The 2014 winner of the Teacher Excellence Award for the Canadian Academic Programs is Dr. Brenda Adams. She teaches in the Master of Counselling program in Langford, Victoria. One of Brenda’s students exclaimed, “Brenda Adams is an excellent instructor, especially for facilitating the introductory course to the program. She is attentive, organized, timely and engaged at all levels of the course instruction. She is gracious with questions, and quick to provide necessary feedback and enhancement the group discussion. The expectation of each assignment is laid out in a clear manner and she is swift in her evaluation to ensure we can be confident in our progress. I appreciate how Brenda applies the material of the course to real-life scenarios from her practice. I also appreciate her willingness to demonstrate the skills that we learn in our on-site residencies. Brenda helped my entry to graduate school be manageable – a big thank you to her for that and everything.”

Brenda’s work outside of the class includes investigating epigenetic responses to interpersonal violence and social responses. Like several of her academic colleagues and fellow CityU faculty members, she presents her work at academic conferences around the world. Brenda brings her academic and work experience into the classroom and shows her students how to realistic apply theory to the real world. Her students appreciate her practical approach to learning and how she keeps open lines of communication with them.

This prestigious award will be presented to Brenda on June 21, before CityU’s 39^th Commencement. Congratulations Brenda, it is our honor to have you as a distinguished faculty members.