{"id":2004,"date":"2016-12-15T06:09:02","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T14:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/iiqbal\/?p=2004"},"modified":"2017-02-18T09:56:30","modified_gmt":"2017-02-18T17:56:30","slug":"thank-you-jan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/iiqbal\/2016\/12\/15\/thank-you-jan\/","title":{"rendered":"Thank you Jan!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below is a short speech I prepared as a public ‘thank-you’ to Janice Johnson, my long-time mentor. Jan retired from the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology in 2016, after a long career there.<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

\"test\"<\/a>

Photo of Janice Johnson (taken by Gabriel Lascu)<\/p><\/div>\n

Jan hired me as a graduate student assistant to work on a teaching portfolio initiative at the teaching and learning centre, then called TAG.<\/p>\n

At that time, I had never heard of a teaching portfolio nor of a teaching and learning centre.<\/p>\n

Does that mean Jan was a poor decision maker?<\/p>\n

No, it means she was (and remains) an outstanding mentor.<\/p>\n

Dear Jan,<\/p>\n

It is my pleasure to be able to thank you publicly today.<\/p>\n

You have shaped my professional life in significant ways and mentored me in the field of educational development for over a decade.<\/p>\n

You introduced me to a pocket of academic culture that I was unfamiliar with as a graduate student. I only knew a culture of fierce competition and one-upmanship. At the teaching and learning centre, people shared openly, supported one another, and collaborated meaningfully.\u00a0And, this is the approach you took with me and others you have hired and worked with.<\/p>\n

Over the years, you have introduced me to a host of communities and projects\u2026instructional skills network, bc teaching and learning folks, peer review of teaching, to name a few.\u00a0 <\/span>You identified opportunities I was often unaware of and gently invited me in, honouring the fact that I tend to be cautious and seek information before making decisions.<\/p>\n

I have learned so much from our conversations and from watching you\u2014from near and afar\u2014\u201cfacilitate with ease\u201d. Your skills as a facilitator are ever so masterful and have been revealed to me over time, as my awareness of facilitation has grown.<\/p>\n

You are a generous leader, who has never, ever, EVER turned me away when I\u2019ve knocked on your door with \u201cdo you have a few minutes?\u201d.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re not longer at CTLT, I will walk past your door and think of you. And, as a nod to the wrap up in the peer review of teaching\u00a0workshop that we co-facilitated so many times together, here is my top 10 about Jan:<\/p>\n