Dr. Brian Wagner Wins Prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowship Award

Dr. Brian Wagner, Chair of the Department of Chemistry, has been selected for a prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowship by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and 3M Canada. The 3M is Canada's exclusive national award for university teaching and leadership. Faculty members from the University of Prince Edward Island have carried off four 3M awards in the last five years, which demonstrates an outstanding record of teaching excellence.

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Dr. Wagner's Citation

Students wait in line at pre-registration to make sure they get into Brian Wagner's first-year chemistry class, and no wonder. From his interactive anonymous quizzes to his writing-across-the-curriculum techniques to his use of real-life research in the classroom, Brian connects the student to chemistry and chemistry to the world. In1998, he won UPEI's Merit Award for Excellence in Teaching, and his student evaluations include comments like "better than the best" and "Dr. Wagner, you are a chemistry god!"

But Brian's passion goes beyond chemistry; he was a founding member of UPEI's Environmental Studies Group, and he team-teaches in the core course of a new Environmental Studies Minor. That collaborative spirit extends to his colleagues on campus and beyond. Even with a heavy load as Chair of his Department, Brian volunteers each year as a teaching mentor in UPEI's New Faculty Program. A leader in promoting active learning even in large science classes, Brian shares his passion for teaching with international university and college teachers as a facilitator in UPEI's Faculty Development Summer Institute on Active Learning.

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Teachers with Reach: Announcing recipients of the 20th Anniversary 3M Teaching Fellowship Awards

Montreal, QC, May 13, 2005 -

Forty-three years ago, after three sleepless nights and worrying that he'd made a career mistake, John Thompson stepped into his first classroom; 10 minutes later, he knew he wanted to teach for the rest of his life. And now, he and nine others will receive Canada's only national award for university teaching and leadership: the 3M Teaching Fellowships.

Every member of John's cohort shares his sense of joy and dedication to teaching. At the University of Saskatchewan, Richard Schwier, believes that the most powerful technologies are the soft ones: "how we engage students, excite them and empower them." Dalhousie's Srinivas Sampalli is so loved by his computer science students that they established a teaching award in his name.

3M Teaching Fellows are also innovators in pedagogy: Georg Gunther at Newfoundland's Wilfred Grenfell College has developed an original set of cartoon characters who model math problems, and fliers advertising "Math Problems at Low Prices!" engaging the mathphobes among his students. The University of Ottawa's Aline Germain-Rutherford has developed software that allows students to graph and see the progress of their French accents. David Dunne's students in the University of Toronto's School of Management work with industry leaders to produce ads for clients like the Salvation Army and the Alzheimer's Society. And the University of PEI's Brian Wagner connects his students to chemistry and chemistry to the world.

The 3M Teaching Fellows also demonstrate extraordinary leadership in university teaching. York's Janice Newton has established new academic programs; Western's Anton Allahar has introduced new programs as far as St. Petersburg, Russia. And History professor Kenneth Bartlett founder of the Office of Teaching Advancement champions the "Academy of Teaching" that will be announced at the University of Toronto.

Teachers, innovators and leaders, these 3M Teaching Fellows will be introduced to the membership of the Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) on June 9th at the University of Prince Edward Island. They will also meet at the Chateau Montebello on November 5th and#150; 7th for an intense and exciting weekend retreat.

This is the 20th anniversary of the Fellowships Program, supported by former President of 3M Canada, John Myser who knew the impact his teachers had made on him. Myser collaborated with STLHE to recognize and value teaching in Canadian universities and to celebrate teachers with reach.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Program Coordinator

3M Teaching Fellowships

Tel. (514) 848-2424 x 2928

Fax: (514) 848-4500

E-mail: arshad@jmsb.concordia.ca