Three Science faculty recognized by McMaster Students Union for teaching excellence

Megumi Harada, Krista Howarth and Michelle Cadieux have received 2025 Teaching Excellence Awards from the McMaster Students Union.

Organized by the MSU’s Macademics, more than 4,000 students nominated faculty from across McMaster University during the fall and winter terms. The awards are presented each year to one instructor from Arts & Science, Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Nursing, Kinesiology and Science. The award recognizes outstanding all-round teaching performance of the instructor. Merits which are considered include the ability to communicate, approachability and enthusiasm of the instructor as recognized by students registered in their classes. The recipients are determined by the number of nominations while considering class size and student comments and evaluations.

Here’s what students had to say in their nominations for the Faculty of Science’s award-winning faculty.

Arts & Science Teaching Excellence Award: Professor Megumi Harada, Department of Mathematics & Statistics

“Dr. Harada is one of the most passionate and dedicated instructors I have ever had.”

“She is always so willing to help, always goes the extra mile and genuinely cares about her students as learners and as people.”

“She always makes it exciting to learn and I know I am supported and cared for in her class. She also is so knowledgeable and well-versed in the information she teaches that it is impossible not to be motivated and inspired.”

“She works tirelessly to make sure every single student in her class feels confident and engaged in the material. Dr. Harada is an absolutely amazing professor!”

“Dr. Harada is both excellent at teaching very difficult math concepts and at being a mentor and guide for us throughout the year. Given that this calculus course did not require us as students to have taken calculus in high school, Dr. Harada was given the difficult task of teaching complex calculus from the bottom up. As someone who had previously taken calculus at the university level, I was beyond impressed with how she is able to teach such difficult math concepts to novices.”

“When she realized that we had an exam on the same day that many classes had end of year assignments due, she personally reached out to suggest that we be given a more fair schedule.”

“Dr. Harada has been a life saver this year, and I cannot imagine what she could have possibly done more to deserve this award.”

“She has managed to turn calculus–a subject I have struggled with tremendously–into my favourite class because of her incredibly engaging and interesting teaching.”

“In the first week, she learned every single person’s name and continues to go out of her way to make everyone feel like a valuable member of the learning environment.”

“Beyond the course itself, she is an exceptionally kind and compassionate person and I consider myself lucky to have gotten to meet her in the first place.”

Faculty of Science Teaching Excellence Award – Adjunct Assistant Professor Michelle Cadieux, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior

“Dr. Cadieux really pushes the boundaries on what being a university professor is like. I’ve never come across a teacher who puts so much passion into what they do.”“It’s so evident that Dr. Cadieux’s heart is with her content and students when she delivers her lessons. Not only that, she is extremely knowledgeable and goes above and beyond to instruct students in a way that allows them to succeed.”

“Have you ever heard of a professor that has interactive web modules with funny skits, or tutorials that promote collaboration, or even manage capture a student’s attention from the beginning until the end of the lecture and making them wish PSYCH with Dr. Cadieux was longer than 50 minutes?”

“Dr. Cadieux’s enthusiasm for teaching makes my 4:30 pm Monday lectures with her even more enjoyable, and many students from a variety of programs here at McMaster University could also say the same. In my opinion, it would be a simply crime if you fail to select her as a winner of the MSU Teaching Award.”

“Dr. Cadieux was such an amazing lecturer. Her lectures were informative and engaging, and my friends and I (who have different lecture times) are big big fans. I love that she communicated very clearly when results for assessments would be returned to us.

“She is very open to speaking to students, and you can tell she really has a passion for teaching this course. I would love to have Dr. Cadieux as a lecturer again, and hope she wins this award!”

Kinesiology Teaching Excellence Award – Assistant Professor Krista Howarth, Department of Kinesiology

“She’s the only professor where I feel I can follow along during lecture and never walk out going ‘what the heck just happened?'”