2021 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award winners announced

Shauna Jones and Michael Parent have been named the winners of the 2021 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Awards, the highest teaching honour of its kind at SFU’s Beedie School of Business. Parent is a professor of management information systems and marketing at the Segal Graduate School of Business, while Jones is a senior lecturer well-known for teaching BUS 202 – Foundations in Collaborative Work Environments.

Each year, SFU Beedie students, faculty, and alumni nominate their favourite instructors from both undergraduate and postgraduate programs for this award in recognition of the respect and admiration their students have for their outstanding teaching.

Michael Parent received his MBA and PhD degrees from Queen’s University and is an award-winning teacher and researcher. His current research interest center on governance practices, e-business, social media and luxury brands.

“It was a delightful surprise to be nominated for the award and an honour to receive it,” says Parent. “I am grateful to the students who nominated me. I never expected an award for teaching, let alone one that has gone to so many of my distinguished colleagues, many of whom I’ve known, admired, and been inspired by during my time at SFU Beedie. It’s truly a privilege to join them.”

Before becoming an academic, Parent spent over a decade in the high-tech industry. This experience informs not only his research interests but also his educational philosophy.

“I am a case teacher,” says Parent. “Cases bridge theory and practice. In each class, the students and I confront a problem, a situation, an opportunity. My main role is to nudge, provoke, reflect, synthesize, and otherwise lightly steer the conversation, sometimes into areas that are a bit challenging or uncomfortable, as its’ guide on the side’ – all in a quest to understand the world of organizations a little more clearly. Each class and case are different, and when it works, it becomes a generative learning experience where fires ignite.”

Shauna Jones has an MA in leadership and is academic director, teaching and learning, as well as a faculty teaching fellow. Before joining the Beedie School of Business, she had a consulting and coaching business working with industry and social services. Her career has been focused on supporting people to be the best they can be, which has led her to take a student-centred approach to education.

“It is an honour to be nominated and humbling to receive the award,” says Jones. “We have many great teachers at the Beedie School of Business and to be considered among them means so much to me. I have learned so much from my colleagues and students – they helped make this happen.”

When asked what about her educational philosophy she thinks resonates with students, she said, “My teaching practice is influenced by the work of Dee Fink where I design my courses to create significant learning experiences for students – experiences that impact them on a personal level. I incorporate experiential learning and authentic assessment into my lessons to help make the learning relevant to students. On an individual basis, I start by believing in what students can do. I then support their journey by listening, tugging, pushing, and often prodding them to get to the next level. I help my students grow, think about things differently, and be conscious in how they communicate and work with others.”

“Finally, and very importantly,” she adds, “I want to offer my sincere thanks to my former and current students, colleagues, and anyone else who had a hand in nominating me for this award.”

For more information on the TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Awards, visit beedie.sfu.ca/teaching/distinguished-teaching-awards/.