on campus. Staff have been working diligently to implement and maintain COVID-19 protocols to keep students safe and, amidst the circumstances, have created a secure environment for students to live and learn. With recent announcements from the federal government, which welcome international students to Canada, Laurentian is pleased to host students from around the world in compliance with the campus’ COVID-19 readiness plan.

 

The University continues to support students, faculty, and staff through their day to day activities remotely. Laurentian University has been a leader in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and was the first public university in Canada to recognize the severity of the pandemic, suspending in-person classes in March, 2020. The winter semester takes place from January 2021 to April 2021.

LU Professor Nets Provincial Award

LU Professor Nets Provincial Award

Aaron Langille of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science receives 2019- 2020 OCUFA Teaching Award

(October 19, 2020) Laurentian University is pleased to announce that Dr. Aaron Langille, Master Lecturer in the School of the Environment within the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture, is the recipient of this year's Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) Teaching Award.

The organization, which represents faculty associations across the province, calls Professor Langille an inspiration for his tireless advocacy on behalf of students. His use of cutting-edge technology to improve the student experience is a particular highlight. This leadership and enthusiasm for teaching are what lead to his receipt of not only the Laurentian University Student Choice Teaching Award in 2016, but also the Laurentian University Award for  Excellence in Teaching in 2017. He was also an inaugural teaching fellow in technology-enabled learning, while also joining the team at eCampus Ontario as one of their Open Education fellows.

This is not the first time Professor Langille has received recognition for his work. In 2016, he received the annual Laurentian Student's Choice Teacher of the Year Award. His voice is well known to Greater Sudbury listeners in his role as a technology columnist with CBC Radio. His discussions on everything from combatting Zoom fatigue to the viability of the federal COVID-19 app, or even his Mega Man tattoo, are always a hit with listeners.


QUOTE
"This recognition is very well deserved, and Laurentian University is so fortunate to have Dr. Langille as a faculty member. In Dr. Langille's teaching philosophy document, he quotes Bob Solomon, who states, 'To be a good teacher, you have to be part stand-up comic, part door-to-door salesman, part expert, part counselor.' Aaron goes above and beyond each of these aspects of the job, in his use of humour to engage students in complex material, his ability to encourage colleagues to try new technologies, and his advocacy for students in not only their scholastic achievements but also their overall well-being." Dr. Shelley Watson, Professor and Associate Vice-President of Learning and Teaching, Laurentian University

Laurentian University at Sixty

Laurentian University at Sixty

A time to reflect on an eventful past, and continue aiming for a brighter future

Laurentian University started as a modest federation of universities, but it was not long before our hallowed halls, laboratories, theatres, and sports fields resonated with all manner of breakthroughs, discovery, and victories. At the crossroads of culture, art, science, and politics, we grew to become northern Ontario’s foremost university.

This fall marks Laurentian’s 60th anniversary, northern Ontario’s first university, a time to reflect on an eventful past, and continue aiming for a brighter future.

It is at Laurentian where Indigenous leaders received and gave consideration to an apology from the United Church of Canada in 1986, the first of four churches to apologize for the crimes of residential schools. 

It’s where the ‘Sudbury Story’ was written in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a world-class example of our environmental research at the service of the community’s regreening efforts. 

Where, in the 1970s a cultural revolution was sparked in Francophone Ontario and emerged institutions like the Théâtre du Nouvel Ontario and Éditions Prise de parole, providing the community with a collective platform to create and inspire. 

Laurentian again made history this year when it became the first public university in Canada to recognize the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and suspend in-person activities, further becoming the first to transition fully from in-person to remote learning. Our full community mobilized, ensuring that the vast majority of our students finished the 2020 Winter term on time. 

Laurentian is looking ahead and championing research that will not only greatly benefit our communities, but also take us forward into the next sixty years of our University.

Historians will one day write about the feats of Dr. Jennifer Walker, who is a Haudenosaunee member of Six Nations of the Grand River, and who is contributing evidence-based data to First Nations leadership in Ontario as they develop health policy in the face of COVID-19. 

