University‑Wide Teaching Awards

Dr. Adrienne Allison, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, is this year’s recipient of the President’s Graduate Student Teaching Award. Her strong academic and teaching profile were well-developed for a graduate student. Her dedication to professional development is evident in the many ways she has enhanced her teaching and communication skills, from completing the Certificate in University Teaching and Learning to engaging in external workshops and courses related to teaching and learning activities. Her students appreciate her hard work, which can be seen in the excellent student evaluation reports she received.

Bio
Adrienne Allison recently completed her PhD in Chemistry at Dalhousie, exploring how we can improve the performance of supercapacitive energy storage systems. Adrienne spent almost a decade as a student at Dalhousie, having completed her BSc (Hons) at Dalhousie in 2016. After a brief stint working in industry, she returned to Dalhousie to pursue graduate studies. Adrienne was a member of the Dalhousie first-year chemistry teaching team during both her degrees, totaling 15 academic terms of teaching experience. Throughout her tenure, she held the positions of teaching assistant, senior teaching assistant, and part-time instructor. She also helped develop online content for the course during the pandemic-induced transition to virtual learning.  In addition to her teaching experience, Adrienne completed the teaching theory, practice, and professional development necessary to earn the Certificate in University Teaching and Learning. Outside of research and teaching during graduate school, Adrienne also found time to act as Co-President for Dalhousie Working for Inclusion in Chemical Sciences (Dal WIC). All of this experience has been valuable in her recent transition to Natural Resources Canada, where she works as a policy analyst in their Electricity Systems Sector, supporting the decarbonization of Canada's electricity systems.

Dr. Lisa Berglund, School of Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, is being recognized for her exemplary skills, including considerations for Universal Design for Learning and accessibility, with the Award for Excellence in Online/Blended Course Development, Design, and Delivery. She showed a purposeful effort in thinking through what teaching and learning activities can be moved to online, considering learning needs and content, and which learning activities are best facilitated in person. Dr. Berglund also developed curricula to support equity and cross-cultural competencies and enhanced the understanding of groups who have experienced historic and ongoing disadvantage and harm. 

Bio
Dr. Lisa Berglund earned a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan, a Master of Urban Design from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and a doctorate in Urban Planning from UCLA. Dr. Berglund's teaching focuses on urban design skills and history and theory of urban planning and urban design. In her studio and theory courses, students are asked to solve planning problems from the perspective of underrepresented and historically marginalized groups, conducting research and reaching out to local communities to do so. This past year, she led field study courses in both Charlottetown, PEI, and New York City where students were able to gain applied knowledge from urban planning practitioners carrying out their work on site, with a particular focus on social justice in planning practice. Her research focuses on gentrification and the role of local communities fighting for accountable development practices. She is currently exploring the role of policing and surveillance technologies as economic development strategies in gentrifying neighborhoods and their implications for racial and economic justice.

Dr. Amy Mui, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, is this year’s recipient of the Early Career Faculty Award of Excellence in Teaching. Her dedication to sustained innovative and inclusive development, use of evidence-based practices, and overall quality of teaching are outstanding. Her use of technology and blended learning is clearly advantageous to students’ deep learning, motivation, and feeling of community. Her continued dedication to reflective consideration of her teaching, sustained innovative and inclusive development, and use of evidence-based practices are impressive.

Bio
Dr. Amy Mui is a Senior Instructor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University (MSc University of Sydney, PhD University of Toronto). She combines a passion for wildlife conservation with expertise in remote sensing and geospatial sciences that she shares through a love of teaching and engaging with students. Over her six years at Dalhousie, she has developed several courses aimed at building technical and numeracy skills in students through fun and interactive ways and finding innovative methods of communicating science. She is passionate about showing others how to see the natural world through new perspectives and to apply data-driven approaches to solving environmental problems. Amy teaches several courses in the Environmental Science Program where she is also an Undergraduate Advisor. She is active in the community working with the groups such as the Halifax Bird-Friendly Coalition, the Species at Risk Habitat Modelling Community, and the Canadian Sea Turtle Network and is also a mentor for the Project Learning Tree Mentorship Program for early career scientists looking to advance their green career pathways. 

