Who can be nominated?

• Any faculty member teaching full-time in the previous academic year in any of the six Faculties at Ryerson and who has taught at least one undergraduate course or graduate course is eligible to be nominated for a Deans’ Teaching Award.
  • With the exception of the Chang School, where any instructor teaching at the Chang School is eligible to be nominated for The Chang School Deans’ Teaching Award.
• Participation in the competition is by nomination or self-nomination/application.
• The nomination is valid only for the year in which it is made. The nominator may request that his/her nominee also be considered for the competition in the year immediately after the first year of nomination.
• The nominee may not have received a Deans’ Teaching Award, SRC Award or Service Award in the past two years.
• At the time of nomination, nominee does not have to consent to be nominated, however, if selected as the recipient, the recipient must commit to attending the annual Ryerson Awards Night.
• At the time of nomination, nominees/applicants will elect how they will receive the monetary award should they be successful. They can elect to receive it as a one-time payment as part of their monthly salary (subject to applicable deductions) or they can elect to have the amount credited to a separate professional development fund (subject to existing professional development reimbursement fund guidelines and approvals).

• Any member of the Ryerson Community (faculty, student or staff) can nominate someone for the Deans’ Teaching Award. The committee particularly encourages nominations from program Chairs and Directors. Self nominations are allowed. 

The nominator must:

1. Obtain the nominee's permission (if applicable);
2. Complete the submission package as described below;
3. Submit the nomination package via the Online Nomination Portal on the Recognition Website.

The nomination file should clearly address the Award Criteria as described. The required components of the nomination for the Deans’ Teaching Awards are as follows:

• A nomination brief, which clearly outlines the nominee/applicant’s contributions and accomplishments to continuing teaching excellence. This brief should clearly address the nominee’s achievements according to the awards criteria (classroom teaching creativity and innovation, curricular design, leadership in teaching, evidence of teaching effectiveness, and any additional contributions).
• A Citation (no more than 150 words) suitable for public release, to be prepared by the nominator. Should the nominee be selected as the recipient, this citation will be used as part of the presentation of the award and on the promotional materials.
• Letters of support from faculty, students or staff (not to exceed one page in length each) that provide specific examples why the nominee should be considered for the Award.  Those writing letters of support should disclose their relationship to the nominee (e.g. individual who has team taught with the nominee, associate chair, undergraduate coordinator, current student, former student, research assistant, working under nominee’s supervision, etc.)

Individual Faculties may specify certain criteria for their awards; however the basic criteria which must be addressed in all nominations are as follows:

Continuing Teaching Excellence

The nomination must include evidence of outstanding teaching. Outstanding teaching integrates best practices in instruction and assessment with well-defined student learning outcomes, demonstrates effectiveness of teaching strategies, and provides evidence of student engagement. The nomination brief should address the following criteria:

• Classroom teaching creativity and innovation;
• Curricular design:
• Leadership in teaching:
• Evidence of teaching effectiveness
• Other Contributions.

In answering the questions on the nomination form consider that continuing teaching excellence can be demonstrated by an outstanding and sustained record of undergraduate or graduate teaching, including one of more of the following:

• Effectiveness of teaching strategies in the classroom, studio or laboratory;
• Evidence and nature of student engagement;
• Evidence of innovative curricular design and/or innovative pedagogical approaches;
• Enthusiasm for teaching, use of best practices and; teaching methods
• Ability to motivate students, capacity as a role model for personal and professional development of students;
• Integration of best practices in instruction and assessment, grounded in learning theories, with well-defined student learning outcomes;
• Development and implementation of innovative teaching approaches, including their planning, execution and assessment of outcomes.

Evidence in support of the criteria may include some of the following examples:

• Description of specific teaching strategies that were developed to improve student learning, including their planning, development, execution and assessment of learning outcomes; include list of courses previously/currently taught;
• Descriptions of course development, management, planning and coordination;
• Evidence of impact on student learning (e.g. improved exam performance, pass rates, acceptance rates to graduate programs, success in workplace placements, increased course enrollment, student achievements (competitions that they participated in)  etc.);
• Personal contact with students that go beyond the norm in classroom teaching (e.g. mentoring, advising, consultations outside of class, field trips, small-group tutoring, laboratory, studio instruction, thesis supervision, etc.);
• Descriptions of the development of innovative teaching materials
• Memberships in professional bodies related to teaching
• Examples of on-going commitments to teaching through professional development
• Evidence of transformative influence on the student learning experience;
• Evidence that the nominee’s practice fits with learning theories;
• A letter of support that provides specific examples and describes the nominee’s teaching, innovative strategies, etc., and their impact on students’ learning. Students writing support letters should disclose their relationship with the nominee (e.g. current student, former student, research assistant, working under nominee’s supervision, etc.)
• Any additional evidence addressing continuing teaching excellence.

Additional Contributions

Additional contributions to teaching and learning at Ryerson that have an impact beyond one’s classroom may also be taken into consideration by the FAC.

Examples include:

• Personal professional development in teaching and learning (e.g. attending conferences, working with TA/GAs, participating in the Learning and Teaching Office seminars, etc.);
• Sharing one’s teaching expertise with others; delivering workshops/presentations; publications;
• Participation in initiatives to improve teaching at Ryerson and description of the nature of the involvement;
• Curriculum development and description of the nature of the involvement;
• Evidence of recognition received for teaching excellence by a community of peers at Ryerson and possibly elsewhere, including a list of awards, internal as well as external.

The Deans’ Teaching Award recipient is selected by the FAC. The FAC has an overarching goal to help advance teaching and learning at Ryerson through the University-wide Faculty Awards Program by ensuring that high quality candidates, whose achievements meet or exceed the award criteria, are selected for the available university teaching awards.

The Deans of each faculty will inform all nominees of the outcomes. The University Teaching Awards Selection Committee Chair and the LTO Director write a congratulatory letter to the recipient.

After the Provost's announcement, the LTO posts the names of the awardees on Teachnet, RFANet, on the LTO website and on the Ryerson website, building up to the Awards Ceremony.

Also, the LTO publishes a special awards issue of the Exchange Newsletter.

The recipients of the Deans’ Teaching Awards are recognized with an Award Certificate and a monetary award of $2,000 at the Ryerson Awards Night.

All recipients will be asked, with the assistance of the LTO, to complete a teaching philosophy statement for posting on the LTO website.

Faculty of Arts

Kathryn Rowan, Academic Administrative Coordinator
krowan@ryerson.ca, ext. 7155

Faculty of Communication & Design

Natasha Flora, Academic Administrative Coordinator
nflora@ryerson.ca, ext. 5012

Faculty of Community Services

Sarah Bukhari, SRC Officer
sarah.bukhari@ryerson.ca, ext. 4641

Faculty of Engineering & Architectural Science

Dorothy Opanisis, Administration Manager
dopasini@ryerson.ca, ext. 5102

Faculty of Science

Andrei Cojita, Manager of Administration
a2cojita@ryerson.ca, ext. 5892

G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education

Maureen Sheridan, Associate Director of Development
sheridan@ryerson.ca, ext. 5184

Ted Rogers School of Management

Irene Campagna, Academic Administrative Coordinator
campagna@ryerson.ca, ext. 5169