Posted on March 5: New academic director hopes to inspire passion for teaching
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Del_Harnish_opt2.jpg” caption=”Del Harnish”]Del Harnish, the new academic director of McMaster's Centre for Leadership in Learning (CLL), has a lot on his mind these days. Not only is he leading one of McMaster's most premier programs the Bachelor of Health Sciences program — he's been asked to bring teaching to the forefront of researchers' minds.
It's a hefty task. After all, teaching isn't why most researchers entered their profession, he says. “The culture in most faculties is that faculty members do not meet to talk about their teaching. In fact, if you were to walk down the hall and ask a faculty member what's new, it almost never will be a topic about teaching, it will be something in their research.”
That's why CLL is so important, he says. It emphasizes teaching excellence; an objective he says is shared across campus. So, when Harnish was asked to take on the position of academic director of CLL, he knew he was being charged with an important job.
“Teaching has become a more central issue for the institution over the past five years, and that's clear in things like tenure and promotion committees, and it's a clear focus of Refining Directions,” says Harnish, who took over the three-and-a-half-year appointment in January. “It's largely true that all people who teach on campus want to do it really well, but by definition, their discipline is not teaching and they don't necessarily read educational literature, because they are engrossed in their research.”
CLL provides assistance with teaching, including course feedback, refinement or construction. It also offers workshops, seminars, symposia, peer consulting, learning technology and other resources for teaching.
McMaster provost Ken Norrie feels Harnish is the ideal person for the job. “Del is highly respected for his academic leadership, specifically in his role in the development of the bachelor of health sciences program,” he says. “He is a known innovator and is dedicated to the advancement of education and research. His role with CLL will contribute to the implementation of Refining Directions and goals related to providing an innovative and stimulating learning environment.”
Harnish, who is also assistant dean of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program, has received several awards including a 3M Teaching Fellowship, a President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and an MSU Teaching Award, among others. His research investigates the natural history of persistent virus infections including arenaviruses and papilloma viruses. He also spends a great deal of time in reflection and research on teaching and learning.
Photo caption: Del Harnish at the front entrance to the Centre for Leadership in Learning. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay
