Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Awards

Established in 1998 by Mr. Seymour Schulich and the Schulich Centre for Teaching Excellence,

the Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Awards (TEAs) recognize outstanding contributions by instructors at the Schulich School of Business.

The criteria for these awards are based on Seymour Schulich’s vision
for excellence in these five areas:

2025-2026 Teaching Excellence Award Recipients

We invite you to join us in congratulating this well-deserving group of recipients for their outstanding contributions to teaching and learning at Schulich. We are fortunate to have such dedicated individuals enriching our students’ educational experience, and we sincerely thank them for their meaningful impact and commitment.

Undergraduate Program

Shay Nulman
1st Place Winner

Graeme Deans
2nd Place Winner

Alex Fisher

Alex Garber

Margaret Hastings

Vikram Iyer

Brent Lyons

Annie Mac

Peter Macdonald

Marisa Morriello

Graduate Programs

Raha Imanirad
1st Place Winner

Vikram Iyer
2nd Place Winner

Supinder Babra

Chris Carder

David Elsner

Yelena Larkin

Marisa Morriello

Shay Nulman

Grant Packard

Lindsey Rolheiser

John Peace Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award – 2025-26

Charles Hendriks

Adjunct Professor, Marketing

Schulich is proud to announce that Charles Hendriks, Adjunct Professor in the Marketing Area, has been named recipient of the 2025-2026 John Peace Part-Time Teaching Award.

Charles has earned a reputation as one of Schulich’s most engaging and student-centred educators, recognized for his high-energy teaching style, exceptional classroom engagement and unwavering commitment to student success. His excellence in teaching has earned him nominations for Schulich’s Top 10 Teaching Excellence Award in each of the past two years, while his broader contributions to education and community service were recently recognized with the King Charles III Coronation Medal for Outstanding Service and Dedication to our Community and Nation.

His impact extends well beyond the classroom. Charles regularly hosts optional sessions on career alternatives, resume development and behavioural interviewing, provides mentorship and guidance to students pursuing graduate and professional studies, and contributes his time to program information sessions and other School initiatives. Since joining Schulich in 2020, he has taught across the BBA, MBA and Master of Marketing programs while consistently earning strong teaching evaluations. An accomplished business leader as well as an educator, he also brings extensive executive experience from senior leadership roles with organizations such as Procter & Gamble and Bell Canada, providing students with valuable real-world insights drawn from decades of experience leading growth and transformation initiatives.

Congratulations to Charles Hendriks on receiving the 2025-2026 John Peace Part-Time Teaching Award – a fitting tribute to an educator whose energy, mentorship and real-world experience continue to make a lasting impact on students and colleagues alike.

The John Peace Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award was established in honour of John Peace, a dedicated part-time instructor at the Schulich School of Business from 1986 to 1996.  John, who taught business law and real estate courses, made valuable and significant contributions to the school until his passing.  In April 1996, the Policy Area posthumously nominated John for the Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award, and recognizing John’s exemplary teaching and service, it was proposed that the award be renamed in his memory, a suggestion that was warmly received and supported by then Area Coordinator, Jerry Dermer.  Consequently, the award was renamed the John Peace Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award, with the inaugural award presented to John’s widow and son at Convocation breakfast that year. Each year since, every area within the school is invited to nominate one outstanding part-time faculty member for this esteemed award, with the final selection made by the Dean in consultation with the Management Committee.

Teaching Awards FAQ

Seymour Schulich Teaching Awards

Seymour Schulich’s vision for these awards is that the winners demonstrate excellence in:

  • Knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the subject matter
  • Exceptional teaching strategies and communication skills
  • Positive student learning experiences
  • Teaching innovation
  • Responsiveness to student needs and concerns

The question asks students to rate the instructor’s teaching based on Seymour Schulich’s vision.

Eligibility for the Teaching Excellence Awards is limited to Schulich full‑time and part‑time faculty who teach a course section* with 20 or more students (consistent with standard minimum enrolment requirements) and that is taught to Schulich students.  Courses delivered in a Schulich‑to‑York context are excluded from the TEA process.

