Annette Abma
Dr. Annette Abma’s career at Laurier began in the fall of 2004 in the Department of English. For over 10 years, she taught an array of courses from “Reading Fiction”, “Children’s Literature”, and “Comic Drama” to courses in “British Literary Tradition”, “American Literature to 1900”, “Modernism and British Literature Between the Wars”. Since fall of 2017, Dr. Abma has taught “Economic Writing” in the Department of Economics. She has developed and delivered a curriculum teaching techniques and strategies for clear and effective written and oral communication of economic ideas. Her “Economic Writing” course has since become one of the most popular economics courses in the Department. Congratulations Dr. Abma for being inducted into the Century Club. This is a significant milestone in your career and a testament to the care, compassion, and pedagogy you bring to the classroom.
Submitted by Logan McLeod
Craig Beam
Born in 1968 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Craig received his PhD from the University of Waterloo in 1999, focusing his dissertation on Nietzsche’s Ethics. He has taught at Laurier since January 2003. During that time, Craig has taught at Laurier Brantford and in the Department of Communication Studies, but since 2013, he has taught exclusively in the Department of Philosophy. While teaching in this department, he developed and taught online courses on Business Ethics and Philosophy of War and Peace. He also taught Social and Political Philosophy. His teaching contribution to the Department of Philosophy has been significant and is much appreciated.
Additionally, Craig has published on topics such as Nietzsche, Hume, Charles Taylor, Virtue Ethics, Liberalism, Globalization, Teaching Ethics, and Epistemological Metaphors.
Congratulations, Craig, on teaching one hundred courses at Laurier!
Submitted by Gary Foster
Darryl Burgwin
Dr. Darryl Burgwin holds a doctorate in Sociology from York University. He taught his first course at Laurier in 2005 and has since taught across several programs including Sociology, Communication Studies, English and Film, and the Faculty of Liberal Arts. Dr. Burgwin has taught undergraduate students at multiple levels in intramural and online courses such as SY207: Social Theory, CS202: Nonverbal Communication, CS353: Internet Studies, and CS401: Network Culture. In addition to areas of research interest that include media and culture as well as theories of communication, Dr. Burgwin is an active web developer. He stresses that among his aims as an instructor is to help students to learn the course material while also fostering a love of continued learning. Congratulations, Dr. Burgwin, on your induction into the Century Club! You have fostered a love of learning for many of our students.
Submitted by Judith Nicholson
Mihaiela Despau
Mihaiela Despau has been a valued member of the Department of Languages and Literatures since 2007. We are grateful that Mihaiela has been able to share her passion for the French language with so many students, bringing her love of language and expertise to our FR101-2, FR150-1 and FR260 courses. We also very much value Mihaiela for her dedication to the department and her willingness to partake in the wider student-focused social life of the department.
Submitted by Jane Newland
Harold Chad Hillier
Since the early 2000s, at the Brantford campus, Dr. Hillier has taught in numerous programs in the Faculty of Liberal Arts including Social and Environmental Justice (previously Contemporary Studies), Law and Society, Human Rights and Human Diversity and many other programs. He has also taught several courses in Religion and Culture, Global Studies, Philosophy and History. Dr. Hillier is a dedicated, interdisciplinary scholar who has actively contributes to the campus’ program coordinating committees. He brings a real joy for teaching and engaging students to the classroom. In Law and Society, for example, Dr. Hillier teaches the required course Theories of Justice, which is not the easiest of responsibilities. He approaches it not as a burden but as an opportunity to explore new and sometimes difficult ideas with students; he challenges them to expand their intellectual horizons and rethink received ideas about law and justice. The students are clearly better for having had the opportunity to attend Dr. Hillier’s classes, and Law & Society is indebted to his commitment to his students and the program. Additionally, Dr Hillier has taught all the lecture sections for the Winter and Spring terms of BF299 for several years, often going well beyond the routine duties of a contract instructor. Indeed, his indispensable contributions have improved the course in myriad ways immeasurably. Not only that, he shepherded everyone through the very difficult Winter 2020 and Spring 2020 terms with good grace and sound judgement. He has served many times as the contract faculty representative on the Program-in-council, always making a thoughtful contribution to the deliberations of that body. Finally, Dr. Hillier’s exemplary teaching in PP/LY213 has made this course an annual mainstay on the Brantford campus. It is the only senior philosophy course that we offer every year, and both its popularity and academic success are due to Chad’s steady hand.
