It is with very mixed feelings that I am writing to share the news of Joan Condie’s retirement effective December 1, 2019. Joan’s forty-year career at Sheridan is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Her many contributions to our learning community, and to our evolution as a home of higher education, have helped define and make tangible our commitment to character, quality and accountability in the space of Teaching and Learning at Sheridan.
Having joined Sheridan in 1979 as Professor of Liberal and General Studies, Joan taught a range of courses in Psychology, Women’s Studies and Organizational Behaviour, eventually moving to serve as Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator in the area of Business. In that context, Joan spent several years as a dedicated curriculum coach for faculty, a role that would eventually lead her to assume the position of Curriculum Consultant in a small unit; that unit would soon grow and blossom into what we know today as the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Joan then became an Associate Dean of Program Development and Quality Assurance, steadily gaining a reputation as the trusted face and guiding voice of all things related to Quality Assurance at Sheridan. For the past four years, Joan has served as Dean, Centre for Teaching and Learning, leading cross-Faculty and pan-institutional initiatives related to faculty and educational development, curriculum development and review, and digital innovation. In this role, Joan also served as Chair of a host of institutional committees and groups related to quality assurance, and represented Sheridan provincially as the Co-Chair of the College Degree Operating Group.
In addition to teaching and leading at Sheridan, Joan has conducted research, secured research grants, co-authored two textbooks, and developed and delivered corporate training workshops. She won several teaching awards including the NISOD Teaching Excellence Award (2009). Above all, she has become an invaluable colleague, mentor and friend to many of us. The impact of her investment, dedication and care will no doubt far outlast the duration of her stay here at Sheridan.
Please join me in congratulating Joan upon her well deserved retirement. Details of a celebration will follow shortly.
Warm regards,
Yael Katz
Vice-Provost, Academic