3M Award Winners

Alongside its reputation as one of Canada's top research universities, Concordia has a long standing tradition for delivering some of the very best in teaching both nationally and on the international stage. Here are a few examples of our most celebrated teachers, recognized by the 3M Teaching Fellowships for their contributions to ensuring continued student engagement, excellence in teaching and the creation of a new generation of successful scholarly practitioners.

Bluma Litner (1996)

Bluma Litner's career at Concordia University reflects her serious commitment to quality teaching and to its improvement, both within the University and beyond. She is an innovator and a leader, who has been deeply concerned about issues of inclusion in higher education long before the term became popular. The quality of her teaching was acknowledged when the Concordia Council on Student Life awarded her their Excellence in Teaching Award in 1994, the first year the award was given. She has established a reputation in her department and amongst students and colleagues as an outstanding teacher who not only develops and presents course material in a manner that is conducive to learning but also makes herself available to students for consultation, support and encouragement, far above and beyond what is necessary.

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Arshad Ahmad (1992)

Arshad Ahmad is an Associate Professor and Director of the Finance Co-op Program at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. He joined the Finance Department in 1982.

Arshad received an MBA and Ph.D from McGill University and holds a CGA designation. He was recognized as a distinguished teacher in his Faculty in 1990 and an excellent teacher by the Concordia Council on Student Life. He was also honoured as the most dedicated professor to student life. In 2001, he began serving as Coordinator for the 3M teaching fellowships program. Arshad was also awarded the George L.Geis Dissertation of the Year Award for the most outstanding doctoral dissertation in Higher Education by the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education.

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Bill Gilsdorf (1990)

Dr. Gilsdorf's career at Concordia has reflected a serious commitment to quality teaching and to its improvement within the University and beyond. The quality of this work was acknowledged by the University when he was awarded the John O'Brien Distinguished Teaching Award. He is especially noted for the creative and innovative ways he involves students in his courses. He communicates enthusiasm, curiosity and imagination in a way few of his peers can equal. He is, in short, a superb classroom teacher.

Bill carries his passion for teaching beyond the classroom and directly to his colleagues by being active at the departmental level as well as on a university-wide basis to promote support for teaching in the University. His work with the Lacolle Centre for Educational Innovation led to the development of a program of residential seminars for faculty on innovative approaches to learning. This program has had a deep influence on many instructors and continues to grow and expand today. As well as serving as Chair of the Communication Studies Department, he has been Director of the Learning Development Office.

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Ron Smith (1988)

Dr. Smith has dedicated his career to the understanding of teaching competence and to helping others develop their teaching skills. He was instrumental in the creation of the Learning Development Office which, under his 15-year leadership, has grown and now offers a broad range of services to support the evaluation and development of teaching. A member of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD), he has conducted workshops for college and university faculty members in Canada and the United States on a wide range of topics related to teaching and learning in higher education.

• His overall teaching rating, in two different disciplines, has always been in the top 10%.
• As part-time Director of the Learning Development Office since its creation in 1974, he has published 75 issues of a newsletter on teaching and learning and a host of articles in international journals.
• He has formally consulted with over 120 colleagues and conducted more than 60 workshops on teaching and learning for university faculty, including an annual 5-day residential workshop.

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Front row, left to right: Olivia Rovinescu, Carole Dence, Janette Barrington. Back row, left to right: Joanne Locke, Youssef Shayan, Ollivier Dyens, Lorrie Blair, Meral Büyükkurt, Fred Szabo, Arshad Ahmad.

The CTLS kicks off its 3M National Teaching Fellowships strategy with a new event to support faculty in the pursuit of Canada's most prestigious teaching award. To learn more about this year's launch, visit the Journal for details.