YFile story from September 14, 2020
Four exceptional York University faculty members who have demonstrated enthusiasm and innovative approaches to teaching have been named the recipients of the President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards (PUWTA).
This year’s recipients are: Professor Paula Wilson in the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science; Michael Boni, an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science in the Faculty of Health; Lee Frew, a contract faculty member in the Department of English at Glendon College; and Roger Carrick, a teaching assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Lassonde School of Engineering.
Professor Wilson is the recipient in the full-time tenured faculty with 10 or more years of full-time teaching experience category. Wilson is a member of the molecular and cellular biology (MCB) group at York University. The group is comprised of researchers utilizing forefront biochemical and molecular techniques to probe the structure and function of various biomolecules and cell biological processes. Topics as diverse as plant and human viruses, cancer, circadian rhythms, structure of signaling molecules and cellular differentiation are studied by group members.
Wilson’s nominators highlighted her dedication and deep commitment to engaging biology students in the classroom by way of clear learning outcomes and active learning strategies. Wilson was also praised by her nominators for her support of teaching and learning broadly in the Department of Biology and the Faculty of Science. Her contributions to curricular innovation, including the creation of a biomedical science stream and the development of resources to assist first-year students with the transition to university.
“As we moved to online and remote formats in the face of the pandemic, York’s instructors have remained innovative and resilient. They have continued to provide high-impact and transformative learning experiences, connected to the future needs of the workforce and focused on finding solutions to the urgent challenges facing our society,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. “On behalf of all of us at the University, I want to congratulate this year’s recipients of the University-Wide Teaching Awards and thank them for their unwavering commitment to student success.”
The awards are adjudicated by the Senate Committee on Awards with the goal of providing recognition for excellence in teaching, encouraging its pursuit, publicizing such excellence and promoting informed discussion of teaching and its improvement. The awards demonstrate the value York University attaches to teaching.
Recipients of the awards receive $3,000, have their names engraved on the University-Wide Teaching Award plaques in Vari Hall and are recognized at convocation ceremonies.