A University of Northern British Columbia professor, who has been with UNBC since it first opened with full operations, has received Canada’s most prestigious university teaching award.

International Studies professor Heather Smith is a 2006 recipient of the 3M Teaching Fellowship award. She is the first UNBC professor to win the award.  It is given annually to professors who excel in teaching and demonstrate an exceptionally high degree of leadership and commitment to the improvement of teaching across disciplines. Over the past 20 years, only 208 3M Teaching Fellowships have been presented.

“Heather is a gifted teacher who personifies much of what defines the educational experience at UNBC,” says UNBC Vice-President Academic, Howard Brunt. “She is fair but demanding, inspiring yet challenging. She has a long history of obtaining outstanding student ratings from students who value the opportunity to be engaged and to question their own assumptions.”

Dr. Smith earned her PhD in Political Studies from Queen’s University in 1993. When she arrived at UNBC in 1994, the University was about to open its Prince George campus. Over the past dozen years, Dr. Smith has enjoyed popularity among students, staff, and faculty colleagues, and recently accepted a position as Professional Development Coordinator with the UNBC Centre for Teaching and Learning in addition to teaching and serving as Chair of the International Studies program. Her scholarly research is oriented to Canadian foreign policy, including the role of gender and the evolution of national climate change policy.

“As an academic, I’m trained to have my head in the classroom, but genuine teaching also requires that my heart is there as well,” says Dr. Smith. “The best teachers I ever had combined a depth of knowledge of their field with a grace and insight that inspired me to go further in my field and to believe in myself. They pushed when I needed to be pushed, trusted I could find my way, and believed in my capacity to integrate new, and sometimes uncomfortable, insights.”

The ten recipients of 3M Teaching Fellowship awards for 2006 are being recognized tonight at a gala banquet in Toronto. The winners will also be profiled in the June 19 issue of Maclean’s magazine.