Award-winning Otago Poytechnic lecturer Adrian Woodhouse.
Otago Polytechnic catering lecturer Adrian Woodhouse has
scooped two national teaching awards in the past two weeks.
Last week, Mr Woodhouse was named 2008 Hospitality Tutor of
the Year.
Last night, he was one of nine tertiary educators, including
three from Dunedin, to receive Tertiary Teaching Excellence
Awards, worth $20,000 each.
Even though he failed to win the supreme award last night, Mr
Woodhouse (33) was thrilled about his achievement.
"It is really fantastic to get some recognition for all the
work myself and the team at the school have been doing," he
said.
Mr Woodhouse began teaching seven years ago after a chance
meeting with a previous lecturer.
He said his ambition was to "light a fire in students' minds"
and encourage them to learn and to succeed.
Two University of Otago staff were also awarded excellence
grants at last night's function in Wellington.
They were Dr John Reynolds, a senior lecturer in the
department of anatomy and structural biology, and Dr Ian
McAndrew, a senior lecturer of employment relations in the
department of management.
Dr Reynolds, who led the development and launch of a new
first-year human body systems paper taken by more than 1870
students annually, was "absolutely thrilled" and surprised to
have won the award.
Dr McAndrew has taught in New Zealand since 1987 and is best
known for his "Ponderosa County" negotiation exercise used by
students in many parts of the country.
Dr Lisa Emerson, of the school of English and media studies
at Massey University, received the Prime Minister's Supreme
Award of $30,000.
The other $20,000 award recipients were from Massey, Waikato
Institute of Technology, the University of Auckland and
Victoria University.
It was a "real pleasure" to see recognition for excellence in
tertiary teaching, Tertiary Education Minister Pete Hodgson
said after presenting the awards.
"Between them, these 10 people influence the learning of
thousands of students and their excellence is therefore
hugely valuable for New Zealand."
Mr Hodgson, who is also the MP for Dunedin North, praised the
educators from his home town, saying their success reinforced
Dunedin's reputation as "a wellspring of excellence in
education".
"It is great to see Dunedin punching above its weight, and to
see Dunedinites represent almost a third of winners from all
around the country . . ."
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