Outstanding CQU teachers up for national award
Published on 15 May, 2006
Two outstanding CQU teachers have been nominated for a 2006 Carrick Award for Australian University Teaching. Winners will be announced in June.
The two nominees are Jenny Simpson (below) from Learning Support in the Division of Teaching and Learning Services, and Karen Becker (above) from the School of Management in the Faculty of Business and Informatics.
Both Jenny and Karen have been nominated for the category of ‘Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning’.
For the last 14 years, Jenny Simpson has been teaching at CQU Rockhampton in the Language and Learning writing course of the STEPS (Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies) program.
To date, Jenny has personally taught well over 1000 STEPS students, and testimony to her outstanding contribution as a teacher are the many comments and testimonials from past students.
In addition, Jenny’s enduring contribution to scholarship and research has been realised through cited book chapters, conference proceeding papers and refereed journal articles pertaining to her teaching experiences and philosophies.
Karen Becker has been a full-time lecturer at CQU for only 3.5 years, but in that time, she has had a tremendous impact on the thousands of students who have taken her courses. She has a reputation among students for being committed, enthusiastic, caring and, above all, accessible.
Karen’s skill as a teacher has been formally recognised by both her Faculty and the wider university community through her Faculty’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Undergraduate Teaching in 2004 and the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Early Career Academics in 2005.
As an academic, Karen remains heavily involved in her profession, being elected as a State Councillor for 2005-2006 for the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), the peak body for her profession.
Her passion for ensuring education is relevant, aligned with industry and making a positive contribution to the overall profession has seen her appointed as the Chair of the Queensland State Education Committee for AHRI. This role provides a critical link between the tertiary education sector and the profession as a whole.
This year, the Carrick Institute will award 210 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning; each prize-winner the worthy recipient of a $10 000 award, and an invitation to celebratory events in July.