Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Carruthers Den Hoed on winning a 2024 UBC Killam Teaching Prize.
Dr. Rebecca Carruthers Den Hoed (Chair, WRDS), UBC 2024 Killam Teaching Prize awardee.
Dr. Carruthers Den Hoed is currently the Chair of WRDS (Writing, Research, and Discourse Studies) unit in the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media (JWAM). In winning the Killam Teaching Prize that celebrates excellence in teaching, she joins a select list of talented UBC instructors who show extraordinary commitment to pedagogy and student growth.
“The Killam means so much to me — but, honestly, what means even more is the outpouring of support I received from students when my nomination was announced. A lot of what drives me in this work is the hope that I am having a lasting impact on students, and I am humbled and grateful for the message that I am doing something right! Now I can turn my students’ support into a promise to keep pushing myself to do better, to keep learning, to keep looking for new ways to support them in their learning.”
Dr. Carruthers Den Hoed is an innovative and conscientious teacher who invites diverse students to understand and participate in the academic mission of the university – and then mobilize the work they do beyond the classroom and campus. She weaves together authentic genres of writing and forms of collaborative peer-to-peer learning and writing that prepare students for work in their own fields and in their chosen careers. By seamlessly drawing on her two decades of experience in the humanities, social science and STEM, she provides a prime example of the kind of writing instruction that is urgently needed in programs that welcome students from across the disciplines.
“Her teaching philosophy, her classroom management, her commitment to students and the very mission of the academy make her one of the best educators and student mentors I’ve encountered in the academy.”
Dr. Carruthers Den Hoed has a PhD in Communications Studies from the University of Calgary (2017), where she held several teaching and Research-assistant positions. In July 2017, she was appointed Senior Instructor in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Lethbridge. Her appointment as an Assistant Professor of Teaching at JWAM began in July 2020. In 2023 she was reappointed to the position and later the same year, she was appointed as Chair of WRDS, a position she has imbued with her rigour and with plenty of enthusiasm and innovation.
The Killam Teaching Prize is awarded annually to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching.