Dr. Sachin Seth, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, Faculty of Dentistry, is being honoured as an outstanding teacher and mentor with the Dalhousie Alumni Association Faculty Award of Excellence for Teaching. His helpful, open, and supportive way of dealing with students and colleagues exemplify the criteria for this award. Dr. Seth has taught across all years of the dentistry curriculum, and he is a favourite amongst the students. Dr. Seth’s publications help pass on his expertise to colleagues and his YouTube videos of introductory operative dentistry techniques are a valuable resource to both Dalhousie and non-Dalhousie students alike. His innovative small group practice model, which brought a diverse group of teachers and students together, has greatly impacted the education and the educational experience.

Bio
Sachin Seth, DDS, MEd is an assistant professor and associate dean of academics at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He completed his BSc and DDS degrees at Dalhousie University in 1996 and 2000 respectively and then obtained his MEd from Acadia University in 2011, with a focus on curriculum development.

Since 2002, Sachin has been involved with both clinical and didactic teaching at Dalhousie University, including operative dentistry, evidence-based dentistry, patient care, and communications.  In 2018, he led various stakeholders to deliver an innovative new clinical teaching program that exposes students to a setting which more closely resembles private practice, with collaboration between dentistry and dental hygiene.

Sachin has worked extensively with the National Dental Examining Board of Canada and been involved with standard setting, exam review, and question writing for licensure exams for dentists in Canada.

He was recently inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Dentists. Sachin has also received several teaching awards, including the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry W.W. Wood Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2019 and the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry National Teaching Award in 2022.

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.

Bio
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.”

Biodiversity Working Group

• Lara Gibson (University Teaching Fellow) Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
• Dr. Susan Gass (University Teaching Fellow) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science
• Dr. Amy Mui (Senior Instructor) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science
• Dr. Heather Cray (Instructor) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science
• Dr. Paul Manning (Assistant Professor) Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture
• Dr. Gabrielle Tompkins (Director, Integrated Science Office) Department of Biology, Faculty of Science

Dr. Jason Brown (Professor) Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science

Jason I. Brown is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Dalhousie University, and has written over 100 research articles on graphs and networks, with special emphasis on the connections to other branches of mathematics (including algebra, analysis and probability). As well, his work that used mathematics to uncover mysteries surrounding the music of the Beatles has garnered worldwide attention, including national and international newspapers, CBC, BBC and NPR radio, Guitar Player magazine, and the web sites of Wired and the Wall Street Journal.

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. Angela Crane (Senior Instructor, First Year Program Coordinator) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science

A native of St. John's, Newfoundland, Angela received her B.Sc.H. from MUN in Applied Mathematics/Chemistry in 2008 before completing her Ph.D. at UBC in 2014. Angela then took her passion for chemistry to the classroom as the First Year Chemistry Program Coordinator at UBC in 2014, followed by Dalhousie in 2016, where she has been ever since. Angela's goal in teaching chemistry is that students leave class with a strong appreciation of the chemistry that occurs around us every day and develop life-long skills that they can transfer to whatever discipline they may choose in their academic or post-graduate career. Over the last 6 years, Angela’s teaching methods have evolved greatly as she has been redesigning the First Year Chemistry Program using Universal Design for Learning principles along with the incorporation of more active experiences for students to achieve higher level learning and mastery as is defined by Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Dr. Rebecca Babcock (Sessional Instructor) Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Dr. Becca Babcock is a writing instructor, writer, and actor. She has taught writing, English, and Canadian Studies courses at Dalhousie, and has previously worked as an instructional designer. She has published two books: a novel, One Who Has Been Here Before (Vagrant Press/Nimbus Publishing, 2021) and a short story cycle, Every Second Weekend (Blaurock Press, 2011). Her forthcoming novel (Vagrant Press/Nimbus Publishing) is due in spring 2023.