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Above: Dr. Derk Stec with Brooklyn Malone

Three educators from the Faculty of Management have been honored with the 2026 Black Family Foundation Teaching awards. Dr. Deryk Stec, Dr. Chris Bennett and Dr. Ali 脺lk眉 were chosen by a committee of faculty, staff and students for their excellence in the classroom.

Teaching is a privilege

In his opening remarks, Dean Mike Smit noted that students who鈥檝e been inspired by their teachers are most often the ones who later give their time to the current generation of students. He went on to say that awards like this are important reminders that what happens in the classroom can be felt for many years and decades after.

Speaking on behalf of Dr. Bennett, his former student, Janet Li (BSc鈥�27), told the gathering that the reason he was given the award is the same reason students line up to meet him during office hours. 鈥淗e鈥檚 deeply engaged鈥�, she says, adding, 鈥渉e鈥檚 committed to making an impact on every single student that comes into his class.鈥�

According to Li, Bennett, 鈥渇osters an environment where students feel engaged, challenged, and really invested in their education.鈥� In response to her comments, Bennet says, 鈥渋t's a real privilege to get to do this (teach) because students let me into their lives in a shockingly deep and personal way.鈥�

Hearing from students

Brooklyn Malone (BSc(Rec)/BMgmt鈥�26), echoed similar thoughts about Dr. Deryk Stec鈥檚 teaching style. Malone says 鈥渉e creates a space for students to challenge ideas and learn from one another. His enthusiasm is contagious and it fosters a space where students can feel comfortable asking questions and engaging with the material in a meaningful way.鈥�

Grateful for the recognition, Stec pointed his comments to Bill (BSc and BA鈥�70) and his daughter, Renee Black (BComm鈥�99), who created these awards more than 20 years ago by saying 鈥淚 think all institutions are struggling right now with a lot of things, and so this support and honour, is much appreciated.鈥� Both members of the Black family attend the ceremony for the teaching awards every year.

Black told the group, that these awards came about because of her own experience in university and his observations about academia. He said it鈥檚 been customary for institutions to see students as a product not a customer, so he wanted to 鈥溾��put some money behind my conviction that the student is the customer. Which is why the first criteria for being a candidate is to have good responses from student evaluations.鈥澛犅�

Below: Dr. Chris Bennett with Janet Li