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Professors to be honoured for teaching and research excellence

October 13, 2006

Brock University will honour three faculty members for their contributions to teaching and research as part of the second ceremony of its Fall Convocation to be held on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m., in the Ian D. Beddis Gymnasium, located in the Walker Complex.

Professor Zopito Marini of the Department of Child and Youth Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, will receive the Brock University Award for Distinguished Teaching, the second major award for teaching excellence he has received from Brock this year. He also received the Faculty of Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching at Spring 2006 Convocation.

The Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes a faculty member who has made a significant commitment to providing and developing quality learning experiences for students, in addition to making valuable contributions in curriculum development and the mentoring of colleagues. Professor Nota Klentrou from the Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology and Professor John Hay from the Department of Community Health Sciences will receive the Brock University Award for Distinguished Research and Creative Activity. This award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate outstanding research achievements, contributions toward the training of future researchers, and consistency in scholarly or creative performance.

"These professors are extremely deserving of this recognition, and we are very proud of their outstanding accomplishments," says Terry Boak, Vice-President, Academic and Provost. "They are widely respected on both the national and international stages for their work in their respective fields, and for providing quality teaching and research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students. Their exceptional teaching, research and leadership skills reflect well on the overall teaching excellence and research quality for which Brock is well known."

Brock's 2006 Fall Convocation will be celebrated during ceremonies taking place on Friday, Oct. 20, and Saturday, Oct. 21. The University's fifth President and Vice-Chancellor, Jack N. Lightstone, will officially be installed at the Friday ceremony. The University will confer 715 undergraduate and graduate degrees from all six Faculties during its Fall 2006 Convocation.

These ceremonies will also mark the last convocation for Dr. Raymond Moriyama as Brock's Chancellor. Moriyama completes his term as Chancellor on March 31, 2007.

Professor Zopito Marini, Department of Child and Youth Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences:

Professor Zopito Marini is the complete teacher in the sense that he is not only an excellent instructor in the classroom, he is also committed to the promotion of good teaching. He consistently receives one of the top rankings for teaching evaluations in his department and he was listed as one of Brock's favourite professors in The Student's Guide to Canadian Universities.

One of his colleagues writes: "He has the intellectual curiosity and emotional courage to engage in active and ongoing reflection on his approach to pedagogy ... He examines feedback from students and makes efforts to address their concerns through alterations in his teaching approaches."

Professor Marini's philosophy of teaching was published in the April 2000 issue of The Teaching Professor under the title, "The Teacher as a Sherpa Guide." The publishers of the journal included this article in a compendium of the best articles over the past 20 years because "it was well-received when first published and remains relevant today."

He has been a major player in encouraging professional development at Brock and has contributed to the scholarship of teaching by presenting and publishing on issues related to the humanization of technology in instructional settings.

Professor Marini excels as a university teacher, as a dedicated educator outside the classroom, and as leader in media and community relations at Brock. He is actively involved in teaching educators, counsellors and parents, and is often called upon to provide comments about social issues such as bullying, school violence and conflict prevention and resolution strategies.

Professor Marini has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to his students, involving them as co-presenters on scholarly presentations and co-authors on many publications, and he has always been a generous mentor for new faculty members at the University. His distinguished contributions to teaching and learning at Brock are characterized by one of the main tenets of his teaching philosophy, that "the teaching should remain long after the teacher has gone."

Professor Nota Klentrou, Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences:

Professor Nota Klentrou's work epitomizes the spirit of the University's research culture, emphasizing multidisciplinary and collaborative approaches to complex problems in human performance and health. Since arriving at Brock in 1996, her research program has undergone exponential growth, resulting in at least three peer-reviewed publications per year, regular securing of external funding, and a steady stream of student mentorship.

Professor Klentrou has distinguished herself as an exceptional researcher in the areas of applied physiology, pediatric exercise physiology, osteoporosis prevention, and health and performance. Since her appointment to the Faculty, she has published one book chapter, 24 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals and conference proceedings, with seven more under review, 82 peer-reviewed abstracts/conference presentations, co-authored one book, and she has been the Principal, or Co-Investigator for 10 research grants. Her work has contributed significantly to her discipline and to the University's research capacity.

The impact of Professor Klentrou's work in exercise physiology is evidenced by her extensive consulting, advising and service as a reviewer. Her professional expertise has been utilized as a journal reviewer and external reviewer for university undergraduate programs in Physical Education and Kinesiology.

In 2000, she was the recipient of the Bobbi Steen Legacy Award from the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity. She also served as the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the 2003 Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Annual Conference, and was invited by the 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee to serve as a results supervisor for all gymnastics events at the Athens Summer Olympic Games. She is currently the treasurer of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

Professor Klentrou's reputation also extends beyond academia. She has served as a scientific advisor and keynote speaker for local, national and international organizations, including Osteoporosis Canada and the International Federation of Gymnastics, and also contributes to her community by promoting and consulting on health and physical activity issues with local school boards.

She was recently asked by Osteoporosis Canada to be involved in the production of an educational DVD, entitled Bone up and Break Through!, which was distributed across Ontario by the Ontario Osteoporosis Strategy group to promote regular exercise as a strategy for osteoporosis prevention and management.

Professor John Hay, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences:

Since the early 1990s, Professor John Hay has been a pioneer in developing our understanding of why children choose to be active or inactive and equally, in finding ways to measure children's activity. He has a strong interest in the activity levels of children with chronic disease - such as cystic fibrosis, leukemia, epilepsy, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis - as well as otherwise healthy children who have difficulties with co-ordinated movements. He believes that physical activity is a key component of health in every child's life but has particularly important ramifications for children with chronic illness. Through his research, he is developing non-invasive, non-intrusive means of measuring clinically relevant aspects of physical activity. This is particularly important to children with chronic illness who need to be physically active but often are not. As Professor Hay notes: "The last thing sick kids need is to be attached to yet another monitor by yet another health-care professional."

Since 2001, he has published two book chapters, 16 peer-reviewed journal papers, with six more under review, 19 peer-reviewed abstracts, and 33 presentations at scientific meetings. He is, or has, been Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on seven external peer-reviewed research grants from national agencies, such as CIHR, SSHRC and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, representing some $3 million in sponsored funding.

As part of his research agenda, Professor Hay is also a consultant to numerous national and international research initiatives in Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Australia, on the role of physical activity in children's bone health in leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, Crohn''s disease and in respiratory function in cystic fibrosis. He has just completed a term as member of the Board of the North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine.

His Children's Self-Perception of Adequacy in and Predilection toward Physical Activity (CSAPPA), a measure that captures a child's generalized self-efficacy toward physical activity, was a seminal contribution that linked self-reported participation in organized and free time physical activities with motor function, physical fitness, and body mass index, and helped to develop an understanding of why many children choose to be inactive. His recent research on a relatively unknown yet common childhood disorder known as Developmental Co-ordination Disorder, which affects five per cent of school-aged children, began with the predictive capacity of the CSAPPA. His Habitual Activity Estimation Scale (HAES) is used internationally in clinical research as an effective and feasible instrument to measure the physical activity of children. The HAES has been instrumental in research leading to changes in the way that children with chronic illness, particularly leukemia and cystic fibrosis, are counselled for physical activity.

Professor Hay is a strong voice for children, the health of children, and the need to help all children find joy at play. His concern is, and has been, to help understand those children for whom what is often taken for granted - that children love to play - is not always so.

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