Fredericton Faculty of Arts

We would like to congratulate the 2018 winners of the Faculty of Arts Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Neil Cole (Contract Academic Instructor award) and Dr. David Hofmann (full-time faculty award).

The Faculty of Arts recognizes and encourages teaching excellence among its full-time faculty members and Contract Academic Instructors by presenting “The Faculty of Arts Award for Excellence in Teaching, for Full-Time Faculty Members” and “The Faculty of Arts Award for Excellence in Teaching, for Contract Academic Instructors.”

The 2018 awards will be presented to Dr. David Hofmann, of the Department of Sociology, and to Professor Neil Cole, ARTS 1000/1100 Tutor and Academic Advising Support Coordinator.

The citations presented by Arts Faculty Teaching Awards Committee follow below:

Citation – Professor Neil Cole
(CAI award)

The dedication of Professor Cole to his teaching and his students is one of the central elements that convinced the Committee that he is well deserving of the Faculty of Arts Teaching Award. As one nominating student put it, “if it hadn’t been for Neil, I would have quit, but he assured me that he would work with me to get rid of the fear and anxiety I faced.” Another nominating student made the following comment: “Neil has made my attending university more enjoyable and makes me want to do better.” In addition, his ability to engage his students stood out, as shown in the following statement by one of his students: “He makes his students feel comfortable enough to ask questions and speak their mind freely.”

Citation – Dr. David Hofmann
(full-time faculty award)

Dr. Hofmann clearly shows an outstanding ability to engage students in their own learning by making the course material interesting. As one nominating student put it, “He clearly puts in an effort to make sure his lectures are interesting and relatable. He makes class very fun and interesting and can bring in humour, which makes for an entertaining learning environment.” Dr. Hofmann is also an excellent communicator as exemplified in the following statement by a nominating student: “He is able to make new information easy to understand and makes sure that we have a full understanding before moving on to the next idea.” Finally, his dedication to his students and their success was obvious to the Committee. For example, one student stated, “He is consistently making sure that the students who want to succeed will do so, and he is always there to answer questions and take the time to go over things.”