August 29, 1997

Naeth named 1997 3M Fellow

Dr. Anne Naeth, Renewable Resources and Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science

It all boils down to knowing her students by name -- sometimes as many as 300 hundred of them in one class.

It's a tough feat, but exemplifies the extra effort that helped make Dr. Anne Naeth, associate professor of renewable resources and of agriculture, food and nutritional science, the U of A's most recent 3M Teaching Award recipient. The national award recognizes teaching excellence across the country.

Both colleagues and students recommended Naeth for the award. She is revered by students for her ability to awaken their minds in 8 a.m. classes; her talent for facilitating lively discussion; and her willingness to patiently answer questions from the long lines of students that form outside her office. "I had some really good caring teachers that cared about me," Naeth recalls, "and I guess I just want to do [the same] for my students."

She maintains this personal contact with students while teaching as many as five undergraduate courses, a graduate course, supervising grad students, and teaching individual studies students. Naeth is also working on several research projects including pipeline and oil well site reclamation and reintroducing native plant species in national park settings.

In the citation for the award, however, 3M and the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education were equally impressed with the effort Naeth makes to improve teaching across campus. She's the author of the Teaching Resource Manual for Graduate Teaching Assistants and Faculty, which is used by U of A University Teaching Services at the U of A, and widely used by other universities around the world.

Naeth also initiated the annual Teaching Innovation Week in her faculty, where professors are encouraged to share creativity with students and other faculty alike. And she continues to make time to work with University Teaching Services in their peer consultation program and teaching workshops and seminars.

Dr. Robert Hudson, associate dean (academic programs) for the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics, says the Environment and Conservation Sciences Program has grown rapidly since 1991, thanks in large part to Naeth's work. "Dr. Naeth probably advises more than 70 per cent of these students," says Hudson. "The popularity of the program can be traced to her availability and her helpfulness."

The University of Alberta continues to lead the country with the highest number of 3M Teaching Fellowships in a Canadian university. The U of A has 17, followed by University of Western with 15, Guelph University with eight, and McMaster, Simon Fraser, Manitoba, Victoria, and York universities each with five 3M Teaching Fellows.

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