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USC wins national awards for excellence in teaching
8 August 2006
Two lecturers from the University of the Sunshine Coast received a $10,000 award each for their outstanding contributions to student learning in Brisbane last night.
Gary Crew and Maria Raciti were awarded as part of the Australian Government’s program of national awards, which were designed to recognise and reward teaching excellence in the higher education sector.
The 2006 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning are awarded annually by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.
Dr Gary Crew, a senior lecturer in creative writing, received a Carrick award for leadership in establishing and developing a professionally productive creative writing program in a new regional university.
Dr Crew said, “Being both a professional writer and lecturer I am able to give my students first hand knowledge of creative writing skills and the publishing industry.”
Dr Maria Raciti lectures in business, and won her award for creating a successful learning environment for business students of all abilities.
Both Dr Crew and Dr Raciti were also the recipients of the University of the Sunshine Coast’s 2006 Vice Chancellor’s Medals for Outstanding University Researcher and Teacher, respectively.
USC Vice Chancellor, Professor Paul Thomas, believes the awards to be an integral part of the University’s progress and a key to the success of students and staff alike.
“Last night’s awards were confirmation that as a University we have a responsibility to continually raise the bar and challenge ourselves to ensure we are servicing the community to the best of our abilities,” he said.
“These awards are proof that we are travelling on the right track.”
The award is intended to be spent by the recipients in furthering their learning and teaching practice or scholarship of teaching.