Keri Ferguson

Eight faculty members are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to students’ academic development, earning the 2025-26 Western Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Three of this year’s recipients are from the School of Health Studies, while two are from the department of chemistry. The awards selection process is overseen by the Senate Committee on University Teaching Award. The following summaries are based on nominations from across campus.   THE EDWARD G. PLEVA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING Named in honour of Edward Gustav Pleva, Western’s first geography teacher (1938) and head of the department (1948-1968).     Felix Lee, Faculty of Science, department of chemistry Over the past two decades, Felix Lee has taught more than 31,000 students, leaving an indelible mark on science education through his energy, clarity and commitment to student success. Colleagues and alumni describe Lee as an educator whose classrooms are dynamic, inclusive and memorable, noting there is no shortage of students eager to attest to the role he played in their academic journeys. One student recalled being “mesmerized by his ability to captivate more than 600 students,” while another said, “You truly have made my love for chemistry flourish and without you, I would not have continued down this path.”     Tara Mantler, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Health Studies Recognized as an innovative and deeply committed educator, Tara Mantler is celebrated for creating “engaging, rigorous and inclusive learning environments” that inspire students to think critically about health and society. Mantler’s nominators highlight her passion for student success and her ability to connect scholarship with public impact. For more than a decade at Western, she has developed and taught 22 unique courses, including community-engaged learning offerings connecting students with partners across Canada to address pressing health challenges. One colleague notes that “to watch her teach is to watch a master at work.” Students and peers commend her generosity as a mentor and collaborator, and her commitment to equity, accessibility and experiential learning.   THE MARILYN ROBINSON AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING Presented for outstanding contributions in classroom, laboratory or clinical instruction, this award is named after physiology professor and educational development office coordinator Marilyn Robinson, who prized the idea of active student learning and problem-solving.     Christina Booker, Faculty of Science, department of chemistry Christina Booker is a model academic colleague whose leadership in scientific education, research and teaching is guided by her goal to help students “feel like they belong in science.” Booker meticulously designs learning environments for success in her large first-year courses, achieving superb evaluations while upholding high academic standards. Her scholarship drives her teaching priorities, from leading major course redesigns to her thoughtful, research-informed work on the responsible use of generative AI as a learning support tool. Beyond the classroom, Booker’s influence is felt through her leadership roles in educational development, policy and outreach. She has curated an extensive digital library, including many hours of instructional videos and targeted exercises, ensuring her students have a high-support ecosystem to excel at their own pace. A vital presence for women in STEM and an excellent mentor to undergraduate students and graduate teaching assistants, she is described by colleagues as a “true gem whose expertise and genuine care make her the ‘poster faculty’ for incoming science undergraduates.”     Lesley Gittings, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Health Studies Lesley Gittings’ impact on teaching, mentorship and equity-driven innovation is described as “extraordinary” – especially since she became a faculty member less than four years ago. Since joining Western in 2022, Gittings has demonstrated leadership in curriculum development, student mentorship and inclusive pedagogy. She has designed or redesigned multiple undergraduate and graduate courses, including high-enrollment classes, and has introduced novel teaching approaches integrating experiential learning, outdoor instruction and active dialogue. Her courses challenge students to critically examine the social, structural and environmental determinants of health, while equipping them with the confidence and skills to address real-world inequities. Students describe Gittings’ mentorship as “life-changing,” crediting her with shaping their academic and professional trajectories. Colleagues describe her as “an enthusiastic and inspirational educator who establishes deep rapport with her students and creates learning environments grounded in active engagement, critical inquiry and shared problem-solving.”     Soheila Esfahani, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, department of visual arts Soheila Esfahani is recognized by her peers as an educator who “practices what she teaches, emboldening her students to chart a better world.” Esfahani invites her students to be “artists-as-explorers, to be fearless in seeking knowledge outside their comfort zone and to travel intellectually and creatively to worlds within and beyond.” To support them through uncertainty and error, she ensures the classroom is a secure but open laboratory where students can gain broader insights about a world that is often less than safe or understanding. Across her impressive CV of undergraduate and graduate courses and supervisions, in studio art, art history and museum and curatorial practice, Esfahani brings an equally accomplished artistic practice that crosses and unsettles aesthetic and material borders. Reaching beyond Western to national and international audiences, her teaching represents, in the most vital ways, the power of collaboration and co-creation as embodied and empowering practice.   THE ANGELA ARMITT AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING FOR PART-TIME FACULTY Established in 1989-90, the Awards for Excellence in Teaching by Part-Time Faculty are named in honour of Angela Mary Armitt, BA’36, MA’67, LLD’87, a champion of lifelong learning and Western’s first dean of the Faculty of Part-Time and Continuing Education.     Denise Grafton, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Health Studies Denise Grafton is an innovative educator who seamlessly integrates her expertise as a consultant in measurement and analytics at St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ont. to bring health policy to life. Noted for her weekly vlogs, which bridge theory and practice, students describe her purpose-driven approach as “transformative” in shaping how they think about advocacy and structural change. Grafton provides a learning environment “grounded in curiosity and critical thinking” and is regarded as a dedicated and generous mentor to her students.   THE WESTERN AWARD FOR INNOVATIONS IN TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED TEACHING  This award was created to recognize and reward the contributions of faculty members who have significantly improved student experience and outcomes by incorporating technology into their teaching practice.   Joshua Foster, Ivey Business School Joshua Foster is the creator of Sidekick, a custom-built AI tutoring companion trained on Foster’s own syllabus, cases and readings in microeconomics. Rather than simply providing answers, Sidekick guides students through material using Socratic dialogue. In fall 2025, Sidekick saw an 80 per cent voluntary adoption rate among MBA students, logging more than 14,500 interactions across 244 sessions with an average duration of more than 20 minutes. Roughly half of the usage occurred between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m., a clear sign students were relying on it during late-night study sessions when faculty support is not available. Foster has also integrated MobLab live simulations, Miro collaboration boards and a real-time contribution tracking tool into his courses, “creating one of the most intentionally technology-rich classrooms at Western. Throughout these innovations, his teaching evaluations have remained exceptional, with consistent ratings of 6.3 to 6.9 out of 7 across seven cohorts, including 100 per cent agreement on instructional effectiveness in his fall 2024 HBA cohort.   VICE-PROVOST (ACADEMIC PROGRAMS) AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN COLLABORATIVE TEACHING  This award was created to recognize instructors whose exemplary collaborations in university teaching enhance student learning.      David Sandomierski, Faculty of Law David Sandomierski’s Law and Architecture course, offered jointly with professor John McMinn at the University of Waterloo, brought together students from Western Law and the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture to explore how legal spaces communicate messages about law and, more importantly, the study of law. Architecture students learned in the moot court, and law students were introduced to the architecture studio where project-based education unfolds through iterative, personalized feedback. This interdisciplinary dialogue culminated in a student-led capstone project in which student teams designed a hypothetical new law building at Western. Students presented their nine highly original designs to more than 100 attendees at a public showcase at Western and before guest architectural judges at “crits” at the University of Waterloo. Supported in part through Sandomierski’s teaching fellowship from Western’s Centre for Teaching and Learning, the goal of the course aimed to foster interdisciplinary habits  among students. As one student reflected: “I came into the course with a simple curiosity: how much does space really shape legal behaviour? Law schools, especially, encode messages about identity, tradition, justice and power. They teach us things long before a professor even walks into the room. This course didn’t just teach me to see buildings differently – it taught me to see law differently. And designing a law school wasn’t just an assignment; it was a way of imagining the kind of legal community we want to build.” Learn more about how Western is preparing future leaders and global citizens.