They will speak about the collaboration between Laurentian’s Dr. Thomas Merritt and Dr. Gustavo Ybazeta of Health Sciences North Research Institute and the City of Greater Sudbury, who are testing waste water to create an early-detection system for COVID-19. 

They will underscore the powerful examples of leadership by Laurentian students, like Tyler Pretty, who tirelessly volunteered during the shut-down to deliver groceries for people who could not leave their homes, screened Glencore employees for COVID-19, and who still finds time to contribute to improving French-language health care services in the community. 

As we kick-start our 60th year, let’s turn our outlook to the over 66,000 Laurentian graduates who are having an impact around the world, defining itself as a destination of choice for over 9,000 students representing some 75 distinct countries of citizenship These alumni are succeeding and boast among the highest post-graduation salaries and employment rate in the province. Laurentian is further ranked first in earned research income growth, proving that our graduates, our faculty and our staff are leading the way in Ontario’s economy, workforce, and intellectual capital. 

Laurentian is rising to the challenge of history. Our enrolment numbers are on target, an important sign that, despite the pandemic, students continue to seek out and trust Laurentian University for advancing their academic pursuits and living their best student experience.

Zaawaande Pagweyaan Giizhigad : Weweni wii minadaapnamiing miinwa minwendimowin ode Laurentian Chi kinomaagegamik

Zaawaande Pagweyaan Giizhigad : Weweni wii minadaapnamiing miinwa minwendimowin ode Laurentian Chi kinomaagegamik

Wii mikwenmigaaswaat gaa niboojik ode Residential Kinomaagegamikong, gaa zhaabwiijik, miinwa waa bi maadzijik.

(English follows)

(Waabbagaa Giizis 30, 2020) Laurentian Chi kinomaagegamik miinwa da mikwenmaan Waabbagaa Giizis 30th wii awaang Zaawaande Pagweyaan Giizhigad.  Kina goyaa nendimigaaza wii biiskaang ezaawaandek ka mikwenmanaanik ga niboojik ode Canada’s Residential Kinomaagegamigoon.  Ka mishkogaabwimi kinago ka mikwenmanaa ode gaazhajik.

Aaniish Zaawaande?  Maaba Phyllis Webstad, Residential Kinomaagegamikong gii zhaa Secwepemc Nation gii binjibaa.  1973 ngodwaaswi gii piitzid, nookmissan gii yamaagoon zaawaande pagweyaan.   Kinomaagegamikong giizhaat gii mikamgaaza wi pagweyaan.  150,000 Anishinaabeg, Nitaamgayaajig, Inuit miinwa Metis gii zhaawag Residential kinomaagegamigoon biinish 1996.  80,000 gii zhaabwiiwag.  Aapji gii nigaachgaazwag giiyabi go gimooshtoonaa wi gaa dodaagaaswaat.  Nishin ginwaabjigaadeg gaazhiwebag noojmowin zhe te.

Zaawaande Pagweyaanan zhitoonan maaba Emma Petahtegoose ode Atikameksheng.  Nishin besho n’jibaat eshtood ninda pagweyaanan.  Nishin ge egaachi piitzid gewii naadmaget.  Gichi nendaami Emma gii mazinbiiyang maanda pagweyaan.  Ode wii daandim ninda teg Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre.  Niishtana wii nangdenoon, zhoonyaa dash daa debenaanaa’ ekinomaagzijik ode Laurentian Chi-kinomaagegamikong.   Miisa eko-n’sing Emma gii zhitood ninda pagweyaanan.

Laurentian gii zhiwebag kichipiitendagwat maaba Canada giigji naadmowaat Nitaamgayaanjin.  1986, goonda United Church of Canada n’tam gii kidwook gaawiin jidaa gaa zhichgeyaang maanda Residential Kinomaagegamik gii zhiwebag.  Maanpii maaba ginwaachigan bit 1986 kaawiin jidaa gii kidwook.  Mii maanpii Art Solomon gii makadekepa gii wiindimowaat naame-gamikoong eniigaanzinjin, besho ode Parker Gamik.  Nongo dash naadmagaazwag ekinomaagzijik weweni wii kinomaagaazwaat.  Nishin ginwaabjigaadeg maanda gaabizhiwebag mewzhaa niigaan dash nongwa gidizhaami.

