Richard is one of four recipients chosen from among University of Waterloo instructors
The Distinguished Teaching Award is given to University of Waterloo teachers based on evidence of both intellectual vigour and communication skills in teaching and the instructor’s concern for and sensitivity to the needs of the students.
Prof. Cynthia Richard is the first faculty member of the School of Pharmacy to win this prestigious award. She received nominations from students and colleagues both at Pharmacy and throughout the University.
Dr. Richard embodies everything that the Distinguished Teacher Award represents. She has a passion for education and she is constantly seeking new approaches to enhance the learning experience for students. Our students, faculty and staff are fortunate to have Cynthia as a role model for teaching excellence.
Prof. Richard started at the School in 2009 and spearheads the School’s Professional Practice Team, guiding faculty members in their delivery of content that prepares students for the nuts and bolts of pharmacy practice. The Professional Practice Lab series contains courses that emphasize hands-on learning. In the School’s mock pharmacy space, students learn how to counsel patients on medications, how to use dispensing software, how to administer services like vaccination, and more. She also teaches content related to nutrition and Natural Health Products.
Prof. Richard continuously finds ways to enhance the student experience. For example, she regularly incorporates standardized patients (actors portraying patients) in labs to give students opportunities to practice real-time counselling. She has also made significant improvements to the School’s Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) process. OSCEs are a staple of health-care education, and students commented on how well-run and instructional OSCEs are in preparing them for their pharmacy licensing exams.
Richard’s students greatly appreciate the emphasis she puts on the importance of mental well-being, with many describing her as “welcoming” and “supportive.” Richard has been involved with mental health initiatives around the school, listening and responding actively to student concerns and consistently offering her own support and reassurance to students along with way. Commenters also noted how Prof. Richard always makes sure to check in with students while lecturing, going beyond simply asking for questions and taking time to meaningfully ensure students are comfortable with the lecture and not feeling overwhelmed.
Richard’s commitment to improving teaching and learning is apparent in how she has shared of Pharmacy innovations with the broader educational and pharmacy communities. She is a regular presenter at the largest pharmacy education conference in Canada, the Canadian Pharmacy Education and Research Conference, and has also organized the conference twice. She is actively engaged in educational research, publishing numerous papers that assess the effectiveness of her teaching initiatives, and is a frequent presenter at the Association of Faculties of Pharmacies of Canada conference, as well as at the University of Waterloo’s own Teaching and Learning Conference.
Richard is now the School’s Associate Director of Curriculum. As such, she is tackling a number of projects including an overall curriculum renewal and providing leadership to instructors as courses move to remote delivery, and is recognized for “always [being] the first person to offer assistance.” With her passion to help others she is someone who is quick to take action in order to lead her students and her colleagues to success.
Since its inception in 1975, more than 150 Distinguished Teacher Awards have been awarded to exemplary instructors at the University of Waterloo. The other recipients of the 2020 Distinguished Teaching Awards were Rick Marta (Science) Lowell Ewert (Arts) and Rajinder Pal (Engineering).