Each year, the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa (APTPUO) honours one of its members as the Part-Time Professor of the Year. The Part-Time Professor of the Year Award was created in 1996 to recognize the contribution of the APTPUO members to university education and their teaching excellence. The award is sponsored by the Alumni Relations Office and the APTPUO. It consists of a $2000 prize as well as a commemorative plate, which is conferred during the ceremony. The laureate is also mentioned at the convocation ceremony in the fall.
ELIGIBILITY
All members of the APTPUO are eligible to apply. Exceptions: Current Board members of the Association and former recipients of the Part-Time Professor of the Year Award are not eligible.
SELECTION CRITERIA
This award is to recognize the excellence in teaching of part-time professors. Therefore, the Selection Committee’s decision is based on the following criteria:
- Evidence of teaching effectiveness;
- Leadership in teaching; and
- Strong ability to engage and motivate students.
NOMINATIONS
With the exception of Selection Committee members, any member of the University community may nominate a candidate. Candidate applications must be accompanied with a letter outlining the candidate’s exceptional contributions to university teaching. Students may also nominate candidates in which cases the nominees have the possibility of completing their file to be considered for selection.
SELECTION PROCEDURE
In future years, nominations or applications must be submitted at the APTPUO office by October 31 each year.
An electronic copy of each application should also be sent as one consolidated .pdf file by email to the APTPUO at info@aptpuo.ca.
The candidate files must contain the following documents:
- table of contents;
- cover letter including the teaching philosophy;
- an up-to-date CV including courses taught at the University of Ottawa;
- two letters of support (can be from part-time colleagues, full-time professors, or the Chair of the department);
- one or more letters of support from students;
- teaching evaluations from the last two years of teaching at the University of Ottawa; and
- any other relevant documents supporting the award criteria.
Evidence of excellence in teaching may include but not limited to the following:
- Examples of best teaching practices and pedagogical methods;
- Descriptions of teaching strategies developed to improved student learning;
- Personal initiatives that go beyond the norm in classroom teaching, such as mentoring, advising, consultations outside of class, innovative approaches to courses and curricula, special projects, etc.;
- Descriptions and examples of course development teaching materials;
- Examples or demonstrations of teaching creativity and innovation;
- Professional development initiatives to improve teaching skills; or
- Student comments and/or course evaluation data (e.g. Reports from the online student evaluations).
The Selection Committee assesses successful applications based on the criteria mentioned above and selects the recipient of the Award.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
The Selection Committee consists of:
- two Board members of the APTPUO two members appointed by the Vice-President, Academic of the University of Ottawa
- one member of the Alumni Relations Office
Past recipients of the Part-Time Professor of the Year Award
2021 Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr and Yves Laberge
2020 Guergana Mileva
2019 Saba Alvi
2018 Andrew Sowinski
2017 Julie Delorme
2016 Richard Clayman
2015 Natalie Dimitra Montgomery
2014 Fadi Malek
2013 Édith-Anne Pageot
2012 Rami Abielmona
2011 Jean-Philippe Daoust
2008 John Rakos
2007 André Lachance
2006 Shelley Rabinovitch
2005 Shelley Jordan
2004 Pierre Sabourin
2003 Joseph Khoury
2002 Steven J. Desjardins
2001 Darene Toal-Sullivan
2000 Peggy J. Kleinplatz
1999 Michael Wilson
1998 Félix Quinet
1997 Daniel Lavoie
1996 M. Weixuan Li