***
Laurentian University once again marks September 30th as Orange Shirt Day. All community members are encouraged to wear orange as a symbol of awareness to commemorate the loss of life brought about by Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. The day also celebrates resilience and resurgence, as we all pay tribute to the survivors and their descendants.

Why orange? It all started with Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor of the Secwepemc Nation. In 1973, when she was six, her grandmother bought her a beautiful orange shirt for the first day of school. When Phyllis arrived at school, everything was stripped away from her, including the shirt. More than 150,000 First Nation, Inuit and Métis children were forced to attend Residential Schools before the last one closed in 1996. It’s estimated that there are 80 000 survivors.. The effects of this cultural genocide continues to be felt today. Even children who never attended the schools have been affected through intergenerational trauma. Acknowledging these horrors is instrumental in the healing journeys of many.

Our orange shirts are designed by Atikameksheng Anishinawbek artist Emma Petahtegoose. It was important to us that the designer of the orange shirt had a connection to the place where our institution is situated. Also, given that this shirt is a symbol of reconciliation and hope, it was critical that the shirt be designed by a youth. We give thanks for Emma’s beautiful design, her beautiful work. A limited quantity of these shirts will be on sale at the Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre. They are $20, and all proceeds go to Indigenous student bursaries and scholarships here at Laurentian.This will be our third Orange Shirt Day with Emma’s design.

Laurentian is the site of a key event in Canada’s attempts to reconcile with Indigenous nations. In 1986, the United Church of Canada apologized for its role in the Residential School system, the first church to do so. A cairn marks the spot where survivors and advocates from across our nation gathered in 1986 to mark the apology. It is also where Art Solomon fasted and challenged the church to “get real or get lost”, just down the hill from the Parker Building. Our institution continues to strive for reconciliation through our tricultural mandate, as well as in providing bursaries for Indigenous students. We also do it by marking this day to acknowledge our awareness of the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools; it is our responsibility to move forward together.

Laurentian Announces Senate Sub-Committee Decision on Program Admission Suspension

Laurentian Announces Senate Sub-Committee Decision on Program Admission Suspension

Academic Planning Subcommittee received, considered supporting information relating to each individual program

(September 25, 2020) Laurentian University today announced the outcomes of the work of the Academic Planning Subcommittee of the Senate which met late last week to discuss a memo communicated to the committee by the Provost on the suspension of admissions to 17 programs announced by Laurentian at the end of July, and following the September 15th decision of Senate. 

At its meeting of last Friday, the Academic Planning Subcommittee received and considered the supporting information relating to each individual program. After deliberations, the Academic Planning Subcommittee approved the following motion:

“That the VPAP (Provost and Vice President, Academic) contact the units listed on the memorandum of July 30 2020 where there is not a major modification as per our IQAP (Institutional Quality Assurance Process), and invite them to provide some insight into their program.”

Based on the motion made by the Academic Planning Subcommittee for the programs in question, it was determined by the University administration that new admissions to the 17 programs should remain suspended until brought back to the Academic Planning Subcommittee.

This collegial governance process to which Laurentian is committed, is one which provides the highest quality of programming for all Laurentian University students. We commend the Academic Planning Subcommittee in its mandate to provide students with an exceptional academic experience.

LU Researchers Receive Federal Award for Climate Change Project

LU Researchers Receive Federal Award for Climate Change Project

CFI to support analysis of changing permafrost and carbon cycling

(September 24, 2020) Laurentian University is proud to announce that three of our community members received federal support for a timely project. The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has awarded a share of this year's John R. Evans Leaders Fund to Nathan Basiliko, Pascale Roy-Léveillée, and Nadia Mykytczuk.

