Renowned anthropologist, researcher and dedicated teacher Dr. Jan Newberry has been named the winner of the University of Lethbridge’s 2015 Distinguished Teaching Award.
Lauded for making an indelible impression on her students, Newberry has consistently demonstrated a passion for teaching that is only matched by her enthusiasm and liveliness in the classroom. Students are quick to praise her for her energetic and creative approach to teaching and her ability to engage the class and encourage their participation. One of her guiding principles is putting academic ideas into practice in the classroom.
“I’m not one of those teachers who thinks ‘here’s the goal and now I just need to get you to the goal’,” Newberry says of her philosophy. “I don’t actually know what the goal is entirely – other than thinking – and what I want students to do is wander around and make up their own mind. A little struggle doesn’t bother me.”
Newberry, who came to the U of L in 2001, has devoted considerable time to work beyond the classroom as well, readily accepting responsibilities as a supervisor for independent study projects, applied studies, honours theses and graduate students. Her mentorship and ability to connect research and teaching, theory and practice and university and community is well respected both within the University and by her colleagues in the field.
In 2014, Newberry was awarded the American Anthropological Association/Oxford University Press Award for Undergraduate Teaching in Anthropology. Her dedication to teaching extends to her desire to enhance the practice throughout the University. She has been heavily involved in improving the excellence of teaching on campus through the Teaching Centre, serving a one-year term as a Teaching Centre Fellow in 2010-11 and being appointed to a two-year term as the Board of Governors’ Teaching Chair in 2011.
An accomplished and prolific researcher, Newberry was a driving force behind the establishment of the Institute for Child and Youth Studies in 2012, a multidisciplinary research institute strongly grounded in the humanities and social sciences, committed to connecting scholars working in all disciplines and Faculties at the University of Lethbridge.
For a feature story on Jan Newberry, follow this link: http://www.uleth.ca/unews/article/newberry-earns-2015-distinguished-teaching-award.
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