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School of Human Resource Management Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
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Accolades

The School of Human Resource Management (SHRM) at York is Canada’s leader in HRM education. We help students become future leaders in human resource management by studying organizational behaviour, industrial psychology, industrial and labour relations, talent management, compensation, performance management, labour and employment law and policy. Our respected programs have also been voted best in Canada for the third consecutive year, bringing home all four Canadian HR Reporter Reader’s Choice Awards for best education in the field.

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Faculty Awards

Apart from research, our faculty make crucial contributions in teaching and learning. Their efforts help create the innovative and inclusive culture for which SHRM is recognized.

SHRM Teaching Awards

Our internal awards recognize the top contributions to teaching and learning from our full-time and part-time faculty. Thanks to their efforts, student engagement and learning continues to grow.

Tenured Category: Professor Marie-Hélène Budworth

Dr. Marie-Hélène Budworth regularly teaches Negotiations, Leadership and Training and Development within the HRM programs. As core to her teaching philosophy, Dr. Budworth keeps several goals in mind when planning her curriculum.

While all of her courses are deeply rooted in the academic and theoretical knowledge on the topic, she endeavours to have the students understand the relevance of the material and to make connections beyond the classroom.

As the course progresses, new concepts are understood relative to previous knowledge and associations, so that students see linkages between topics and understand the broader implications.

“I believe it is important to for students to think about themselves relative to the newly learned material,” says Dr. Budworth. “Self-reflection is always a part my classroom experience.”

Tenure Track Category: Professor Jing Wang

Students appreciate the passion, knowledge and practical experience which Dr. Wang brings to her well-organized classes. Dr. Wang summarizes her approach to university teaching as striving to foster critical thinking among students, provide them with solid theoretical knowledge, and teach the skills necessary to apply theoretical knowledge to the real world.

“I achieve this by including corporate case studies, social events, and current news stories in my curriculum and by using multiple approaches and technologies in the classroom,” says Professor Wang. In the School of Human Resource Management, Professor Wang teaches Human Resource Management and Compensation.

Sessional/Contract Category: Professor Mark Podolsky

Dr. Podolsky’s teaching style is geared toward helping students achieve their own learning objectives. “I focus on drawing direct connections between HR practices and business performance in my courses,” says Dr. Podolsky. “I find it so gratifying to see students making these connections and broadening their understanding of the HR function.”

Dr. Podolsky draws from his own experience working in the public and private sectors, recent pedagogical research, and frequently uses current events to bring together theory and practice. He has written multiple cases to support experiential learning, contributed to the research on management education and has written two chapters in the leading textbook on the subject of HR Planning in Canada. His goal as a teacher is to give students hard skills that can be applied in the workplace and help students use course materials to understand and adapt their own mental models in decision-making situations.

Tenured Category: Professor David Doorey

Dr. David Doorey’s students meet the high standards that he sets thanks to his engaging, interdisciplinary and innovative teaching style. In the School of Human Resource Management, Professor Doorey teaches law and industrial relations to non-law students through a variety of techniques. He constantly incorporates new technologies, including blogs, wiki pages and virtual reality learning. He challenges students to think critically about the material. In class, he draws upon his popular award-winning The Law of Work, which he developed several years ago as a teaching tool to bring contemporary events into the class room.

Tenure Track Category: Professor Christa Wilkin

Students are excited to be a part of Dr. Wilkin’s enriching learning environment and deeply appreciate her commitment and concern for both their academic and career success. “My teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that students learn best when they actively participate in the learning process,” says Dr. Wilkin. “The best classes that I have taken have had an experiential component where students actively engage with the course material.” In the School of Human Resource Management, Professor Wilkin teaches Human Resource Management, as well as Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Through active learning, Dr. Wilkin consistently encourages students to develop their critical thinking skills. To encourage active learning, Dr. Wilkin incorporates a variety of approaches such as case studies, experiments, role plays, video clips, guest speakers, individual exercises and group discussions.

Sessional/Contract Category: Instructor Gary Blake

Gary Blake works hard to bring excitement for learning to his students through his engaging presentation style, by asking purposeful open-ended questions, through facilitation of full-class and small group discussions. “My teaching philosophy has evolved throughout a rather eclectic career as a professional engineer, organizational development internal change agent, training manager, teacher and lifelong learner,” says Blake.

Instructor Blake teaches Occupational Health and Safety for the School of HRM. Given the course’s topics, class discussions involve student sharing a range of personal work challenges, ranging from the psychosocial stress arising from harassment or discrimination to the effects of exposure to noxious chemicals, moving themselves along their own path of developing a commitment to identify, assess and control hazards in the workplace.

Tenured Category: Professor Julia Richardson

Winning this award will undoubtedly be a highlight of my year, particularly given the very high caliber of faculty in the SHRM. Moreover, during the process leading up to the award I received consistent support from colleagues and students, a humbling experience indeed.

My passion for teaching in my subject areas – Career Management, Qualitative Research Methods and Organisational Behaviour – stems largely from my belief about how crucial education is for professional and personal development and thus for equipping students with the right skills to make a positive contribution to the lives of others.

Students who have worked with me over the years won’t be surprised to know that my teaching philosophy is closely informed by ‘intelligent career theory’: in my case the knowing why, who and how of what it means to be a professor in the SHRM. Knowing Why: having a deep passion for my field; Knowing Who: building positive working relationships with students, colleagues and other experts in my field and Knowing How: constantly updating my teaching competencies to meet the demands of an ever changing job marketplace where education and learning determine both who you are and who you think you can become. Thank you for this award, I am deeply grateful.

Sessional/Contract Category: Instructor Indira Somwaru

It is very gratifying to be recognized and appreciated by our students. My teaching philosophy is based on a desire to educate our students in both theoretical and practical aspects of human resources practices. To that end, I try to create interactive classroom learning experiences based on a high level of discussion, sharing of student experiences, and use of real-world examples.

I also try to educate students in the broader realities of the business world and life that go beyond the text as a value-added component of their education.

LA&PS Teaching Awards

Launched in 2014, the Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching celebrates faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to teaching and learning in our undergraduate programs. These educators integrate innovative techniques and actively engage students in the learning process.

Congratulations to the winner of the 2015 Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching David Doorey, School of Human Resource Management (Full-Time Tenured Faculty category).

Dr. Doorey’s students meet the high standards that he sets thanks to his engaging, interdisciplinary and innovative teaching style.

“I am fortunate because despite years of academic and professional experience in the field, I continue to find the material endlessly fascinating,” says Professor Doorey. “I work hard to convey this enthusiasm and energy to students in the classroom.”