The new funding will allow the researchers to carry out critical work on how climate change affects permafrost in Canada, and understanding what this means for the massive amount of carbon stored in these perennially frozen soils. Cutting edge research requires cutting edge tools. The funds will give the team access to an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) system, as well as a field-portable H-nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) spectrometry system.

One of the team's major goals is to categorize frozen soils and substrates as they warm. This will allow for the prediction of carbon and pollutant responses to climate change. It will also yield valuable information about how these physical changes to frozen ground may affect physical infrastructure, including difficult-to-manage industrial (mine, forestry) wastes in colder climates.

As part of our #imagine2023 strategic plan, Laurentian University is dedicated to seeking out compelling solutions for society’s complex challenges through interdisciplinary knowledge. This work will support advances in geocryology, biogeochemistry, environmental microbiology, and geotechnical investigations, all of which build directly on Laurentian’s research strengths.

QUOTE
"We are excited and grateful for the funding from CFI. It provides a major investment into infrastructure and research on frozen ground. As the temperature of frozen soils and substrates warms up, the amount of unfrozen water increases. Even at below-zero temperatures, a fraction of unfrozen water supports biological activity responsible for movement of carbon and pollutants. The amount of below-zero-Celsius liquid water also has important implications for ground stability and physical infrastructure in permafrost environments." Nathan Basiliko, Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2 Environmental Microbiology) at the Vale Living With Lakes Centre of Laurentian University

Sudbury 2050 Architecture Competition Jury Announced

Sudbury 2050 Architecture Competition Jury Announced

Illustrious panel will select short-list for public presentations and competition winners this fall

(September 18, 2020) The McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA) is proud to announce the jurors of the Sudbury2050 Urban Ideas Competition. A roster of experienced local, national and international jurors will evaluate entries on their visionary, phased, and integrated thinking, as well as their ability to provide a visual language of their process through design. The initial design brief stated:

This competition challenges entrants to create a new vision for the urban core of the City of Greater Sudbury. A 2050 vision that is far-reaching and one that will serve the city well in a rapidly changing global environment.

The competition drew to a close on August 28, 2020, with submissions from all over the world, in both the Open and Student categories. The jury will soon have a clear picture of the rich tapestry of creativity that competition entrants have provided.

The Sudbury 2050.ca jury is composed of internationally recognized architects, designers, academics, politicians, entrepreneurs, and community representatives. 

Local political figures on the jury include Hon. Brian Bigger, Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury and City Councillors Geoff McCausland and Deb McIntosh, while members from the McEwen School of Architecture in Sudbury include professors Shannon Bassett, David Fortin (MSoA Director) and Ted Wilson, along with Graduate students Britney Ottley-Perrotte and Tristan O’Gorman. Victor Kolynchuk, a practicing architect with Architecture49 Inc., based in northern Ontario, rounds out the local jurors.

Notable international jurors include: 

  • visionary architect Jason McLennan, originally from Sudbury, author of the Living Building Challenge that posits Regenerative Design as our environmental responsibility and architect for Seattle’s new net zero ‘Climate Pledge Arena’; 
  • graphic design guru Bruce Mau, also originally from Sudbury, Co-Founder of the Massive Change Network (MCN) and recent author of MC24: Bruce Mau's 24 Principles for Designing Massive Change in your Life and Work with global influence design education and innovation; 
  • architect Marianne McKenna, whose Canadian architectural firm KPMB has received over 300 design awards and received 16 Governor General Medals in Architecture, including one for the Royal Conservatory, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in Toronto; 
  • Lisa Rochon, award-winning journalist for the national Globe and Mail newspaper, architecture critic and author, and founder of CityLab in Toronto. 
  • architect Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, design advocate who leads a high-end practice of architecture, interior design, and product design in both Toronto and New York

Along with Mau, McKenna, McLennan, Rochon and Taylor, who are all members of the McEwen International Advisory Board, other jury members from the Advisory Board include philanthropist and entrepreneur Cheryl McEwen and Dr. David Fortin, Director of the McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA). The MSoA is the major sponsor for the competition.

