At today's Celebration of Arts event, nine 2016 Arts Awards were presented to faculty, staff and a student in recognition of their exceptional contributions to teaching, service, or research. Congratulations to the recipients, named below with excerpts from their respective nominations.
Arts Awards for Excellence in Teaching
Shannon Dea, Associate Professor, Philosophy
“Professor Dea thinks deeply about pedagogical matters, has unbounded enthusiasm for talking about teaching, and recognizes the diversity of teaching approaches that can be successful. […] She is an outstanding teacher, and an important leader in the Faculty of Arts when it comes to inspiring a culture where teaching matters.”
Jennifer Schulenberg, Associate Professor, Sociology and Legal Studies
“Professor Schulenberg is deeply involved in the teaching, mentoring and supervision of graduate students. [...] She makes the learning process interesting and relevant while simultaneously conveying a strong sense that she is genuinely interested her students’ wellbeing and intellectual progress.”
Arts Awards for Excellence in Service
Dylan Ball, Undergraduate, Arts Student Union
“Dylan has been tireless in his service to Arts during his time as an undergraduate student. He has served the Arts Student Union as both president and acting president, and is currently the VP Exec. […] He is an articulate and committed advocate for students in all venues where he serves, encouraging his peers, staff and faculty members to consider the student perspective – with respect, humour and clarity."
Janice da Silva, Administrative Officer, Psychology
“Janice is committed to finding ways to make the department function more efficiently, but is also concerned with departmental morale. [...] She effectively manages all non-academic aspects of Psych, including staff, budget, space, equipment, and administrative systems. [...] Her unflagging commitment to her department has simply made it a better place.”
Doreen Fraser, Associate Professor, Philosophy
“Important things don’t happen without someone investing dozens and dozens of hard but visible hours, and Professor Fraser invested those in the creation of our new PhD in Applied Philosophy. [...] she is trusted and liked by everyone in the Department, as can be seen by her consistently being elected to every sensitive committee we have.”
Angela Roorda, PhD, Arts Research Development Officer
"Angela's record of work for Arts has made her a byword for gifted, effective, deeply collegial service to the Faculty […] Faculty members and others have for years expressed a striking gratitude, respect and admiration in describing the work that Angela does on their behalf. […] There is no discussing Waterloo’s 7-year-run as the top-ranked SSHRC grant-winning institution in Canada... without discussing the singular gifts that Angela brings to her work for the Faculty of Arts.”
Pat Shaw, Administrative Coordinator for graduate programs, Economics
"For 25 years, Pat has provided truly superb service to the Department, the Faculty of Arts, and to the University. […] She has emphasized the importance of integrating graduate students into the Department […] She has great empathy and is a superb listener – our graduate students regard her with great affection, many keeping in touch with her after their graduation.”
Arts Awards for Excellence in Research
Geoffrey Fong, Professor, Psychology
“In the past five years, Professor Fong has published as astounding 154 peer-reviewed articles. Fully on third of these are in the leading journal in his discipline which has an exceptionally high impact factor. […] His unflagging efforts in generating evidence needed to contradict the profit-motivated arguments of special interest groups, and convince governments to adopt tobacco-reduction policies has ultimately resulted in a substantial decrease in tobacco-related death worldwide.”
Eric Helleiner, Professor, Political Science
“Professor Eric Helleiner is widely recognized as one of the world’s very top scholars in the area of international political economy. His intellectual contributions have not only advanced his field in significant ways but have also enriched public debate and been influential in policy circles both nationally and internationally. His scholarly achievements over the past five years have been nothing short of remarkable.”