Congratulations to James McLellan who is one of this year's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Leadership in Teaching Award!

This award recognizes faculty members who have shown leadership in at least one of the following:

  • Is viewed as a teaching role model/mentor by their colleagues;
  • Helps to foster teaching excellence in others; and
  • Shares, leads, and participates in university and/or community teaching and learning activities.

As Professor in Chemical Engineering with cross-appointments in Mathematics and Statistics, the Dan School of Drama and Music, and an instructor for the Smith School of Business, Dr. Jim McLellan has had a profound leadership role in teaching for FEAS and the wider Queen’s community for over 32 years. Jim’s contributions to teaching leadership and excellence have earned him several awards at the university and provincial level (Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Award for Excellence in Teaching) and he was nominated twice for the 3M Award nationally.

Jim’s role in creating and building numerous programs have transformed the innovative and entrepreneurship culture at Queen’s. He is a model of teaching excellence for his colleagues in FEAS and beyond. His work has fused intellectual disciplines and approaches related to innovation and entrepreneurship, change making, and social impact leading to strongly interdisciplinary curricular and experiential programming. This includes his role as co-founder and Academic Director of the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre (DDQIC). He has contributed to the development of entrepreneurial capacity in >10,000 students, leading to the formation of >200 ventures, with 50% continuing. Jim has ensured that diversity is a core value of the DDQIC, with diverse recruitment and participation and welcoming people from all programs and career stages.

Jim has helped develop and deliver the Masters of Management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, Certificate in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Creativity, Dean’s Changemaker courses (FAS - ASCX200, ASCX300), and Systems Leadership and Design Thinking in the Advanced Leadership in Social Impact (running this year). He has introduced CHEE410 and APSC888 (Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship), which integrates social justice and equity elements. Jim emphasizes strong incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals elements in all his courses, such as sustainable energy, or providing a “contextualized engineering” framework and approach that is human-centered and incorporates ethnographic principles.

To learn more about the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Teaching Awards and to see past winners, please see Queen’s Centre for Teaching and Learning.