JAN 2010 - Lecturer Receives Excellence Award
11 January 2010 - Management lecturer Bevan Catley has received the inaugural Richard Buchanan College of Business Teaching Excellence Award for his work with first-year students.
Dr Catley, 35, describes his job as not just providing information to students but motivating them and piquing their curiosity about the subject. He measures his success by the number of questions they ask – the more the better as it means they are engaged.
“I make a concerted effort to try to connect the material to my students’ own life experiences and to promote an open and active learning environment where students are encouraged to ask questions and to generate their own examples,” says Dr Catley.
The teaching award is in remembrance of Professor Richard Buchanan, a long-serving and popular College of Business faculty member who died suddenly last year. His career at the University began in 1986 and he was the first marketing lecturer.
College of Business Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Lawrence Rose says Professor Buchanan received many unsolicited testimonials from students. “This response from students was a testament to his skills as a presenter and teacher, skills that were recognised with a number of teaching awards including a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in First Year Teaching.”
Richard Buchanan’s wife Jennifer and his son Robert were at the presentation of the award.
Although he did not know Professor Buchanan personally, Dr Catley knew him by reputation and is proud to have received the first Richard Buchanan College of Business Teaching Award. “Reflecting on my own time at university, I was lucky enough to have some lecturers who made complex theory accessible and could explain the reasons why something was relevant - that is what I try to give my students.”
With a passion for sharing information, a grandfather who was a school principal, and three aunts who were teachers, Dr Catley knew he would continue the family tradition once he graduated with both Bachelor of Physical Education and Bachelor of Commerce degrees. Sport is still an interest, and he has just received a further Health Research Council grant to continue his studies into workplace bullying and violence.
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