Ann-Marie DiBiase

Six faculty members will be honoured at Spring Convocation for their exceptional contributions to teaching.

Ann-Marie DiBiase, Rebecca Raby, Tamara El-Hoss, Michael Winter, Brent Faught and Donald Cyr will receive the Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching. The awards were chosen by a selection committee of faculty, staff and students from Applied Health Sciences, Business, Education, Humanities, Mathematics and Science and Social Sciences. Nominees must have a reputation for superior teaching and be recognized for this quality by students and colleagues.

This year’s recipients provide students with “the best educational experience possible,” said Murray Knuttila, Provost and Vice-President, Academic.

Rebecca Raby

“The quality of teaching and the supportive personal learning environment provided by these outstanding faculty helps our students to excel both inside and outside the classroom,” he said.

Tamara El-Hoss

DiBiase, an associate professor of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, is praised for being “honest and fair in all aspects of instruction” with consistently positive teaching evaluations at the graduate and undergraduate levels since she joined Brock in 2002. Her teaching style has been described as innovative and intellectual.

Raby, an associate professor of Child and Youth Studies, specializes in areas of childhood, youth and society, peer cultures, and gender and sexuality. As one of her colleagues writes, her pedagogy calls attention to the “importance of equity and justice for those children and young people marginalized, disenfranchised, abused and neglected.”

Michael Winter

El-Hoss, an assistant professor of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, is described as an inspiring teacher who is dedicated to imbuing in her students the interest and capacities that will encourage them to be life-long learners. Since joining the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures in 2005, student evaluations of her overall performance as an instructor average 4.9 out of 5.

Brent Faught

Michael Winter, a professor in the Department of Computer Science, excels at teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. His curriculum work aims to improve the mathematical component of the computer science programs at the university. He is described as passionate about his subject matter, and always accessible and available to students who need his help.

Don Cyr

Brent Faught, associate professor in Community Health Sciences, is described as a highly innovative and intuitive teacher. In addition to teaching courses focused on exercise physiology, anatomy and epidemiology, he has also developed new courses in areas such as health sciences information technology and clinical health assessments. This Spring/Summer, he and a colleague developed a new, intensive, two-week Supercourse. Outside the classroom, he has been instrumental in the development of a number of collaborative agreements with various colleges.

Donald Cyr, associate professor of Finance, Operations and Information Systems, teaches a demanding subject in an intuitive and understandable manner. He is described as having a quick sense of humour and well-prepared lectures, and uses teaching technology in his classrooms. One of his students said his “teaching style helped unlock a passion for professional investing I may not have come to realize had our paths not crossed.”

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