Sandra Murray knows – from her own experience and from watching those in teaching and learning circles – what makes a good educator.

“Although they don’t fit into one mold, it is evident to me that they all love teaching, and deeply care about their students’ learning.  Their passion is infectious, not only to their students, but to people like me who get to witness it from the sidelines,” she says.

A staff member since 1988, Ms. Murray is the sole remaining member of the team that founded the Instructional Development Centre, now the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), in 1991. She began under the leadership of Chris Knapper, Queen’s professor emeritus in psychology and original director of the centre, who mentored and taught many on campus, including Ms. Murray, now program coordinator in the CTL.

“Chris is so special to me, and many of his students and colleagues. He saw something in me that I didn’t,” she says. “He’s been very influential in my life, like my second dad. He helped me believe in myself more and made me realize what I could accomplish.”

After starting at Queen’s as a secretary in Mining Engineering, Ms. Murray interviewed for a position with Dr. Knapper and he immediately saw how clearly Ms. Murray understood the ideas behind the Instructional Development Centre.

“I didn’t have the educational background but I understood the job because I had researched it. The centre was new to Queen’s, and so I had to call the University of Waterloo to find out more about the field. I was very enthusiastic in the interview and Chris was impressed that I took time to research the position on my own.”

(Dr. Knapper is widely known as a pioneer and Canada’s foremost expert in the area of teaching and learning. Before Queen’s, he founded the teaching resources office at the University of Waterloo. There are several awards given annually, at Queen’s and nationally, in honour of Dr. Knapper’s dedication to quality teaching and learning.)

While Ms. Murray’s role in the CTL has shifted over the years, her main focus at present is to plan and organize, along with educational developers, the many different programs the centre offers, including Teaching Development Day, the Showcase on Teaching and Learning, and a graduate course on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. She is also busy booking educators from around the world to come into the centre to facilitate discussions on various topics.

“The centre has been my classroom,” says Ms. Murray. “In all my jobs, I like to connect with what I’m doing, see the bigger picture, and the CTL has been wonderful for that. I love that the core of what we do is focused on the students and their educational experience at Queen’s. I also like to go to our workshops and events to get a sense of what is happening across the university and how to expand our offerings.”

The centre and its dedicated personnel has been a very uplifting place to work for Ms. Murray and she’s excited about the future, under the leadership of Peter Wolf, Associate Vice-Provost and Director, CTL, and Jill Scott, Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning).

“Everyone is very passionate about what they do, supporting Queen’s educators,” says Ms. Murray, adding that in many ways, just as Dr. Knapper is like a second father, the people of the CTL have become her second family. “The CTL has been a very large part of my life, and I’ve received so much inspiration and support from many of my colleagues who have come through over the years.”

She’s also thrilled about the CTL’s recent move, from the basement of Mackintosh-Corry Hall to the building’s first floor. The new space is bright and open-concept, with more spaces for collaborative work.

“It’s like Christmas every day. Teaching and learning has literally come out of the basement,” she says, laughing. “It was a nice space down there, but there was no light. The light is now pouring in. It filters into everything you do.”