News Releases

Dr. Shelagh Crooks

Saint Mary’s professor Dr. Shelagh Crooks, Department of Philosophy, has been honoured with the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship in recognition of her exceptional accomplishments in teaching and educational leadership.

The 3M Fellowship recognizes educational leaders and innovators across Canada, and has been known for 28 years as our country’s most prestigious award in teaching.

Since joining the Faculty of Arts in 1987, Dr. Crooks has been repeatedly lauded as an outstanding professor and mentor. Driven by a desire to help instill the value of critical reflection in her students, Dr. Crooks has inspired many to challenge their intellectual boundaries and embrace new ideas.

As one student notes, “Shelagh teaches the skill of independent thought and then actually inspires one to think.”

Dr. Crooks describes her classroom as a “thinking laboratory” where students test their ideas in the hurly-burly of group interaction and class discussion.  She leads her students through experiments in thought and asserts that there is no such thing as failure.

According to Dr. Crooks, “All thought experiments have the potential to tell us something important, about the idea being tested, and about each of us as thinkers.”

Dr. Crooks’ contribution to the Saint Mary’s community extends beyond the classroom. During her tenure, she has established mentoring protocol for new faculty members, launched a teaching philosophy discussion group, and developed procedures for student evaluation of teaching at Saint Mary’s.

In recognition of these and other contributions, Dr. Crooks has been honoured with a number of awards throughout her career, most notably the 2009 Association of Atlantic Universities Distinguished Teaching Award for excellence in teaching and instructional leadership.

She has also received a number of awards from Saint Mary’s University, including the Saint Mary’s University Student Association Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the inaugural Dr. Geraldine Thomas Award for Educational Leadership. She was also awarded the Reverend William A. Steward, S.J. Medal for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. Crooks is the fifth 3M National Teaching Fellow at Saint Mary’s University; previous winners include Dr. Adam Sarty, Astronomy & Physics (2011); Dr. Esther E. Enns, Linguistics & Education (1998); Dr. Geraldine Thomas, Classics (1993); and Dr. John Young, Chemistry (1990).