Etienne Coo Wins Janet Pottie Murray Award for Educational Leadership

The UPEI Senate Committee on the Enhancement of Teaching, through the Faculty Development Office, is pleased to announce that Dr. Etienne Coo of the Department of Companion Animals, Atlantic Veterinary College, has been chosen as the 2007 recipient of the Janet Pottie Murray Award for Educational Leadership.

The purpose of this award, created by English professor Dr. Shannon Murray to honour her mother, Janet Pottie Murray, is to encourage excellence in teaching and to recognize outstanding leadership in education on the campus of the University of Prince Edward Island. Says Dr. Coo, "Receiving the Janet Pottie Murray Award is a tremendous honour, especially considering who it is named after and what it represents."

In awarding the honour, the selection committee noted that Dr. Cotand#233; has "modeled good teaching and inspired his colleagues to think about their teaching in a deeper way." He has contributed in numerous ways to an open and enabling environment within the Department of Companion Animals at the Atlantic Veterinary College. New methods of teaching introduced to AVC by Dr. Cotand#233;, such as including students in veterinarian consultations, are now being adopted by fellow faculty, to the benefit of teachers and students alike.

Dr. Cotand#233;, along with more than 20 other teaching award recipients, will participate in the 2007 Hessian Retreat at Stanhope Beach Resort on May 31 and June 1. This retreat is a celebration of teaching excellence at UPEI over the last three years. The Hessian Retreat is sponsored under an endowment by the Quinn family in honour of Evelyn (Hessian) Quinn, the first female valedictorian at St. Dunstan's University in 1949, and her siblings Louise, Phyllis, and Fred.

As the Janet Pottie Murray Award recipient for 2007, Dr. Cotand#233; will be formally recognized in a presentation ceremony at the UPEI "Let's Talk Teaching" workshop on September 4.