Nine years ago when the Arts Awards were established by Dean Douglas Peers, we couldn't have imagined the challenge that teaching, working and learning in a pandemic would bring. Our remarkable community has more than risen to that challenge, and we had a record year for nominations for the Arts Awards for Service, Teaching and Research.
Please join us in congratulating this year's recipients!
Excellence in Service
Rita Cherkewski (Graduate Studies and Research)
If you work in the grad world at the University of Waterloo, you know Rita. She is one of the most respected graduate officers on campus and went above and beyond to assist many during the remote shift. Her exceptional service and unwavering commitment to graduate students is the embodiment of what makes UWaterloo and the Faculty of Arts great.
Richard Eibach (Psychology)
Over seven years as associate chair, Richard has been extraordinarily devoted to Psychology's huge undergraduate program. Every decision he makes has student experience at its core. His dedication extends beyond campus, addressing violence and discrimination experienced by members of LGBTQ2+ communities. He is a cherished instructor, advocate, colleague and friend to everyone, and most especially to students.
Kayla Lorentz (Arts Undergraduate Office)
During the shift to remote learning, and in Kayla’s first few months as Manager of Academic Advising, she had to handle an astounding number of truly unprecedented challenges. With phenomenal grace and good judgement, she takes great care to balance students’ needs for more complex support with the well-being of the Arts advising team.
Kim Nguyen (Communication Arts)
Kim provides exceptional service and leadership within the university, including work on the FAUW Equity Committee, the President's Anti-Racism Task Force, W5’s Writing Retreat, and as Faculty representative for W3+, and the Indigenization Working Group. Notably, she led transformational changes in the W3+ organization to become more inclusive of gender, racial and sexual diversity.
Excellence in Teaching
Frankie Condon (English)
Frankie teaches out of her own commitments to antiracism and social justice. Her compassion for students, her understanding of the events that befall them, and her implicit belief that they can succeed helps them cope when circumstances threaten to overwhelm. She is one of the department’s most sought-after supervisors and instructors.
Rebecca MacAlpine (History)
An outstanding doctoral candidate in History, Rebecca is a dedicated, disciplined, and thoughtful student, and she brings those same characteristics to her roles as TA, instructor, and most recently departmental TA Mentor and Coordinator. She is innovative in her approaches to teaching and always excited to find new and effective ways to engage students and play to their strengths.
Janelle Rainville (Communication Arts)
For a variety of courses over the past five years, Janelle’s instructor evaluation scores have been outstanding. She makes strong contributions to course development, structure and delivery, and is exceptionally committed to accessibility. She is a constant pillar of support and encouragement whose dedication to students, both current and alumni, is unrivaled.
James Skidmore (German and Slavic Studies)
Skid’s contributions to teaching excellence as a teacher, supervisor, Arts Teaching Fellow, and online learning expert are well known in Arts and across campus. While many were scrambling to pivot to an online environment, he gave his time and expertise to support colleagues across the university and at other universities via workshops, webinars and personal consultations to help them create student-centred and engaging online courses.
Excellence in Research
Roy Brouwer (Economics)
In his role as excutive director of the Water Institute and through his own research, Roy embodies the ideals of the University of Waterloo: with a focus on environmental economics, his work and contributions are highly interdisciplinary, international, and addresses real and pressing problems relevant to societies and life on the planet.
Stephanie Denison (Psychology)
Stephanie is an outstanding developmental psychologist who has made major contributions to our understanding of cognitive development. Viewed as a rising star by colleagues near and far, her work has, among other impacts, led psychologists to rethink how social and statistical knowledge, seemingly disparate areas, are connected from early in life.
Dan Henstra (Political Science)
Dan’s research on climate disaster risk and preparedness has had a significant impact on public policy and often attracts major media coverage. Whether one considers publications, success in winning competitive research grants, or impact on public policy his performance has been extraordinary.
Imre Szeman (Communication Arts)
Imre’s research accomplishments throughout his career have been outstanding. His inspiring interdisciplinary research covers energy humanities, environmental studies, and social and political philosophy, which is actively applied through his work with the Petrocultures Research Group, the International Panel on Behavior Change, and the Canadian International Council, and more. In 2020, he reached the remarkable career achievement as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.