CENTRE FOR TEACHING
EXCELLENCE & INNOVATION

Celebrating the 2026 Presidents’ Awards for Teaching Excellence at Yorkville University and Toronto Film School!

Composite photo of x5 headshots of the 2026 Recipients surrounding the joint logo of Yorkville University and Toronto Film School.

Image Description: 5 professional headshots in a circle around the two logos of (left) Yorkville University and (right) Toronto Film School. Clockwise from the top these headhosts are of: Kate Carder (BCA, Yorkville ON), Alan Resnick (Writing for TV & Film, TFS), Mary Drinkwater (MEd, Yorkville NB), Jodi Basch (MACP, Yorkville NB), and Niloofar Ashktorab (BBA, Yorkville BC).

We at CTEI are thrilled to boost the signal of and add to the celebrating of the 2026 Recipients and Shortlist of Yorkville University’s and Toronto Film School’s Presidents’ Awards for Teaching Excellence!

This annual award celebrating faculty members who exemplify outstanding dedication to student learning, to their own teaching pedagogies and practices, and to academic and professional excellence named

Bachelor of Business Administration faculty member Niloofar Ashktorab, Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology faculty member Jodi Basch, Bachelor of Creative Arts faculty member Kate Carder, Master of Education Mary Drinkwater, and Writing for Film & TV faculty member Alan Resnick as its 2026 Recipients.

With incredible gratitude to our 2026 Presidents’ Awards for Teaching Excellence Adjudication Committee members for their work, time, dedication, hearts, and insights toward these never-easy decisions, we at CTEI are so excited to congratulate and honour these excellent faculty members!

Be sure to read the full articles announcing each of the 2026 Yorkville President’s Award for Teaching Excellence and of the 2026 TFS President’s Award for Teaching Excellence Recipients and Shortlist.

Matthew Dunleavy wearing a pink and purple polka-dot shirt under a grey blazer with red-framed glasses and a long reddish-brown beard smiling into the camera
Matthew Dunleavy

Senior Educational Developer, Faculty Excellence and Development

[email protected] 

Matthew Dunleavy (he/him) is an educational developer and scholarly teacher with over 10+ years’ experience. In addition to working at the CTEI, Matthew serves as the Vice-Chair of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). Before joining the CTEI, Matthew was an Educational Developer in the Teaching Commons at York University; before entering that role, he served as the Program Director of the Online Learning and Technology Consultants (OLTC) Program at the Maple League of Universities (Acadia University; Bishop’s University; Mount Allison University; and St. Francis Xavier University). In 2022, he was awarded the D2L Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning by STLHE for this work.