Profs lauded for teaching with new Feds award

Thursday, April 17, 2014

head shot of Richard Ennis
Three professors were recognized for their outstanding work in the classroom with the Federation of Students' newly established Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Awards. Dr. Josh Neufeld, Dr. Richard Ennis, and Dr. Chad Wriglesworth received their awards at the Feds Leadership Awards Banquet on April 2. As the professor with the most votes, Feds nominated Dr. Josh Neufeld to also receive the Teaching Excellence Award at the prestigious Partners in Higher Education event hosted by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) on April 8.

A part of Vice-President Education Adam Garcia's action plan, the Feds Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Awards honour professors at the University of Waterloo that have inspired and motivated undergraduates. The winners were chosen by the Feds Teaching Awards Committee, which consists of five at-large students from different faculties. The committee conducted in-class visits, and considered comments by students in the nomination forms before making their decisions. This year, a total of 21 professors were nominated by students. The nomination period was from October 2013 to February 2014.

“The professors that we decided on were noted by students for really going above and beyond,” said Feds Academic Affairs Commissioner Maaz Yasin, who ran the awards program. “Dr. Neufeld engaged his classes with interesting videos, and always showed enthusiasm. Dr. Ennis made his classes laugh, and some students said they never wanted to miss a lecture. Dr. Wriglesworth went off on tangents that entertained his classes, but eventually he managed to connect everything to the course material.”

Along with acknowledging the professors, the awards are a way for students to celebrate excellent teaching. Congratulations to the winners!

by Jacqueline Martinz, Federation of Students