Trent University Names Mr. Evan Senkiw as the 2011/12 Recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Teaching assistant in the Department of Political Studies is awarded for facilitating learning

Thursday, March 8, 2012, Peterborough

Trent University is pleased to announce that Mr. Evan Senkiw, a teaching assistant in the Department of Political Studies, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award.

Established in 2006, the award acknowledges the contributions of academic assistants and those who facilitate learning in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory, and field settings.

Mr. Senkiw was nominated for his teaching assistance in two courses: an introductory politics course called Democracy, Power & Resistance in the Global Age (2011-2012) and a second-year Canadian Politics course (2010-2011).

One student nominator commented, “He has kept every class interesting and engages the students in discussions not only about the reading material, but about larger more complex topics and how they relate to the world.”

“In receiving this award, Mr. Senkiw is recognized as a skilled and passionate teaching assistant (TA), one who guides his students in learning difficult concepts and helps his students build self confidence within the classroom and in the academic work that they complete,” explained Dr. Jocelyn Aubrey, during her announcement of the award at the March 6, 2012 meeting of Senate.

In learning about this award recognition Mr. Senkiw said, “As a TA for Introductory Politics I am reminded each time I step into the classroom that despite being of, and teaching, a generation of students that are all too often accosted for what may seem to be political apathy – after all, by and large we don’t vote – that this is simply not the case, and we are, as a generation, very politically interested, involved, and active.”

A 2009 graduate of Trent University with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and a minor in Philosophy, Mr. Senkiw is also the 2008–2009 recipient of the Justice Samuel H. Murphy Scholarship.

In 2010, Mr. Senkiw enrolled in the Master of Arts program at the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies at Trent University where he is exploring the utility of Jiu Jitsu as an alternative ethic for political interaction, negotiation, and conversation.

Mr. Senkiw, when asked to elaborate on his research, explained, “It is my aim to apply the lessons of Jiu Jitsu within micro-context of small scale environmental political reform and policy here in Canada,” he said.

 “Jiu Jitsu, translated loosely as a compliant or yielding art, conceptualizes the most dire and urgent of physical conflict and war … “ He added, “We tend to think of politics in metaphorical terms that are very abrasive and antagonistic. We attack each other’s points –relentlessly, we resist the powers that be, we fight for our causes and ours alone, and we win because we know they lost. We make our politics, at all levels, into fights and conflicts with distinct winners and losers, and by that we have for our political prospects generally an intimate awareness that they are – to some degree – either hopeful or hopeless.”

Mr. Senkiw will be among four teaching award recipients honoured at a special reception celebrating Trent’s teaching excellence on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Lady Eaton College’s Pit. Presentations will begin at 4:15 p.m. All are welcome.

To learn more about Trent’s teaching excellence visit:  www.trentu.ca/teaching

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For more information regarding Mr. Senkiw’s teaching and research, please contact: Evan Senkiw, Trent University, evansenkiw@trentu.ca

For more information regarding the Celebration of Excellence in Teaching reception, please contact: Angie Best, Trent University, 705-748-1011 ext. 7254, angiebest@trentu.ca