Contract and Limited‑Term Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching Recipients

Dr. Tom Ue, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, is this year’s Contract and Limited-Term Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching recipient. He is being recognized for his strong emphasis on inclusive excellence in his teaching and his valuable work with international students, particularly those students whose first language is not English. Dr. Ue’s ability to use his research activities to inform his teaching practices; his commitment to his professional development; and his capacity to help students make connections across different disciplines are truly impressive.

Biography

Professor Tom Ue is a world-leading authority on the Victorian writer George Gissing and a prolific researcher producing insights into great works of English literature and cinema through monographs, book chapters, and journal articles. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society; he has earned the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship; and he is the recipient of Dalhousie Legacy Awards in research (2022), service (2023), and now teaching (2023). Professor Ue cares deeply about equity and experiential learning: he has supervised numerous students in research projects, and he is currently at work, with his former student James Elgin Munday, on a new book about Ernest Cline’s bestselling novel Ready Player One (2011). According to Munday, “Professor Ue’s teaching, and guidance were significant in my interest in English and my development as a writer. His nomination and subsequent support undoubtedly influenced my winning the Barbara Bennett Chittick Prize. This award, along with Professor Ue’s mentorship, has encouraged me to continue pursuing English and writing.”

Dr. Heather Cray (Instructor) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science. Heather Cray, PhD, has been an Instructor in Earth and Environmental Sciences and the School for Resource and Environmental Studies since 2019 where she teaches environmental science, education, sustainability, research methods, and field courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Cray received her PhD from the University of Waterloo in Restoration Ecology, her MSc in Geography from McGill University, and her Joint Honours Bachelor’s in Geography and International Development Studies from McGill University. She is passionate about curiosity-led learning, accessibility and inclusion, and universal design for learning.

Dr. Lexie Arnott, Instructor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science

Alexandra (Lexie) Arnott, PhD. has been an LTA Instructor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences since 2016.  She enthusiastically teaches Earth Sciences (except for sedimentary rocks-hmm) and leads with humour and compassion.  Lexie spent the summer of 2020 collecting rocks and minerals around the province and sourcing others to supply over 200 lab kits for first-year Earth Science students learning online this fall and winter.  As well as her enthusiasm for all things geologic, Lexie is passionate about equity and inclusion in Earth Sciences, and STEM more broadly.

Dr. Adria Quigley, Instructor, School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health

Since 2016, Dr. Adria Quigley has been an instructor in the School of Physiotherapy at Dalhousie University where she teaches in the neurotherapeutics, cardiorespiratory, scientific inquiry, and integrated practice courses. Dr. Quigley obtained her PhD from Dalhousie University in 2019, her master’s in Physical Therapy from the University of Toronto in 2011, and her bachelor’s in Kinesiology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2009. She is passionate about using principles of culturally responsive pedagogy and universal design for learning in her teaching.

Dr. Rebecca Spencer, School of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Health

Becky Spencer, PhD is an Instructor in Health Promotion in the School of Health and Human Performance. Having recently finished her doctoral studies, Dr. Spencer understands the student experience and emphasizes student-centered teaching and learning. Her teaching philosophy is focused on enthusiastic engagement, care for students, and clarity and organization. Dr. Spencer highlights alternative ways of knowing, challenges traditional teaching methods, incorporates contemplative practice into her teaching, and tries to engage students in meaningful and applicable learning activities. In addition to the scholarship of teaching and learning, Dr. Spencer’s research interests include critical and transformative methods, gender and youth issues, and considering health in the context of complex environments.

Roderick Chisholm, Department of Chemistry

Dr. Chisholm, an instructor in the Department of Chemistry, emphasizes the importance of group cohesiveness where students learn how to work synergistically to achieve a common goal while making sure that individual accountability is inescapable. He considers students’ failure as an opportunity to learn about how to turn trying times into teaching moments — an approach that is paramount to ensure confidence and character are being fostered in future scientists and lab technicians. He challenges his students to venture into the unknown.

Gaia Aish, Department of Chemistry