"It was in 1981 that a group of us (Mei-Fei Elrick and Don McIntosh from Guelph, Alan Blizzard and Dale Roy from McMaster, Harry Murray and Colin Baird from Western, Ron Sheese from Toronto, and myself) decided to launch STLHE. We had no financial assets, no idea of the potential interest, and only a vaguely formulated set of goals and activities. What we did have was a tradition of annual conferences in Ontario devoted to teaching and learning in higher Education. The latter were excellent social and professional occasions, but were attended primarily by instructional developers, and we felt a real need to involve "rank-and-file" faculty—the university and college teachers who spend a large amount of their working lives in the classroom. Our hope was that the creation of a society like STLHE would provide a focus for those professors who regard teaching as their major commitment, who are anxious to explore ways to enhance teaching and learning and wish to share their own ideas with colleagues." (Chris Knapper, May 1988)

"The Society saw considerable changes during Alan's presidency, many of which he initiated. These included a considerable increase in membership, establishment of the STLHE listserv, the "new initiatives" program for funding small instructional development projects, the institution of "travelling workshops" in different parts of the country, the encouragement of annual conferences outside Ontario, and the gradual democratization of the Society's procedures. Alan participated enthusiastically in running the Society, hosting one of the conferences, and publishing the newsletter. Until recently, we were unable to afford any assistance with these tasks, and the President bore the main brunt of the work with help from whatever colleagues he could cajole into volunteering.

Principal among these was Dale Roy, who served as the Society's Treasurer, unofficial secretary, and general booster throughout Alan's tenure. Dale also helped plan and run what is perhaps STLHE's most successful achievement, the 3M Teaching Fellowships Program." (Chris Knapper, June 1995)

"When Alan Blizzard left office, he had already begun the process of expanding the Steering Committee to include representation from all regions across the country. Another step in this inclusion process was taken two years ago when the annual general meeting ratified our first Constitution—one we carefully wrote to reflect current practice while providing enough flexibility to adjust and adapt to changing circumstances. This year we tested a new procedure for electing regional representatives to the Steering Committee, a procedure we hope will make appointment to this body more transparent. As a means for encouraging and supporting local initiatives, and increasing participation from across the country, we also began to hold the annual winter meetings of instructional development officers in different locations each year.

Some of the exciting initiatives undertaken recently by members include: Positive Pedagogy, pre-conference workshops for instructional developers, our listserv, regular meetings of Ontario IDO officers, and an electronic directory of 3M Teaching Fellows.

We have recently initiated the Alan Blizzard Award, a worthy new venture coupled with a promising partnership with McGraw-Hill Ryerson--Higher Education Division. We have produced our own Green Guide series of publications on teaching and learning. Our Ethical Principles in University Teaching has been distributed in both official languages across Canada and has been reprinted in numerous newsletters, journals, anmd other publications. It is astounding that there are people who still do not know who we are or what we stand for. What strategies then might we pursue to increase our influence and hence our ability to contribute to the improvement of teaching in Canadian higher education?" (Pat Rogers, June 2000, Excerpted from TLHE, No. 29)

"One of the often-heard buzz phrases when I became President was "national voice," as in "we must make STLHE a national voice for teaching and learning in higher education." Thus, we embarked on a Strategic Planning exercise which has taken over two years of work. Over this time, have we become that "national voice" people were talking about? Not yet. However, we are now poised to take this on. We have four strategic goals that define the Society, and we have new structures in place that clearly define the working relationships with such groups as the 3M Teaching Fellows and the Educational Developers Caucus. Representatives from these groups now sit on our Steering Committee, and each is engaged in a range of activities with great potential.

And there is the emergence of the Institute for the Advancement of Teaching in Higher Education, with which STLHE is forging an important new relationship. With careful planning, STLHE will be able to work with the Institute to provide valuable support for effective teaching in Canada and around the world. Another important step has been the establishment of a permanent office for our secretariat. Up to this point in our history, the administrative work of STLHE has been handled on a volunteer basis by some very dedicated people. This will allow us to manage membership-related work more efficiently, as well as our publications and other projects to come.

My survival in this poisiton is attributable to vitually everything else I have talked about—the people who have stepped forward to make a difference—those who have hosted conferences, written articles, made plans and presentations, attended long and demanding meetings, summarized those meetings and written reports, given up countless hours travelling across the country, taken on major positions within the Steering Committee, and on it goes. " (Gary Poole, June 2004, Excerpted from TLHE, No. 37).

It was truly an honor to serve as President of STLHE and to have had the opportunity to work with such an outstanding group of people; members of the Society and colleagues around the world who care deeply about teaching and learning in higher education. Through the efforts of many, and in keeping with our strategic directions, much was accomplished between 2004 and 2007:

• We advanced the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).  Along with the Educational Developers Caucus, we hosted a number of national events bringing clarity to what the SoTL is, why it is important, how it should be assessed and supported, and why increased government funds are needed for this important work. Our annual conference, publications and awards programs provided important opportunities to disseminate and celebrate the SoTL. In support of this, our newsletter—Teaching and Learning in Higher Education—took on a whole new look and focus.
  
• We advocated for the improvement of teaching and learning practice. STLHE became much better known on the national stage.  Members of the STLHE Board of Directors became increasingly invited to speak on behalf of the Society at national conferences and think tanks, and to comment on noteworthy events and initiatives (such as Ontario Government’s “Rae Review." Projects by the Council of 3M National Teaching Fellows, such as the publication of Making a Difference/Toute la différence, helped profile issues of importance to Society members. 
  
• We became a more inclusive organization attracting increased numbers of faculty and educational developers from the College sector, as well as students and administrators. Two Special Interest Groups (SIGs) were established; one representing the interests of writing centre professionals and the other the interests of librarians. We also introduced a new portfolio that will champion graduate students and TA development issues. And, we continued to develop ideas to help us better meet the needs of our francophone colleagues. 
  
• We strengthened our partnerships. The work of the Society was advanced through our long-standing partnerships with 3M Canada, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, the International Consortium for Educational Developers (ICED) and the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network. We also forged important new relationships with the Institute for the Advancement of Teaching in Higher Education (IATHE), MacLean’s, and Magna publications.

In addition to all of the above, we made considerable progress on the administration and financial management of the Society. Sylvia Riselay accepted a three-year contract as Administrator, all Board members made progress within specified portfolios of responsibility, and our administrative processes became much more transparent (through, for example, open nominations and elections for the Board of Directors). We also made significant progress towards incorporation.  These accomplishments were made possible, in part, by our extremely successful institutional membership campaign. Attracting over 50 institutional members in 2007, the Society’s financial position was considerably strengthened.

As I step down as President, I am delighted to be able to pass the baton to Joy Mighty in whose leadership I have every confidence.  I look forward to seeing how the Society will continue to evolve in the year’s ahead.