Today we say “until we see each other again” to Dr. Karen Ragoonaden, Dr. Greg Wetterstrand and Anne MacLean, because as members of our Scholar-Practitioner community, it’s never truly “goodbye.”
Please join us in congratulating and sending best wishes to our colleagues.
Dr. Karen Ragoonaden, on-leave
Dr. Ragoonaden will be joining the University of Manitoba, Faculty Education as their new Dean.
Dr. Ragoonaden has lived, studied and worked in North America, Europe and Africa. Dr. Ragoonaden started with Okanagan University College in the Faculty of Education in 2004 as an Assistant Professor. She has been the Director of Professional Development, the Centre for Mindful Engagement and SMARTEducation.
Her publications and research interests lie in the area of mindfulness and well-being, culturally responsive pedagogy and conceptions of teaching and learning. As a qualified Yoga instructor, the concept of Mindful Educational Practices is an integral component of her research and her practice. As a university teacher and researcher, her focus and commitment to educational leadership and curricular innovation have been recognized by virtue of her on campus, professional and community work relating to equity, diversity and inclusion.
In 2020, in recognition of her dedication to making a significant impact on the culture of teaching and learning, she received the Provost Office’s Teaching Excellence and Innovation Award. In 2021 she received the Killiam Teaching Prize.
Congratulations on your new position!
Dr. Greg Wetterstrand, retired
Dr. Wetterstrand started with the Faculty of Education in the Okanagan before it was even UBC. He began as a college professor in the Education in the Division of the Arts in the summer of 1992 when the institution was known as Okanagan University College (OUC). Prior to joining OUC, he taught in the K-12 public school system, and the 9-12 independent school system. He also taught at the University of Saskatchewan.
Dr. Wetterstrand has served on several Faculty of Education committees. He also served on Senate and was the Vice-Chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Throughout his career, Dr. Wetterstrand has been actively involved with elementary schools assisting with science fairs, spelling bees and professional development. He has written about educational drama, the connections between educational drama and critical thinking, educational drama as a learning medium especially where a balance of interdisciplinary or syntegration occurs among subject areas, notions of guerilla curriculum, tensions and stresses in the practicum, improvisation/role-play pedagogy in the academe, play, moral/character education, social and emotional learning/health, and issues of social justice.
Congratulations on a wonderful career! We hope you enjoy retirement.
Anne MacLean, retired
Anne has been an educator and mentor for more than 25 years. For the last 12 years, Anne has been the Field Experience Coordinator with the Okanagan School of Education – and she has made quite the impact within the Okanagan School of Education and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program.
She was integral to the successful start-up of the revitalized B.Ed program in 2018. She envisioned the term INSPIRE which has become the core theme for the program. Her mantra of “bloom where you’re planted” has left a long-lasting influence on all our B.Ed students, but her guidance during 2020 impacted candidates even across the province. Her willingness and expertise to initiate a collective and collaborative response by all B.C. university Teacher Education programs to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic was critical to ensuring the graduation of teacher candidate cohorts.
Earlier this year, Anne received an Association of British Columbia Deans of Education (ABCDE) Teacher Education Award. The award is presented to someone at the school or university level who has distinguished themselves in partnering with a teacher education program in B.C.
Congratulations on a wonderful career! We hope you enjoy retirement.