Excellence in Teaching

The King’s community came together on November 22 to celebrate this year’s Awards of Excellence in Teaching recipients. Dr. Darcy Harris presented the Christopher Perrin Beatty Lecture on “Navigating the Many Shapes of Loss and Grief,” exploring how grief can be viewed as an essential and potentially transformative experience. Dr. Jennifer Silcox delivered the Part-Time Faculty Lecture on “My Unexpected Path: Becoming a Teacher,” discussing her passion for creating a collaborative learning environment and how she strives to empower students to take learning into their own hands.

Dr. Darcy Harris, Professor of Thanatology, has been a faculty member at King’s since 1998. As the coordinator of Thanatology, she developed the major and minor modules in Thanatology and the Honours Specialization in Thanatology program. She has created, developed and taught over a dozen courses, including several Thanatology and Palliative Care Certificate Courses through Western’s Continuing Studies.

“I am so deeply honoured. It is a privilege to be a part of the Thanatology program at King’s, and I am grateful to be surrounded by so many exemplary colleagues and our wonderful students. I consider this Award a true highlight of my career,” says Dr. Harris.

The selection committee noted Dr. Harris’ outstanding record of teaching excellence, self-reflectiveness and responsiveness to students, innovative program development, and versatility in pedagogy.

Dr. Jennifer Silcox, Assistant Professor, Childhood and Youth Studies, became an instructor of Sociology in 2012. In July 2023, she became a full-time faculty member with the Department of Childhood and Youth Studies.

“I feel honoured to be given the King’s Excellence in Teaching Award for part-time faculty for my dedication to King’s and my students,” says Dr. Silcox. It’s heartwarming to know that my students enjoy and appreciate my courses. I look forward to continuing my teaching journey at King’s while endeavouring to discover new and interesting ways of inspiring students in the classroom and helping them become the changemakers of tomorrow.”

“King’s is proud to be a centre of transformative learning, and both recipients of the Awards for Excellence in Teaching embody core principles and values of King’s – scholarly excellence, thoughtful and adaptive pedagogy, and care for their students,” says Dr. Mark Yenson, Associate Academic Dean. “Dr. Harris and Dr. Silcox are ins outstanding and inspiring exemplars of teaching excellence at King’s.”