2022 Award Recipients

The 2022 Distinguished Faculty Awards (DFA) winners were announced during this year’s Celebrate! Teaching and Learning event, recognizing faculty members for their exemplary contributions to the University community. 

The annual DFAs celebrate outstanding work in teaching, research and service. Peers submit a dossier of information nominating a colleague, and nominees have to submit a comprehensive package of supporting information. A selection committee comprising past recipients reviews each submission and selects the winners.

Full-Time Credit — Award Recipients

Sarah Hewitt

Sarah Hewitt, PhD, teaches neuroscience and physiology as an associate professor in the Department of Biology.

Hewitt’s teaching philosophy centres around three things: fostering genuine curiosity, making connections between concepts and letting go (of memorizing, relying on textbooks, needing a definitive ‘right or wrong’ answer and using grades as the determining factor in success).

“I try to communicate to students the value in relaxing into your education and that finding your inner curiosity about a topic will allow you to see the connections between ideas and help you let go of the need to memorize and have a definitive answer. Grades and success will follow,” Hewitt says.

Since 2008, Hewitt has developed expertise in science communication — telling the behind-the-scenes stories about researchers and the work they do, synthesizing the information and re-organizing it into multimedia stories in a way that’s engaging for a non-specialist audience. She takes a unique approach called “Adventure Science” to science communication by using writing, photography and audio skills to capture the stories of researchers at work. She then brings everything she learns to the classroom and beyond through workshops for graduate students and other researchers.

Anthony Marullo, a health science alumnus, says Hewitt treats her classes as not just a requirement box for students to check off, but as an opportunity to challenge students to hone their writing and learning skills.

“She sets an example for her students and encourages them to follow in her footsteps. Her ability to teach through experience-based learning makes the material and herself more approachable,” Marullo says.

Hewitt’s work has appeared in Discover Magazine, BBC Earth, Scientific American, Canadian Geographic, Explore Magazine, and others.

Janet Miller

Janet Miller, PhD, is a counsellor and full professor with Student Counselling Services. In addition to the roles she has held at Mount Royal since 1998, she is a registered counselling psychologist specializing in depression, trauma, stress management, anxiety, relationships, personal growth, and academic development, challenges and success. She currently serves the university as Chair Support Coordinator.

Miller’s teaching, counselling and scholarship activities are aligned with the intended outcomes of enhancing mental health, career development and student success, and informed by principles of effective practice for emergent adults and undergraduate education. 

“My counselling practice and approach to teaching and learning are grounded in my beliefs about people and the nature of change. I believe that people are inherently good, are motivated to make the best choices possible and are driven towards lives that hold meaning and purpose,” Miller says.

Stephen Price, PhD, Dean, Faculty of Health, Community and Education, praises Miller not only for her professional accomplishments, but for her humanity and willingness to make herself available whenever help is needed.

“She is open, she is approachable, and more than anything, she is caring. She has inspired students and colleagues and she’s a fixture in our Mount Royal community,” Price says.

Miller is the author of You @ the U: A Guided Tour through Your First Year of University, sharing what she’s learned from thousands of students to help those new to the post-secondary world navigate early challenges. She shared the writing process of her book as the writer-in-residence from 2019 to 2021 in UGST 1001 — Effective Learning in the Undergraduate Context. 

Miller is a member of the Canadian Psychological Association, Psychology Association of Alberta, American Psychological Association,  Alberta Post-Secondary Counselling Association, Canadian Association of College and University Student Services, and Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. 

Gaye Warthe

Gaye Watson Warthe, PhD, is the associate dean of teaching and learning for the Faculty of Health, Community and Education and an associate professor in the Department of Child Studies and Social Work. Before coming to Mount Royal, Warthe practiced for many years as a social worker; the parallels between practice and teaching providing a foundation for how she structures her classroom.

Warthe describes her teaching in the same way she speaks about practice: student centred, grounded in theory and interactive. Rather than teaching, Warthe talks about the process of facilitating learning, which recognizes the experience and expertise that students bring to learning and provides for a safe space for students to explore and take risks. 

“Facilitation recognizes that all those involved in the process are contributors and that learners need to be supported in their journeys. This requires the instructor to be able to present course materials in multiple ways to reflect individual learning styles,” Warthe says. 

Her leadership is admired by colleagues, illustrated by Peter Choate, PhD, who says, “It’s frankly hard to imagine a more powerful force in our faculty than Dr. Warthe for the development of student-focused experience, program opportunity, accreditation and quality control.” 

Warthe's involvement in degree development, contributions to diverse admission pathways and institutional quality assurance processes are examples of her leadership.

In 2018, Warthe was recognized by the Alberta Government for her innovative contributions to family violence prevention. Then, in 2021, she was the recipient of one of only nine Stars of Alberta Volunteer Awards in recognition of her exemplary leadership through her volunteer work and her research fighting gender discrimination. 

Warthe is the president of the board of Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. and a past board member with Discovery House, RESOLVE Alberta and SHIFT.

Contract Credit — Award Recipients

Sharren Patterson

Fixed-term English instructor Sharren Patterson joined Mount Royal in 1990 and has taught a variety of literature courses, primarily focusing on the teaching of rhetoric and composition. She holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees in psychology and English, and a Master of Arts in English. Patterson’s thesis, Into the Light: The Stage Plays of Judith Thompson, was the first in-depth study on Thompson, a Canadian playwright, and has been cited on many occasions.

Her focus over her 32 years of teaching has been on student-centred learning and honing her practice to make it as effective as possible.

“My best practices come from a deep investigation of how students receive the information I teach. From semester to semester, I observe, investigate and refine according to student needs,” Patterson says.

Past student Melissa Van de Geer credits Patterson for impacting her confidence, not only academically, but in her ability to be resilient as an individual.

“Patterson took the time to work with me one-on-one, going above and beyond,” Van de Geer says. “She is a true example of what it means to be passionate about teaching, being willing to go above and beyond for the success of her students.”

Patterson’s goal is to provide students with a rigorous but accessible learning environment. She encourages communication, co-operation and active rather than passive learning, while respecting different learning styles. Her teaching is guided by the belief that education should be respectful, relevant and inspiring.