UBC Forestry wishes to congratulate three faculty members on being recognized at the AMS UBC Teaching and Learning Champions Gala on April 1, 2025.
This event honors UBC faculty who advocate for Open Educational Resources (OER) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), enhancing affordability and accessibility for students. By adopting OER, they help break economic barriers, saving UBC students an estimated $15 million annually.
OER Excellence and Impact Individual Award
Winner: Lindsay Cuff
The OER Excellence and Impact Awards honor faculty who make significant contributions to expanding the use and impact of open educational resources in UBC credit courses.
About Lindsay Cuff
Lindsay Cuff, Assistant Professor of Teaching in Forestry and Land & Food Systems, champions open educational resources (OER) to enhance accessibility and break economic barriers in education.
In 2022, she created Writing Place: A Scholarly Writing Textbook, a free, interactive online resource for LFS 150 and NRES 150. Designed with Universal Design for Learning principles, it includes 13 chapters, student narratives, interactive activities, and discipline-specific content tailored to Forestry and Land & Food Systems.
This resource empowers students to engage in scholarly conversations and communicate beyond academia, integrating an inclusive, decolonial approach to writing. Reflecting Professor Cuff’s belief in storytelling as a transformative tool, Writing Place has benefited over 900 students.
UDL Champion Award
Winners: Nolan Bett & Lee Salmon
This new award recognizes faculty who integrate UDL principles—addressing learner diversity and educational barriers—to create a more accessible, inclusive classroom where all students can thrive.
About Lee Salmon
Lee Salmon explores how learning environments shape students’ understanding of science. He teaches biology, ecology, and the societal role of science, incorporating experiential and evidence-based learning. Committed to accessibility, he integrated Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into Tree and Stand-Level Measurements (FRST 239), a math-intensive, hands-on course. To further enhance its inclusivity, Lee participated in the UBC UDL Fellows Program.
About Nolan Bett
Nolan Bett explores how learning environments shape students’ understanding of science. He teaches biology, ecology, and science’s role in society, emphasizing experiential and evidence-based learning.