Professors Stanley Tweyman (right) of 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Philosophy in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) and Jan Rehner of 91亚色鈥檚 Writing Department in LA&PS have been selected by the Senate Committee on Awards to receive the title of University Professor.

A brief summary of Tweyman鈥檚 contributions to the University is impossible given his extraordinary involvement in many areas of campus life, as well as his distinguished record of research and publication.

As Chair of the Philosophy Department at Glendon, graduate program director in philosophy and Master of Vanier College, Tweyman has not only proved to be a creative and able administrator, but an inspiration to students and colleagues alike.

His work is focused on students; whether as adviser and mentor, both formal and informal, or in his development of college programs and activities, he has worked to engage students fully in the life of the University. Tweyman will be awarded the title of University Professor during the LA&PS Spring Convocation ceremony on Wednesday, June 13 at 3:30pm.

Jan Rehner

Rehner has made stellar contributions to the growth and development of 91亚色. The range and depth of her service to the collegium is impressive. In addition to active involvement in YUFA and generous contributions to teaching development programs at the Centre for the Support of Teaching, she was a well-respected associate dean in the Faculty of Arts and chair of the Faculty of Arts Council.

A highly effective administrator, she played an important role in the transformation of the Centre for Academic Writing into the Writing Department. The recipient of Canada鈥檚 most prestigious teaching award, the 3M Fellowship, as well as the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations teaching award and numerous awards internal to 91亚色, Rehner is applauded as a captivating lecturer, encouraging tutor and thoughtful mentor to both students and colleagues.

She is a widely respected international authority on various aspects of the pedagogy of critical thinking, reading and writing, and has also written several novels. She has indeed made extraordinary contributions to the University as a colleague, teacher and scholar. Rehner will receive her title during the Fall Convocation ceremonies.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Over the course of the next year, YFile聽will be profiling the projects through videos and stories. Today, the camera's spotlight is on Monahan and聽the story of his inspiration for AIF.聽

Patrick Monahan grins when he recalls his 鈥淎ha!鈥� moment, which聽led to the creation of the Academic Innovation Fund.聽

Several years ago, 91亚色鈥檚 vice-president academic & provost聽had just completed a series of consultations with 91亚色 community members regarding the , a document that would outline the future academic priorities of the University. What he discovered during that process energized him.聽

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鈥淎s we went through the White Paper a couple of years ago, what impressed me were the people who participated in that process,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e sat in focus groups and we talked about our ideas, dreams and aspirations for the University. What was so striking聽was that people had so many great ideas 鈥� there were literally hundreds!鈥�

He discovered the main obstacle preventing these ideas from becoming a reality centred on the lack of resources. Monahan had heard of projects in the United States that provided seed funding for academic initiatives. He thought the idea had merit and turned to his colleagues in the Provost鈥檚 Office to see if they could find funding that could be used to create a made-in-91亚色 solution to turn the ideas into working projects.

His聽inspiration led to the formation of the Academic Innovation Fund of $2.5 million that would provide an initial investment of resources to bring projects from the drawing board to reality.聽In the fall of 2010, applications were invited from the University community for funding (up to $200,000 each) to support new initiatives advancing 91亚色鈥檚 strategic priorities in relation to teaching and learning and the student experience.

The response, he discovered, was nothing short of amazing. 鈥淚t was just fantastic because of the tremendous energy and participation," he said. 鈥淭he committee was only able to fund 39 of those projects, but all the project submissions were very interesting and innovative, and showed a real commitment to the University and to our students."

The 39 projects funded include聽clusters of initiatives that support聽e-learning,聽experiential education and the student experience.聽From a project to enhance how first-year students move from high school to university, to a student-run sustainable business initiative, each of the AIF projects聽is as diverse as the University community. There is a project to create an online enrolment system for new students, a mentorship program for varsity athletes, a partnership between two faculties to develop a blended learning initiative, a community centred action plan for experiential education, and a project to bring public history into the classroom, to name just a few.

All of the projects, said Monahan, reflect 91亚色's DNA. "Each of the projects is about engaging people in these ideas," he said. "I hope that what this does is that it shows people what is possible and that we can build on this energy."

Monahan said that聽many people聽have told him聽how excited they are to see their ideas finally becoming a reality.聽"What I find so interesting is that there are ideas that would never have occurred to someone sitting in an office here in the 91亚色 Research Tower or even in a dean's office," he said. "Ideas like聽a project that we have with refugees in Thailand connecting them with researchers and students here in Toronto or a project聽to teach area youth how to swim."

The AIF projects provide a concrete example of the potential for innovation and engagement that resides in the 91亚色 community. "It is an example of the idea that the collective brain is always better then a single brain.聽If you get one hundred people in a room and get them thinking and talking 鈥� you are going to get more ideas than with 10 people, five or one. That is what makes this a really successful initiative so far."聽

By Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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