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JULY 2025 Applications Now Open: Early Career Faculty Community of Practice
We are excited to announce the call for applications for the Early Career Faculty (ECF) Community of Practice (CoP), a transformative program co-sponsored by the Office of Teaching and Learning and the Office of the Associate Vice-President Academic.Before we welcome a new group of early career faculty, we want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible educators who participated in the 2024–25 ECF CoP. Congratulations to: Alex Chan, Allison Collier, Eric Chi, Geoffrey Cameron, Jocelyn Smith, Kathryn Walton, Katie Lebel, Laura MacDiarmid, Maria Pavlova, Rusty Evans, Sarah Lepage, Sherrie Cox, Stephen Mattucci, Tess Grainger, Tuğçe Ellialtı-Köse, Wenjing Zhang. Their commitment to reflective teaching, collaboration, and continuous learning helped shape a vibrant and supportive community. We look forward to seeing their continued impact across the university! About the Program: The ECF CoP is designed to support early career faculty in their professional development as educators and leaders. Through this cross-disciplinary, relationship-rich experience, participants will engage in continuous learning, reflective teaching practices, and build connections across the university community. Program Structure: The CoP will meet monthly from September 2025 to June 2026. Each session, facilitated by Educational Developers and invited guests, will provide a space for discussing various topics such as reflective practice, teaching with technology, course design, inclusive pedagogies, and more. Eligibility: We invite full-time, tenure-track faculty members, college professor/college research professors, veterinarians, and teaching librarians at the University of Guelph, Guelph-Humber, or Ridgetown to apply. Applicants should be teaching at least one course during the program and demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning and innovative teaching practices. For details and how to apply please visit our ECF CoP webpage. We plan to offer two cohorts, one virtual and one in-person depending on application numbers. For questions or further information, contact Megan De Roover at deroover@uoguelph.ca. Applications are due August 22, 2025
Spotlight on the University Teaching Leadership FellowsThe University Teaching Leadership Fellows program, launched in July 2023, supports educators in leading innovative, research-informed projects that improve student learning and success while fostering a culture of educational leadership, advocacy, collaboration, and mentorship at UofG. This month and again in August we will feature the work and experience of our current Fellows. In this issue, meet four of these leaders and learn how their projects are shaping classrooms, departments, and colleges across campus. Watch for three more profiles in August as we continue to celebrate their impact and share the ways this program is helping create institutional change in teaching and learning. Launched by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), this initiative is delivered in collaboration with OTL. Dr. Ruben Burga
Lang School of Business and Economics, Department of Management University Teaching Leadership Fellow in Interdisciplinary and Experiential Teaching and Learning Project: Teaching and learning critical thinking and integrative skills through collaborative and innovative experiential group projects. Dr. Ruben Burga is developing an interdisciplinary experiential teaching and learning framework that fosters critical thinking and a humanistic mindset in students. The project integrates experiential learning, community engagement, and interdisciplinary approaches, aligning with institutional values and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It will provide faculty with practical tools for embedding these strategies into courses across the University. Key impacts or milestones from this past year
What has being a University Teaching Leadership Fellow meant to you, in your growth, your work, or your impact? “Being a UTLF has meant that I have felt legitimized, appreciated, and supported in working with students of all backgrounds, institutions, and disciplines to promote their awareness of the importance of sustainability, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and our institutional vision to Improve Lives. My interdisciplinary and experiential learning efforts have been supported by the funding embedded in the UTLF position so that I could teach student research assistants about COIL while also incorporating the input and feedback from my colleagues at U of G, my fellow UTLF, the OTL support team, and my colleagues from other institutions across the world. I have gained experience and appreciation in cross-cultural teaching and experiential learning techniques and I (with my fellow instructors in the COIL activities) have positively impacted over 1500 students in my 2 years of being a Fellow. The students have gained an appreciation for the power of small businesses in promoting the aims of the UN SDGs, flourishing as they did so, and understanding the challenges and benefits of working with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds.” Dr. Kate Parizeau
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, Department of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics University Teaching Leadership Fellow in Alternative Assessments and Student Mental Health Project: Investigating alternative assessments and student mental wellness at the University of Guelph Dr. Kate Parizeau is exploring the relationship between alternative assessment practices and student mental wellness. Her project examines both institutional approaches (e.g., credit/no credit options) and instructor-led strategies (e.g., ungrading), with the goal of supporting more inclusive, equitable, and student-centered learning environments. JJJ Key impacts or milestones from this past year
What has being a University Teaching Leadership Fellow meant to you, in your growth, your work, or your impact? “Being a Fellow has allowed me to reflect on my teaching practice, and to imagine new ways of engaging with students in order to support their learning. OTL staff and my cohort of Fellows have provided resources to enhance my growth as an educator, and to enable me to pursue a research-based approach to assessing classroom innovations.” Dr. Kathleen Rodenburg
Lang School of Business and Economics, School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management University Teaching Leadership Fellow in Workplace Ethics Project: Demonstrating our commitment to the development of leaders for a sustainable and equitable future through our teaching Dr. Kathleen Rodenburg is creating instructional tools and workshops to build students’ ethical decision-making skills across disciplines. Her project supports the development of ethical, socially responsible leaders, a goal that is reflected in UofG’s and Lang’s missions to improve lives, inspire purpose, and cultivate business as a force for good® in society. JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ Key impacts or milestones from the past year
What is one thing this Fellowship has made possible that wouldn’t have happened otherwise? “This Fellowship has kept my research on workplace ethics front and centre—something that would have been easily sidelined without the regular check-ins, cross-campus collaborations, and structured activities. It has connected me with inspiring colleagues whose perspectives have enriched my work, and the funding allowed me to hire a Graduate Research Assistant who has been instrumental in moving my projects forward.” Dr. Julie Vale
College of Engineering University Teaching Leadership Fellow in Values-based outcome integration in STEM Project: Cornerstone, keystone, capstone: Integrating values-based outcomes across STEM curricula Dr. Julie Vale is designing strategies to integrate values-based outcomes, such as empathy, equity, and social justice, across the STEM curriculum. Using an architectural metaphor, her project strengthens the foundation (cornerstone), cohesion (keystone), and culmination (capstone) of values integration to address cultural barriers in STEM education, with the goal of helping STEM educators and administrators to better design curricula to integrate the values they wish to instill. JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ Key impacts or milestones from this past year
What is one thing this Fellowship has made possible that wouldn’t have happened otherwise? “This Fellowship made it possible to launch a longitudinal study—something that’s rarely feasible without stable, long-term funding. In the SoTL space, sustained support is hard to come by, especially in STEM, where SoTL research often struggles to compete for traditional research funding. Meaningful changes in teaching and learning often take time to emerge, so having the ability to track outcomes across multiple terms will be invaluable. This long term support allowed me to build a stronger research design and gather richer data, yielding to the kind of sustained inquiry that can lead to real, lasting impact. Interested in connecting with one of the Teaching Leadership Fellows to learn more about them or their work? Please feel free to reach out to them directly, or connect with the Fellows program facilitator, Christie Stewart cstew@uoguelph.ca
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