*The unit of evaluation for the Schulich TEA will be one course section – for example, ACTG 1000 3.00, Section A.

Excludes: tutorial instructor, teaching assistant, guest instructor or lecturer, external guest speaker, independent study advisor, 601/602 chair or advisor, major research paper advisor, club faculty advisor.

Please see below with respect to placing in first or second place in back‑to‑back years.

Student participation in the TEA rating process is strictly voluntary.

During the same time period in which the students are required complete their online course evaluations, students are presented with a separate, short questionnaire that provides an opportunity to rate their instructors for a Teaching Excellence Award.  The results of both questionnaires are separate and unrelated.  This TEA questionnaire, which is administered via the ONCE online platform, is to be completed in-class during each program’s respective ratings windows at the end of each term in an academic year.

The unit of evaluation for the Schulich TEA will be one course section* – e.g.,  ACTG 1000 3.00, Section A.

*Consistent with standard minimum enrolment requirements, only course sections with 20 or more students are eligible for the award.

The two rating questions are comprised as follows:

1. In your personal opinion, based on your experience in this course, do you believe this instructor should receive the Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Award?  (1 to 7 level of agreement scale)

2. Ethics Clearance** – No one attempted to influence my response to the question above. (False/True)

** Ethics question is monitored for deviations in the Top Ten
– Participation rate – minimum required for eligibility: 70%

Instructors with the top ten scores will be recognized, with the two highest‑rated instructors designated as first‑ and second‑place Teaching Excellence Award recipients in each program (Undergraduate and Graduate).

The Schulich School of Business prides itself in weaving social responsibility into every aspect of its operations. In addition, this question will help to ensure there is no inappropriate campaigning by faculty or students.

Student participation in the TEA rating process is confidential and voluntary and must be free of inappropriate bias.

What is considered inappropriate bias?

  • Telling your students to vote for you
  • Telling key influencer students in your class to encourage others to vote for you
  • Tying grades to voting participation
  • Writing on the board “Vote for me”….or helicoptering over students during the process
  • What is okay, however, and encouraged is to promote engagement in the process of Schulich TEA (notice distinction between that and trying to bias voting responses)

All students should submit their personal rating of their specific instructors, based on their own experience and based on their own judgment .

Self-promotion by an instructor is not permitted.

Promotion of a specific instructor by a student is not permitted.

Question 2 – Ethical Clearance asks whether the student’s response was free of inappropriate bias.

TEA ratings are completed during the same period as course evaluations via a separate questionnaire on the York ONCE platform; the two processes are distinct, use different criteria, and results do not influence one another.

TEA ratings are completed during the same period as the ONCE course evaluations via a separate questionnaire on the York ONCE platform, and are to be administered in-class during the last two class sessions of each term in each of the Graduate and Undergraduate programs

Regular 6-wk courses: week 5 and 6
Regular 12-wk courses: week 11 and 12
Weekend courses: last two class sessions
Irregularly scheduled courses: last two class sessions

  • The two-week ratings window dates will vary depending on whether you are teaching regular courses in the Graduate or Undergraduate program.
  • Instructors will be notified by automated email of the ratings/evaluation period for the program(s) in which they are teaching as follows:
    • 3 weeks before the opening of the ratings/evaluations – for planning purposes – determine in which of the two classes you will hold the ratings/evaluations period
  • Students will be notified by automated email of the ratings/evaluation period as follows:
    • 1 day before the opening of the ratings/evaluations windows, and
    • 1 day before the closing of the ratings/evaluations windows – as a reminder
  • The notification emails (to instructors and students) will contain the link to the ONCE portal
  • Instructors will be asked to allow 15-20 minutes during the class to enable students to complete the Schulich TEA rating, in conjunction with the mandatory Online Course Evaluations.
  • Instructors may display the link to the portal on a PowerPoint slide for the students to reference during the in-class period.
  • Instructors may remind students of the upcoming ratings/evaluations period using Canvas announcements.
  • Feel free to remain in the room during the completion of the process, but refrain from speaking to/engaging with your students.
  • Completion of the TEA ratings portion of this process by the students is completely voluntary and must be free of any inappropriate bias.

