Two McMaster University professors have been chosen as outstanding university teachers.

Sheila Sammon, associate professor of Social Work, and Nick Bontis, associate professor of Business, were two of six professors selected by 15,000 peers across the province in the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Association (OCUFA) Awards.

“OCUFA's Awards Committee was impressed with Professor Sammon's commitment to student engagement through field practice, class exercise, and by pushing the boundaries of teaching and learning,” said OCUFA President Mark Langer. “As well, it was extremely impressed by Professor Bontis' innovative thinking and creative teaching. He truly cares about his classes and the success of his students.”

For Sammon, teaching is the best job in the world.

“I have the opportunity to engage with bright minds, to encourage critical thinking, to watch people develop their ideas and life goals, and to collaborate with others,” she says. “It is particularly important in today's academic environment to focus on the relationships with and between learners. Larger classes, a more diverse student population, increased reliance on technology, shrinking resources for education and students who are financially stretched require university educators to carefully consider how they teach and why they teach.”

“Sheila is one of McMaster's very best educators,” says Charlotte Yates, dean of Social Sciences. “Our faculty looks to her for leadership-both in the structuring of new practices and programs and in keeping us focused on the Faculty's purpose of preparing students for active and critical citizenship.”

In addition to being a prolific researcher and favourite teacher in the DeGroote School of Business, Bontis is director of the undergraduate program and works tirelessly to ensure the student experience is a positive one. Earlier this year he won the 3M National Teaching Fellow, and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance Top Professor Award.

“I feel blessed to win an award for what I love to do,” says Bontis. “With each award, my role as a professor at DeGroote becomes emboldened. Students and fellow colleagues significantly increase their expectations of me, and it's my objective to continually over-deliver.”

“We are committed to creating a high level of interaction and engagement in teaching and learning,” says Paul Bates, dean of the DeGroote School of Business. “Nick's passion, dedication and enthusiasm for scholarship in his teaching, his research and his service to McMaster are obvious, and this award is yet further recognition of his outstanding commitment.”

Sammon and Bontis will each receive a 2008-2009 OCUFA teaching award at ceremony at the Fairmont-Royal York Hotel in Toronto on Oct. 3. The four other teaching award recipients are Clare Hasenkampf (University of Toronto), Lorne Sosin (University of Toronto), Gordon Stubley (University of Waterloo), and Cameron Tsujita (University of Western Ontario).