Professor Greg Evans (ChemE) has received a 2015 President’s Teaching Award, U of T’s highest honour for teaching. The President’s Teaching Award was established in 2006 to recognize sustained excellence in teaching, research on teaching and the integration of teaching and research. Recipients are also designated members of the University’s Teaching Academy for a five-year term.
Professor Evans has made extensive contributions as a researcher, educator and academic leader since joining the Faculty in 1990. He led the development of and serves as director for the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR), an interdisciplinary centre for the study of air quality, with a focus on how aerosols impact human health and the environment. His ability to integrate his research and teaching have made him a sought-after supervisor and garnered him the University of Toronto Northrop Frye Award in 2013.
In addition to his outstanding classroom teaching, Professor Evans has developed innovative courses that go well beyond the delivery of technical content. Within these courses, he has created unique assignments that encourage ‘success skills’ such as teamwork, professionalism, communication and leadership. One such assignment is the “Environmental Consulting Engineer” project, in which students go through a term-long proposal and bidding process with a fictional client. The process involves collaborative learning and role-play, and it introduces students to engineering business practice while teaching technical skills.
Professor Evans has also made exceptional contributions as an educational leader. From 2003–05 he served as chair of first year for the Faculty. He then served as vice-dean, undergraduate from 2005–07. During this period he spearheaded significant curriculum development and added new curricular and extra-curricular learning opportunities.
Currently, Professor Evans is associate director of the Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead). The program is unique in Canada, and perhaps beyond, in that it integrates leadership development through curricular and extra-curricular facets of the engineering student experience. Most recently, Professor Evans has spearheaded the creation and implementation of the Graduate Collaborative Program in Engineering Education, the first engineering education graduate program in Canada. He serves as the inaugural director of this program.
Greg Evans has been recognized for his innovation in teaching and his educational leadership with a number of distinguished awards. These include the 2008 Joan E. Foley Quality of Student Experience Award from U of T, the 2010 Engineers Canada Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education, the 2014 Allan Blizzard Award for collaborative teaching and the 2014 Faculty Teaching Award, U of T Engineering’s highest recognition for teaching.
“Professor Greg Evans is an outstanding educator who inspires our students and colleagues to achieve their very best,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “He has been instrumental in transforming our Faculty’s culture of teaching innovation and excellence and I am thrilled that the university has recognized him with this prestigious honour.”
Since its inception, three other Engineering faculty have been honoured with the President’s Teaching Award: Professor Yu-Ling Cheng (ChemE), Professor Susan McCahan (MIE) and Professor Jim Wallace (MIE).
