MacEwan University’s Teaching Awards celebrate faculty members who provide exceptional learning environments for their students. This year, two faculty members will receive the Early Career Teaching Excellence Award.

 “MacEwan is proud to celebrate the achievements of instructors who are relatively new to teaching with us, as well as instructors who have laid the groundwork for others to follow,” says Dr. Craig Monk, provost and vice-president, Academic. “We continue to grow as an institution and do so through the contributions of exemplary colleagues. Congratulations to this year’s honorees!”

Meet the recipients

Kealey Dube
Department of Social Work 

At the heart of Kealey Dube’s teaching philosophy is her commitment to creating an inclusive environment where every student feels welcome regardless of background or ability. She incorporates a “students as partners” approach where collaboration is stressed from the beginning of the first class right through to evaluation. Dube has been an assistant professor at MacEwan since 2021, has received a number of research grants and is actively involved with many professional associations. Her students regularly describe her commitment to personalized support as a key to their academic success.

Soni Dasmohapatra
Department of Arts and Cultural Management 

Soni Dasmohapatra integrates arts-based approaches into her teaching,  empowering students to connect theory with practice. She is also committed to inclusive and experiential learning, drawing from her 30 years of experience in government, higher learning and non-profit sectors nationally and internationally. Dasmohapatra has a proven track record as a cultural administrator at municipal and provincial levels in Alberta and Ontario, as well as internationally. Her research interest is to build capacity for students to explore and obtain professionalization as arts and cultural administrators.