Tanya Noel: smiling woman with shelves of books in backgroundBiology professor Tanya Noel is one of three faculty members slated to receive the Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching during Spring Convocation ceremonies this week.

Alumni honour faculty members for dedication to teaching

The University of Windsor Alumni Association will bestow its Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching on three professors during Spring Convocation ceremonies this week: Betty Barrett of women’s and gender studies in the School of Social Work, Tanya Noel of the Department of Integrative Biology, and Patti Millar of the Department of Kinesiology.

The award honours faculty members — nominated by colleagues, alumni, and students — as incentive and encouragement for achieving excellence in teaching and learning at the University of Windsor.

Betty BarrettDr. Barrett is being honoured for her commitment to student-engaged learning and community building. The association notes her impact extends beyond the usual classrooms. She established the Walls to Bridges program at the University and has recruited additional faculty members for training in the program, which brings together university students with incarcerated students to co-learn in a course offered inside the prison.

Barrett will receive her award at the 9:30 a.m. May 30 session of Convocation.

Dr. Noel’s colleagues acknowledge her as a leader in the teaching and learning field. Her approach engages students in an extensive dialogue, striving to keep her classes relevant, personal, and meaningful while offering a variety of ways to learn. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she became a source with knowledge and experience in creating activities for effective remote learning.

Noel will receive her award at the 6:30 p.m. May 30 session of Convocation.

Patti MillarDr. Millar’s teaching philosophy holds that learning occurs through a collaborative process of sharing knowledge, and by discussing different and sometimes opposing ways of understanding that knowledge. She believes in creating an environment which encourages students to participate and contribute to their learning and the learning of their peers, to inspire enthusiasm surrounding the subject matter, and to navigate the varying strengths of students.

Millar will receive her award at the 9:30 a.m. June 2 session of Convocation.

Convocation celebrations run in 11 sessions May 30 to June 2 at the Toldo Lancer Centre; tune in to the livestream at convocation.uwindsor.ca.