Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship to Honour Professors at Spring Convocation
Faculty members from Great Books, Sociology, and History will be honoured for their excellence in teaching and scholarship at St. Thomas University’s Spring Convocation on May 13.
Dr. Matt Dinan will receive the John McKendy Memorial Teaching Award, Dr. Margaret Campbell will receive the Award for Excellence in Part-Time Teaching, and Dr. Michael Dawson will receive the University Scholarship Award. Professor Léo-James Lévesque of the School of Education will receive the University Service Award at Summer Convocation in July.
“St. Thomas University prioritizes teaching and learning so that each one of our students are prepared for personal and career fulfillment. The talent and dedication of our professors underlines the quality of education that our students receive. It also highlights the positive impact that our faculty have on the province — from teaching young people who are prepared for their careers to scholarship that is nationally recognized,” said Dr. Nauman Farooqi, President and Vice-Chancellor.
“Honouring faculty at Spring Convocation is a timely reminder that our professors deliver a transformative education that is relevant and important to each student and essential to our society.”
John McKendy Memorial Teaching Award
Dr. Matt Dinan, Director of the Great Books Program, holds a BA from STU and an MA and PhD from Baylor University and has taught at STU since 2014. He facilitates the investigation of core human questions in team-taught, discussion-based classes where diverse canonical writers and thinkers are combined with global contemporary texts. His goal is to help students become creative, independent, and self-reflective thinkers, and his courses — on perennial questions about love and friendship, justice and freedom, war and peace, and truth and beauty — empower students to connect core texts with their own questions. He has developed innovative co-curricular programming to foster an intellectual community across the University, including co-founding the first-ever living and learning community at STU. He was also instrumental in developing an experiential learning travel-study course in which students travel with professors to Greece. He has demonstrated his effectiveness as a mentor by helping undergraduates present papers at conferences and publish in peer-reviewed journals. Students he has supervised have been finalists or won prestigious scholarships like the Rhodes Scholarship, McCall-McBain Scholarship, and SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships, as well as summer fellowships. He is the only faculty member from Canada selected to join a group of teachers for the Hertog Foundation’s online Humanities at Hertog Program.
Award for Excellence in Part-Time Teaching
Dr. Margaret Campbell is a proud graduate of St. Thomas University where her passion for teaching was shaped by professors who modeled compassionate and critical pedagogy. She subsequently earned an MA and PhD from Concordia and teaches in the Department of Sociology and the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Program. Her teaching practices are informed by critical theories and feminist frameworks, and are grounded in a commitment to building a more equitable, accessible, and socially just world. Campbell is renowned for her steadfast support for students and her dedication to engaging learners in topics often overlooked in the academy. She brings her research into her teaching, particularly in courses that address sensitive subjects like violence, disability, and sexuality. She fosters an atmosphere of care, encouraging students to balance intellectual courage with intellectual humility, to connect academic inquiry with lived experience, and to see themselves as agents of change. Such mentorship involves an investment of time and energy into her students’ growth; according to student feedback, she achieves this with excellence.
University Scholarship Award
Dr. Michael Dawson holds a BA from the University of British Columbia and an MA and PhD from Queen's University, and has been a faculty member at STU since 2004. He has excelled in his scholarship and has raised the regional and national profile of research at STU. He is nationally recognized as an outstanding scholar of Canadian history and is a member emeritus of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. His research focuses on modern Canadian cultural history and the comparative history of national identity, tourism, consumerism, and sport. He has authored three books, co-edited five others, and published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has also presented his research at academic conferences throughout Canada and around the world. His publications include Symbols of Canada (2018), Worth Fighting For: Canada’s Tradition of War Resistance from 1812 to the War on Terror (2015), and The Mountie From Dime Novel to Disney (1998). These have been called foundational works in Canadian studies, and Symbols of Canada became a CBC podcast. He is also a mentor to his students and colleagues across the country, helping them navigate the academy, research, and publishing.
University Service Award
Professor Léo-James Lévesque, Field Placement Coordinator and French Language Specialist in the School of Education, is an award-winning educator who has made a significant contribution to the Bachelor of Education program. Nationally recognized for his leadership in French Second Language education, he has collaborated with school boards, districts, administrators, and teachers across Canada. He has also travelled extensively to promote STU’s BEd program, taken part in numerous Open Houses, and developed strong relationships with educational partners to secure school-based placements for teacher candidates. Prof. Lévesque has played a key role in expanding access to innovative and relevant programming by regularly teaching overload courses, enabling teacher candidates to be better prepared for the transition to the teaching profession. During the pandemic, he developed innovative virtual field placement experiences, ensuring that students could benefit from practicum opportunities despite school closures. He has established the Partnership in Learning Initiatives to support collaborative educational projects. Through his promotion of professional, linguistic, and cultural development for students, Prof. Lévesque demonstrates his outstanding service to the School of Education and the broader educational community.