Teaching Excellence Award Winners

Meet Billy Osteen, 2021 | School of Educational Studies and Leadership. He is widely acknowledged for leading experiential teaching at UC for over 15 years.

Meet Tracy Clelland, 2021 Winner | School of Health Sciences. Tracy's overarching teaching philosophy can be summarised as 'He waka eke noa' - A waka we are all on together. 

Meet Sarah Masters, 2021 Winner | School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. Sarah is leading innovation in the field of Chemistry teaching at UC. 

Meet Ann-Marie Kennedy, 2021 Winner | School of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. The awards panel commended Ann-Marie's obvious passion for teaching, her student-centred approach to her work, and her success in adopting a range of engaging practices in her teaching.

Meet Miguel Morales-Trujillo, 2021 Winner | School of Computer Science and Software Engineering. Miguel’s teaching philosophy has evolved through authenticity and innovation. He believes teaching should have a direct connection to the real world.

Meet Associate Professor Eileen Britt, 2020 Winner | Psychology, Speech and Hearing. Eileen's students say her classes are interactive, fun, and informative.

Meet Dr Kelly Dombroski, 2020 Winner | School of Earth and Environment. Kelly's colleagues say they nominated her for this award because she exemplifies everything a tertiary educator should be. 

Meet Kay-Lee Jones, 2020 Winner | Teacher Education is a teacher of teachers, committed to 'helping grow a heart for te Ao Māori'. The Board Chair of Te Pā o Rākaihautū describes her as 'a great role model not only for her whānau but all who meet her'.

Meet Dr Valerie Sotardi the 2020 winner for Educational Studies and Human Development. She's a highly regarded, dedicated teacher whose passion for teaching is clearly evident to students and colleagues. She has made a significant impact on student learning through her innovative, caring approach to her teaching in physical and virtual classrooms. 

Meet Associate Professor Ximena Nelson, 2020 Winner | Biological Sciences. Ximena's sustained teaching excellence is evidenced in her strong teaching evaluations and glowing student feedback. 

Meet Associate Professor Ashley Garrill, 2019 Winner | Biological Sciences. Ashley's students describe him as an amazing, fun, passionate teacher who is keen to share with them his genuine enthusiasm and love of his subject. 

Meet Dr Marlène Villenueve, 2019 Winner | Geological Sciences. Marlène is known as a teacher who puts her students at the centre of her carefully crafted teaching. 

Meet Professor Alessandro Palermo, 2019 Winner | Postgraduate Research Director - Civil & Natural Resources Engineering. He believes teaching and research is one seamless entity that feeds our society. 

Meet Associate Professor Annie Potts, 2018 Winner | Cultural Studies. Annie is described by her colleagues as 'an exceptionally talented, motivating, and inspiring teacher who very successfully puts into practice her strong beliefs in creating inclusive learning environments'.

Meet Dr Heather Purdie, 2018 Winner | Department of Geography. Students consistently report that Heather is a fantastic teacher. Her passion for the environment and quality geographic education drives her to develop fun, interactive lessons.

Meet Dr Masayoshi Ogino, 2018 Winner | Japanese. Masa's approach is innovative and outstanding as it enhances student learning through creating, developing, and sustaining a readily accessible, multi-layered learning community that's supportive and inclusive. 

Meet Professor Philippa Martin, 2017 Winner | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Philippa is described by her students as infectiously enthusiastic, and by her colleagues as deeply committed to teaching and achieving the best experience for her students. 

Meet Pieter Pelser, 2017 Winner | Department of Biological Sciences. He believes 'teaching is most effective when learning takes place in an environment in which students feel supported and receive the personal attention and encouragement that they need to excel'.

Meet Jenny Clarke, 2017 Winner | School of Sport and Physical Education. As her Head of School states, "Jenny said in her application for this award that she ‘loves teaching’ and it shows".

Meet Phillipa Gourdie, 2016 Winner | School of Mathematics and Statistics. Philippa's work as a senior tutor involves helping students transition to university as well as teaching first-year mathematics. 

Meet Ben Kennedy, 2016 Winner | Department of Geological Sciences. As a leader in geoscience education research, he's proud of the community of committed science educators that he has helped develop around the country.

Meet Susanna Wilson, 2016 Winner | School of Teacher Education. Susanna is described by her students as 'brilliant' and 'a bloody good teacher who takes awesome classes'.

Meet Sarah Wright, 2016 Winner | Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Sarah's teaching philosophy promotes complete learner exploration of the subject matter and relies on students taking an active role in their learning.

Meet Brendon Bradley, 2015 Winner | Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering. He is representative of UC’s best educators, both for his outstanding contributions to teaching and supervisory practice. 

Meet Jackie Cowan, 2015 Winner | School of Sport and Physical Education. Jackie is described by her students as a passionate and enthusiastic teacher who takes the time to care.  

Meet Sharyn Goldstien, 2015 Winner | School of Biological Sciences. She's a positive teacher who understands that students hunger for and need a good grasp of relevant content and develop higher learning by questioning their own positions with new knowledge assimilation. 

Meet Peter Roberts, 2015 Winner | School of Educational Studies and Leadership. He's deeply respected by his colleagues and students for his leadership and sustained excellence in teaching.

Meet Michael Plank, 2015 Winner | School of Mathematics and Statistics. By putting himself in his student’s shoes, he adapts his teaching methods to reach a wide variety of students with different backgrounds and learning objectives.

Meet Jennifer Brown, 2014 Winner | School of Mathematics and Statistics. She sees her role in student learning as being to enable. 

Meet Jocelyn Howard, 2014 Winner | School of Teacher Education. Making connections is at the heart of her teaching practice.

Meet Sascha Mueller, 2014 Winner | School of Law. She believes learning begins with the individual, that no teacher can make unwilling students learn, but a good teacher can inspire them to want to learn.

Meet Ronnie O'Toole, 2014 Winner | School of Educational Studies and Leadership. She describes herself as a learning and teaching 'addict'.

Meet Debra Wilson, 2014 Winner | School of Law. She hopes to challenge her students, the way she was challenged, to foster critical thinking skills.

Meet Ursula Cheer, 2013 Winner | School of Law who is committed to making law accessible and enjoyable for her students.

Meet Rajesh Dhakal, 2013 Winner | Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering. Constantly reviewing, improving, and updating his teaching style and course materials is second nature to this dedicated lecturer who works tirelessly to inspire his students to reach their full potential.

Meet Bob Hamilton, 2013 Winner | Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He demonstrates a sustained contribution to excellence in student-centred teaching, coaching, and supervision in entrepreneurship at UC.

Meet Matthew Turnbull, 2013 Winner | School of Biological Sciences. He is one of the most understated but effective teachers in our department, a champion of best practice in teaching, a leader in teaching development, and a superb postgraduate mentor.

Meet Ekant Veer, 2013 Winner | Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship who has an overt passion and enthusiasm for his material and his students. He loves marketing and seeing students build a passion for the topic.