Hello and welcome to another issue of Innovatus, a special issue of YFile that is devoted to teaching and learning innovation at York University.
Will Gage
This issue focuses on excellence in teaching. Three recipients of the President’s University-wide Teaching Awards are profiled in this issue. You will hear from Lassonde School of Engineering Professor Dan Palermo, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Professor Ruth Koleszar-Green and School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design contract faculty member Bridget Cauthery. Their passion and commitment to teaching and learning will inspire you.
This issue also contains stories about a new capstone network created by two professors from different faculties, a story about York University’s role in a Sector Cluster Network, and the power and potential of a new online learning resource known as Lynda.com.
We end with a story about Professor Celia Popovic, the founding director of York University’s Teaching Commons. Celia recently returned from a trip to the United Kingdom. While there, she was inducted into the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) Roll of Honour. The award pays tribute to her work establishing the Teaching Commons at York University and her scholarship of teaching and learning.
Featured in the November 2018 issue of Innovatus
Starting from scratch in civil engineering
The recipient of the 2018 President’s University-Wide Teaching Award in the Senior Full-time Faculty Category, Lassonde Professor Dan Palermo was the Civil Engineering Department’s first hire in 2013, and he worked with the department Chair to build the Civil Engineering program from the ground up.
Passion for Indigenous pedagogy fuels Professor Ruth Koleszar-Green’s work
Professor Ruth Koleszar-Green’s application of Indigenous pedagogy to her teaching has earned her a 2018 President’s University-wide Teaching Award and is reshaping York University.
Merging eLearning and dance worthy of accolades
A contract faculty member who teaches cultural studies and dance in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design, Bridget Cauthery was recognized with a President’s University-wide Teaching Award for her successful forays into eLearning.
York University’s Capstone Network is up and running
Thanks to an innovative concept developed by two York University professors, faculty who teach finishing-year courses, also known as capstone courses, can derive support from the new Capstone Network, which will allow faculty to connect at monthly meetings and online.
Sector Cluster Network is one key to experiential education
York University hosted the Sector Cluster Network luncheon Nov. 8, which brought together employers from York Region and network partners at YSpace in Markham with the goal of fostering relationships that will result in experiential education opportunities for York students.
Lynda.com a boon to York University community
There is a new teaching tool in town and York University staff are excited by its potential to benefit students, faculty and staff alike. Lynda.com, a LinkedIn product, is an online learning library of more than 10,000 non-credit skills development courses. It is now available 24-7, free of charge to all students, faculty and staff with a Passport York account.
Celia Popovic, founding director of the Teaching Commons, inducted into SEDA’s Roll of Honour
Celia Popovic, the founding director of the Teaching Commons and a professor in the Faculty of Education at York University, has been inducted into the 2018 Honour Roll of the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA), a leading educational development association based in the United Kingdom.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Innovatus, which is produced by the Office of the Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs.
I extend a personal invitation to you to share your experiences in teaching, learning, internationalization and the student experience through the Innovatus story form, which is available at http://tl.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=16573/.
Sincerely,
Will Gage
Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning