This award recognizes outstanding contributions to biology education at a post-secondary institution in Canada. In recognition of the key importance of educational leadership in enhancing the teaching mission and student experience in biology education at higher education institutions in Canada, this award is presented jointly by the Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs (CCUBC) and the Open Consortium of Undergraduate Biology Educators (oCUBE).

Award Overview

This award celebrates emerging educational leaders who have made important contributions to the teaching and learning of biology at their institutions. This may be demonstrated in many ways, including, but not limited to: 

• Enhancing the student experience in biology courses through the use of evidence-based pedagogies, a scholarly approach to teaching or innovative teaching practices

• Strengthening the departmental culture of excellence in teaching and learning, including through advocacy for equity, diversity, and inclusion

• Inspiring and empowering students and educators alike through engagement in their department, mentorship and continuous professional growth and development

• Modeling and promoting science outreach

• Major contributions to curricular programs including (re)design of courses

• Engagement in department-wide or institution-wide initiatives aimed at supporting student success, including contributing to the evaluation of programs and/or grant-funded research

• Scholarly research that examines pedagogy, teaching practices, technological enhancements to teaching, and other aspects of student learning and engagement in higher education.

Eligibility Criteria

The EEL award is intended for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, or sessional lecturers who are emerging educational leaders in biology departments in Canada; however, given the diverse range of positions and career entry points for biology educators, it may be easier to define who is not eligible for this award: specifically, it is not intended for individuals with full-time tenure-track or continuing (long term, renewable) positions. This award recognizes individuals who are emerging educational leaders and recognizes the importance of nurturing their development to be future educators, colleagues and leaders in biology departments, who will excel in their academic careers, including teaching-focused roles in our institutions, and be key contributors to scholarly communities such as oCUBE. An award recipient cannot be re-nominated for the award.

Award Benefits

Recipients of the EEL Award enjoy:

• An official certificate of recognition

• A monetary award of $1500 to offset travel costs to present at the annual CCUBC conference [this is the CCUBC monetary contribution; if applicable, some funds may be available through oCUBE to defray travel costs depending on the annual budget]

• An invitation to attend and present a seminar on their teaching and leadership work at the annual CCUBC conference and the oCUBE UnConference 

• 1 year membership to oCUBE

• Mentoring through a network of educational leaders within oCUBE

Nomination and Selection Process

Candidates can be nominated by peers, institutions, or through self-nomination. A panel of educators, previous award winners, and Biology Department Chairs (from the CCUBC executive) will evaluate all nominations to select the award recipient. One recipient is chosen each year. Nominations for 2025-2026 will open in March 2025 and will be due April 30th, 2025. The award announcement will be communicated by oCUBE and CCUBC at the end of August 2025. 

Nominations must include:

• a nomination brief*–written by the nominator– that specifically speaks to the impact of the nominee’s contributions to the teaching and learning of biology (max. 2 pages)

• a current resume or curriculum vitae provided by the nominee

• a statement of educational leadership in biology written by the nominee (max. 2 pages)

• 2 letters of reference (from mentors/colleagues other than the nominator) speaking to the nominee’s teaching and leadership contributions (solicited by the nominator and submitted confidentially to the selection committee by the referees). 

*In the case of a self-nomination, the nomination brief is replaced by a nominee statement that summarizes the impact of their contributions to the teaching and learning of biology. 

To submit a nomination package, please email: ocubeorg@gmail.com with the Subject Line: CCUBC- oCUBE EEL Award by April 30th, 2025. 

Evaluation Criteria

Nominees will be assessed on: 

1. The impact of their contributions to teaching and learning in biology, [Evidence: nomination brief OR a nominee statement that summarizes the impact of their contributions to the teaching and learning of biology, CV, letters of reference]

and 

2. Their potential as future leaders for the promotion of excellence in teaching and learning in biology at the university level [Evidence: statement of educational leadership in biology written by the nominee, CV, letters of reference]