The full Sudbury 2050.ca jury includes:

  • Shannon Bassett, MAUD, BARCH, MRAIC, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Brian Bigger, Mayor of Sudbury (Sudbury, Ontario, Canada)
  • David Fortin Ph.D., Director, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Victor Kolynchuk, MAA, OAA, LEED AP, Architecture49 Inc. (Winnipeg)
  • Bruce Mau, Massive Change Network and Chief Design Officer, Freeman (Chicago, USA)
  • Geoff McCausland, BMus, ARCT, IBDP, Pro.Dir., City of Greater Sudbury Councillor (Sudbury, ON)
  • Cheryl McEwen, Make My Day Foods Inc. and McEwen International Advisory Board (Toronto)
  • Deb McIntosh, City of Greater Sudbury Councillor (Sudbury, ON)
  • Marianne McKenna (OC), Partner, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB) Architects (Toronto)
  • Jason F. McLennan, McLennan Design and author of the Living Building Challenge (Bainbridge Island, USA)
  • Tristan O’Gorman, Graduate Student, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Britney Ottley-Perrotte, Graduate Student, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Lisa Rochon, Architectural Critic, Urbanist, Design Strategist, Citylab (Toronto, ON)
  • Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, OAA and Founder, Taylor Hannah Architect Inc. (Toronto ON and New York, USA)
  • Ted Wilson, OAA, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)

To read about the jury, click here.

The jury process will be coordinated by Jury Facilitator Toon Dreessen, OAA, FRAIC, President of DCA Architects in Ottawa and past-President of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). The Professional Advisors for the competition remain Terrance Galvin, MRAIC and Founding Director of the McEwen School of Architecture and Blaine Nicholls, FRAIC, retired OAA member and Chair of the original Steering Committee for the School of Architecture.

The winners of the Sudbury2050.ca competition, including the People’s Choice Award, will be announced later in the fall of 2020, following full jury deliberations. This phase of the competition promises to have excitement and creativity written all over it.

Laurentian recognize four professors for their excellence in teaching

Laurentian recognize four professors for their excellence in teaching

LU’s Teaching Excellence Award and Teaching Fellowship Recipients

(August 25, 2020) It is with great pleasure that the Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning and the Centre for Academic Excellence of Laurentian University announce this year’s recipients of the Teaching Excellence Awards and Teaching Fellowships. Join us in congratulating Dr. Tammy Gaber, Dr. Diana Urajnik, Dr. Jorge Virchez, and Dr. Robert Schinke. 

McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA) professor Tammy Gaber is the recipient of this year’s Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Gaber was one of the founding faculty members at the MSoA and recently finished her term as Graduate Coordinator. Dr. Gaber believes challenging the canon, by including diverse perspectives, is fundamental to preparing students for the global reality of architecture in a more empathetic and relevant  manner. Dr. Gaber says, “it is with great pride I see the trajectories of my former and current students.”

Sessional Instructor for Psychology; Human Kinetics; NOSM; School of Rural and Northern Health, Dr. Diana Urajnik, is the recipient of the Part-time Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Urajnik. She has been described as someone who “provide[s] unparalleled guidance and support.”

Full Professor in the Department of Geography, Dr. Jorge Virchez is the recipient for Laurentian’s Teaching Fellowship Program. In his role as teaching fellow, Dr. Virchez hopes to support faculty members, administrative staff, and students to have a better understanding of internationalisation, cultural diversity, religions and teaching techniques regarding international issues. “I give my 100% during each class by creating ways of keeping the desire of the student to listen to me by enjoying the class while learning” says Dr. Virchez in a recent interview. 

Human Kinetics Professor, Dr. Robert Schinke, is the recipient of the Laurentian Teaching Fellowship Program.“What I share with students is value-based, content-based, and grounded in practicality,” saids Dr. Schinke in a recent interview. “Working selflessly to move further forward brings meaning in our work and hopefully to our students.”

“These awards celebrate teaching that has lasting, positive effects on students and deepens their learning” Serge Demers, former Interim Vice-President, Academic and Provost of Laurentian University. “It is a pleasure to give these remarkable educators the recognition they deserve.”
 

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