Recognizing sustained excellence in leadership and innovation, as well as the active integration of teaching and learning with inquiry, scholarship, and research. 

This unique form of recognition brings with it a $10,000 monetary award to be used at the recipient’s discretion. 

Attributes and criteria

Competition for this Award is open to all current McGill instructional and academic staff, of any rank, inclusive of non tenure‐track instructors and all others who teach in traditional or non‐traditional programs at McGill. Nominees will normally have an overall total of 25 years university teaching experience comprising a significant commitment to McGill. Faculty members are also eligible for nomination within 36‐months following their retirement. Faculty members can be awarded this prize only once. Nominees will: 

  • Demonstrate exceptional leadership and vision in the advancement of teaching and learning;
  • Demonstrate extraordinary commitment and enthusiasm for students and their learning;
  • Demonstrate a commitment to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion practices in both curricular and pedagogical approaches;
  • Personify excellence and serve as role models for others teaching at the University;
  • Promote students’ active engagement in learning by promoting inquiry‐based learning and bringing the findings, methods and/or processes of research/scholarship into their classes and coursework;
  • Have made a career‐long contribution to the University community resulting in a significant and lasting impact on the learning environment. 

Call for nominations 

The nomination period for the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award is now open!

Nomination guidelines (2026)

Download the nomination form

Deadline: June 15, 2026 
Questions? tap [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Teaching%20awards%20question) (Contact us).

Congratulations to all past award recipients!

Selection committee composition 
  • Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic)
  • Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Planning)
  • Representative from the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
  • Representative from the Faculty of Arts
  • Representative from the School of Continuing Studies
  • Representative from the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences
  • Representative from the Faculty of Education
  • Representative from the Faculty of Engineering
  • Representative from the Faculty of Law
  • Representative from the Desautels Faculty of Management
  • Representative from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
  • Representative from the Schulich School of Music
  • Representative from the Faculty of Science

Header image: McGill President Deep Saini with Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Learning recipient Rosalie Jukier, November 2023 (Owen Egan / Joni Dufour)