Students juggle many courses and responsibilities and allotting specific time in class ensures higher participation in this very important process for recognizing high performing faculty.

All Instructors and students will receive an email from the Associate Dean Academic (ADA), notifying them of their evaluation windows for the Online Course Evaluations (ONCE) and the Teaching Excellence Awards (TEA).

The ONCE evaluation questions and TEA rating questions appear on the same ONCE questionnaire.  The participation rate of TEA ratings is the same as the participation rate of the ONCE evaluations.

Although the Online Course Evaluations (ONCE) and Teaching Excellence Awards (TEA) are conducted at the same time and through the same platform, they are two entirely separate processes. The results from ONCE and TEA are independent of each other – neither affects nor influences the other.

ONCE (Online Course Evaluations)

ONCE is the official method for collecting student feedback on courses and instructors, as required by Schulich Faculty Council.  This feedback is primarily used by instructors to improve their teaching. After the term ends and final grades are submitted ONCE results are compiled and added to your permanent teaching record. For tenure-stream faculty, these evaluations are considered in tenure and promotion decisions; for part-time or contract faculty, they are used in reappointment decisions.

TEA (Teaching Excellence Awards)

The Teaching Excellence Awards are a separate initiative, supported by the SCTE, focused on student-led recognition of outstanding teaching, and is not part of the formal evaluation process.  Participation in TEA is entirely voluntary for students and must be free of any inappropriate bias.  (See above “How is social responsibility incorporated into these awards?” for details.)  It provides students with an opportunity to celebrate instructors who have made a significant impact on their learning.

TEA recipients exemplify the values behind Seymour Schulich’s vision for these awards, demonstrating excellence in areas such as:

  • Knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the subject matter
  • Exceptional teaching strategies and communication skills
  • Positive student learning experiences
  • Teaching innovation
  • Responsiveness to student needs and concerns

Results from ONCE and TEA are independent of each other, and neither influences nor impacts the other.

Each of the Top Ten rated instructors will be notified directly by email by the Schulich Centre for Teaching Excellence.

An announcement to the Schulich community and students will follow.

All Top Ten rated instructors will be invited to attend the respective GBC or UBS end-of-year formals, where they will be celebrated by colleagues and students in an academy-award style presentation of the awards, culminating in the announcement of the two instructors placing first and second in the Top Ten.

All instructors included in the Schulich TEA Top Ten will be invited to attend either the GBC or UBS end‑of‑year formals, where they will be recognized by colleagues and students in an academy‑award‑style presentation, culminating in the announcement of the instructors placing first and second within the Top Ten.

Members of the Schulich TEA Top Ten will also be featured on the Schulich Teaching & Learning website, with the instructors placing first and second highlighted in the newly established Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Awards Wall of Fame, located in the North Lobby of the Schulich building.

Top Ten award recipients receive a $500 award, except for those designated as first‑ and second‑place Teaching Excellence Award recipients.

First‑ and second‑place recipients receive awards of $15,000 and $10,000 respectively, donated by Mr. Seymour Schulich.

Instructors who place first or second in a given program are not eligible to place again in that program for a period of three years (Graduate or Undergraduate).
If an instructor places first or second in both programs within the same year, the higher placement will apply.
John Peace Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award

The John Peace Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award was established in honour of John Peace who was a part-time instructor at Schulich between 1986 and 1996. John had a small law practice in downtown Toronto, focusing on real estate law, but also taught business law and real estate courses at Schulich. Having taught for one term at Ryerson, he left because he preferred the culture (and talent level of the students) at Schulich.

Nominees are put forward by their responsible units based on the instructor’s length and quality of service.  The winner is then selected by Schulich’s Management Committee.

The John Peace Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award winner is announced each year at the Dean’s Convocation breakfast.

York University Teaching Awards