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This year’s recipient of the A. Gordon Archibald Teaching Award understands what it feels like to be silenced and diminished, which is why Dr. Frederick King says he’s so passionate about teaching his students how to speak up for themselves. The selection committee says they chose King, an instructor in the Faculty of Management, because of the support he provides students in and out of the classroom. Nomination letters, they report, show that he “cares deeply about student learning and well-being.”

He’s an advocate for his students’ success

Chosen by the committee comprised of faculty and students, Dave Archibald explained that this award in his father’s name was set up to honour professors whose teaching has a long-term impact on students. Dean Mike Smit acknowledged that impact can be hard to achieve when reaching 400 first year students in a mandatory course on business communication.

However, reading from a list of student testimonials, Dean Smit demonstrated just how “exemplary” Dr. King is in the classroom. “In a world where we always hear the negative, Dr. King influences his students to see the positives and to take everything as a learning experience.” And “Dr. King is not just a professor —he's an advocate for his students’ success, and his passion for teaching is evident every time you walk into his classroom or lecture hall.”

In receiving the award, King told his colleagues, his students, and the Archibald family about his family, his early years and that he is the first person in a very large family to achieve a PhD. King says growing up poor and receiving substandard education was further compromised by being a gender non-conforming child. He explains that after years of harassment and abuse “I learned to be silent and invisible. I was marginalized and isolated.”

Reimagining management, leadership, and business

Paying tribute to his husband, James DuPlessis, a gay rights and AIDS activist, Dr. King says, “from him, I learned self-respect and to speak up for myself.” He went on to say that he’s empowering students to speak up for themselves in a difficult and complex world, adding "if our students are going to compete on the job market, they need problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Communication is the only way for them to convey these abilities.”

During the awards gathering, Dr. King named a group of the more than 3800 students who stand out for him, as well as some of the many colleagues who he works with. In concluding Dr. King said he comes to work to help in the creation of a “world-class” faculty, “that reimagines and challenges notions of management, leadership, and business; giving our students a competitive advantage.”

Back row, left to right: Adam Payn, Dean Mike Smit, and Anthony G. Archibald. Bottom row, left to right: Hon. George Archibald, Fred King, and David Archibald.