Cathryn Smith

Cathryn Smith joined Brandon University’s (BU’s) Faculty of Education in 2015 after completing her PhD in Transformative Teaching, Leading and Learning at the University of Manitoba (U of M). Prior to beginning her doctoral studies she taught in the public education system for the Winnipeg School Division (WSD). She held a variety of positions at different grade levels, including 15 years teaching and 10 years as a school administrator.

While working as a school principal in Winnipeg’s culturally diverse inner city, Cathryn completed her Master of Education with a focus on General Curriculum. In her formal leadership roles she focused on inclusive education, positive behaviour supports, co-teaching, curriculum leadership and feedback for learning. By working with community leaders, she was able to establish a coalition of community organizations in the school neighbourhood to facilitate communication and improve families’ access to much-needed resources.

After leaving the division to pursue her PhD she taught as a sessional instructor at the U of M, BU and the University of Winnipeg, and supervised a cohort of pre-service teachers in the Philippines. Upon completion, she received a Doctoral Dissertation Award from the Canadian Association for Teacher Education (CATE) for her research titled <em>Developing teacher leaders for social justice: Building agency through community, critical reflection and action</em>. Currently she is President of CATE, which is an integral part of the Canadian Society for Studies in Education, Canada’s largest organization for education scholars.

This has been a busy and productive year for Cathryn. She received tenure and promotion, was elected Grad Chair within the Faculty of Education, completed her term as Chair of the BU Status of Women Review Committee and now is humbled to be receiving recognition for excellence in teaching.

Cathryn is proud of the BU Faculty of Education and feels that this award is recognition of the passion and expertise faculty members dedicate to providing high quality learning experiences and mentorship within their undergraduate and graduate programs.

Cathryn received the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2020.