Nicola Simmons, assistant professor in the Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education in the Faculty of Education, has been named an inaugural winner of the Distinguished Education Development Career Award.<\/p>\n
The award recognizes excellence and leadership in the field of educational development and is administered by the national body for educational development in Canada, the Educational Developers Caucus. It is the only award in Canada for leaders in educational development.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great honour and I\u2019m absolutely delighted,\u201d said Simmons. \u201cI am humbled by the very kind letters Educational Development colleagues wrote on my behalf \u2014 and filled with gratitude to them. It is through their efforts working on various projects that we were able to achieve anything much more than by my leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simmons was recognized for her contributions and work on committees that enhance the learning experience for students, leadership roles on national and international bodies committed to teaching and learning, and wide-ranging and impactful contribution to the national and international community of scholarship of teaching and learning.<\/p>\n
The winner of this year\u2019s Brock Distinguished Teacher Award and the Faculty of Education\u2019s Award for Excellence in teaching, Simmons, an ILTA, acknowledges the opportunities provided by her past national and international leadership positions in helping her build networks of scholars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been very lucky to have found myself in leadership positions in the past that allowed me to start interesting initiatives \u2014 and lucky now to have colleague and student involvement that help sustain them,\u201d said Simmons.<\/p>\n