Submitted by Brenda Murphy, Jonathan Lavery and Todd Gordon
Jeffery Klaehn
Jeffery Klaehn holds a PhD in Communication Science (Amsterdam, 2007) and a PhD in Sociology (Strathclyde, 2018). He has published major articles with prestigious Communication Studies journals, including Journalism Studies, the European Journal of Communication, and International Communication Gazette. He has edited and/or co-edited 7 books to date and has authored many book chapters. He has published dozens of interviews with creatives, writers, artists, editors, publishers, and game designers. These have been published with many journals. He has published enough to be awarded tenure twice over and has been nominated by students for teaching excellence awards at Laurier across multiple years. His writings are included as required readings on course outlines at universities around the world. He deserves to be recognized for his outstanding teaching and contributions to scholarship. He deserves to be tenured, now. Any university or department will be extremely lucky to have him.
Submitted by Michael Manley
Bina Mehta
Bina Mehta began her teaching career at Wilfrid Laurier in 2005 for the Global Studies Department and the North American Studies Program. Bina is a very accomplished teacher, and she is tremendously appreciated by both her colleagues and her students, whether in large first-year courses or smaller tutorials settings. She has mentored numerous students, including international students, and has a lasting impact on their lives. Her pedagogical talents were recognized in 2018 when she was awarded the Donald F. Morgenson Faculty Award of Teaching Excellence (Sustained Excellence category). Bina engages her classrooms with creativity, deep care, and a sustained concern for critical self-reflection about difference, diversity, and inclusion. For example, in her signature course for Global Studies, The Cosmopolitan Village? (GS221), she engages in ‘Cultural Food Jams’ whereby students discuss questions about culture and globalization through the meaningful foods in their lives.
Bina has been an active leader with the Centre for Teaching Innovation and Excellence by providing workshops on topics such as blended course design, creative assessments, and high impact practices. She has also contributed to programming in the Faculty of Arts when in 2017 she authored the report “New Directions: International Students in the Faculty of Arts” that led to the creation of a specialized course to ease the transition of at-risk international students.
Bina Mehta is a most valued member of the Global Studies Department and the North American Studies Program and we extend our heartfelt congratulations for her induction in WLUFA’s Century Club!
Submitted by Alicia Sliwinski
Patricia Molloy
Dr. Patricia Molloy holds a doctorate in Education from the University of Toronto. She taught her first course at Laurier in 2003 and has since taught across several programs, including Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, and Women’s Studies. Dr. Molloy has taught undergraduate students at all levels in courses such as KS101: Culture in Thematic Perspective, WS203: Girls, Women, and Popular Culture, CS341: Critical Advertising Studies, and CS402: Representing War in Media, Art and Popular Culture. Dr. Molloy is author of Canada/US and Other Unfriendly Relations: Before and After 9/11 (Palgrave MacMillan 2012) and over 20 journal articles and book chapters on feminist pedagogies, moral panics, and representations and narratives of war. Dr. Molloy’s critical and feminist pedagogies are reflected in her assertion that “If you’re not willing to learn from your students, you’ve got no business being in front of the classroom.” In The Cord, Laurier’s student newspaper, CS322: Gender, Culture and Communication is identified as among the courses taught by Dr. Molloy that students say will “change the way you see the world.” Congratulations, Dr. Molloy, on your induction into the Century Club! You have influenced the way that many of our students see the world.
Submitted by Judith Nicholson
Lorin Shalanko
As a musical coach and collaborative pianist, Lorin Shalanko believes it his job to give students the confidence in their own creative instincts, and the foundational tools, to see their artistic vision to fruition. It gives him great satisfaction to see a student exert their own opinion about the interpretation of a song and back that opinion up with knowledge and creativity.
Lorin shares experience from his Piano Performance Degree from Wilfrid Laurier and studies with the great collaborative pianist Martin Katz at the University of Michigan in his work with the students. As a professional musician, Lorin performs with many solo artists including Leslie Fagan, with whom he is the Co-founder of the Canadian Art Song Series, which champions Canadian Music.(www.canadianartsong.ca) In the solo realm, Lorin has shared his music in France, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands.
It is the combination of Lorin’s professional experience and his dry sense of humour that make him a favourite among his students. On the door of his studio is a sign that says “ Let Your Freak Flag Fly” ! This underlines his celebration of the individual musician in their learning and their success. Congratulations to Lorin on this milestone!
Submitted by Leslie Fagan