2024 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award winners announced
Oct 29, 2024
We are pleased to congratulate the winners of the 2024 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teacher Awards: Shafik Bhalloo and Peng Zhang.
The TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Awards is of the most prestigious teaching honours at Simon Fraser University. The award recognizes educators who have displayed an outstanding commitment to teaching and showcased excellence in teaching activities.
Every year, students, faculty, and alumni at SFU Beedie nominate their preferred instructors from both undergraduate and graduate programs, acknowledging their exceptional teaching and the high regard in which they are held.
About the winners
Shafik Bhalloo
Professor of Practice, Strategy
Shafik Bhalloo, K.C. is a professor of practice in the undergraduate and graduate programs.
As a member of the Law Society of British Columbia and associate counsel at Kornfeld LLP, Bhalloo’s practice is focused on corporate commercial litigation, general civil litigation, labour and employment law, and human rights law.
Bhalloo teaches commercial law, business ethics and employment law courses. He has a keen interest in student engagement and brings his real-world legal experiences to the classroom for their benefit.
Bhalloo has authored several academic articles in law and ethics journals, and recently co-authored the text: Canadian Business Law: A British Columbia Perspective, 2nd Edition. He also acts as an adjudicator on the Employment Standards Tribunal and is active in the community having served as a member of various boards and committees.
This is Bhalloo’s third time receiving TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award, having previously been recognized in 2013 and 2018. “I am very grateful, particularly to the SFU Beedie students who motivate and challenge me to experiment with different pedagogies, and the many excellent colleagues who unselfishly share their knowledge to make teachers like me better”, says Bhalloo.
Peng Zhang
Associate Professor, Strategy
Peng Zhang holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on how institutions and institutional disruptions affect business performance, public policy, and regional development. Her research has been published in top journals and has won three best paper awards.
Before joining SFU Beedie in 2018, Zhang was trained as an economic geographer and then an economist. Her interdisciplinary background allows her to bring new insights to theories, make unique methodological contributions, and helps her relate to students from different academic backgrounds.
Currently, Zhang teaches managerial economics at undergraduate, MBA and Executive MBA levels. Students often perceive the managerial economics course to be one of the most difficult of their programs. Without lowering academic standards, Zhang addresses students’ concerns head on before diving into course content. She alleviates students’ anxiety by showing them how the learning process can be less stressful and more fun than they thought.
“I am extremely grateful for my colleagues for providing support, guidance and advice,” says Zhang. “They helped me transition from a new teacher with limited knowledge of what students in a business school expect, to a confident and capable instructor able to deliver successful courses at various levels. I would also like to thank my students for their feedback and for sharing wisdom from their own industries that has inspired me tremendously.”