I am excited to announce the appointment of Tommy Mayberry (he/she/they) as the Executive Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) effective August 1, 2021.
Tommy Mayberry is a scholar and professional with a background in diverse teaching and instructional facilitation in academia as well as industry. As a sought-after speaker on the topics of “Gender Pronouns and Cultures of Respect” as well as visual pedagogies and LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, Tommy has presented their scholarship and research findings nationally as well as internationally, in places such as Oxford, Washington DC, Tokyo, and Honolulu. Their decolonial, anti-racist, and equity-driven intersectional vision and identity position them perfectly for this new strategic role at CTL toward fostering a university culture in which teaching and the scholarship of teaching is highly valued, promoted, and maintained.
As an academic drag queen, Tommy is uniquely embodied in their scholarship and praxis of teaching and learning and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including their forthcoming co-edited collection of essays on RuPaul’s Drag Race as it relates to teaching and learning as well as contributions in the GEARING-Roles (Gender Equality Actions in Research Institutions to traNsform Gender ROLES) handbook on promoting gender sensitivity in higher education teaching and training, a project funded by Horizon 2020 that seeks to design, implement, and evaluate six Gender Equality plans in six research institutions in Europe.
Tommy brings to the University of Alberta many well-established connections within Canada’s post-secondary CTL communities. Tommy occupies the role of Vice-Chair, Communications, of the Educational Developers Caucus of Canada (EDC) within the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE), and serves as an Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Trainer and Facilitator with the ISW Network.
Tommy holds a Joint Honours Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Fine Arts: Studio from the University of Waterloo, a Master of Arts in English and Cultural Studies from McMaster University, and is an ABD PhD candidate in English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo. Tommy was a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow during their PhD work and is also a recipient of the University of Waterloo’s Award for Exceptional Teaching.
I want to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Cosette Lemelin, Assistant Director of CTL, for steering CTL throughout the course of the past year. As our community made the sudden transition to a fully remote learning environment in March of 2020, all of CTL’s staff rose to the occasion to support our instructors, and Dr. Lemelin’s expertise and skill provided a strong foundation for the team during that time.
I also want to thank the members of the Advisory Selection Committee for the Executive Director of CTL for their critical work and guidance during the selection process, and for those who participated in the public process and provided feedback to myself and the Committee.
Tommy might be a familiar face to the U of A community; they were the keynote speaker at CTL’s Online Teaching Institute in August 2020. Please join me in welcoming Tommy back to the U of A.
Sincerely,