Niagara College School of Media Professor Peter VandenBerg was honoured this week with national and global recognition for his dedication to student success.
VandenBerg, Program Coordinator of Niagara College’s Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film (BRTF) program, known to students and colleagues as “Dutch,” received two awards this week – a Gold Leadership Excellence Award from Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) and an Outstanding Educator Award at the Silver level from the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP). Both awards were presented at World Congress, a global post-secondary leadership event co-hosted by CICan and WFCP, April 23-25, in Montreal.
The CICan Leadership Excellence Award recognizes an individual or team who has exhibited consistent excellence in teaching and has had a significant impact on the personal and academic growth of students, while the WFCP Outstanding Educator Award is given to an individual who has made an impact on learner growth, brought about positive change beyond their own learners, and provided a leadership role model for teaching colleagues and students.
“I feel guilty to be recognized for doing what I love but do genuinely appreciate the endorsement,” VandenBerg expressed in a Niagara College announcement. “I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it wasn’t for the unwavering support of my wife and two kids, the College and of course my grads. To quote one of my great grads, Amy Audibert (BRTF, 2012), ‘this is a win for us all.’ My sincerest thank you to all those that made this happen.”
A 1993 graduate of the BRTF program, VandenBerg began teaching in the program in 2009 and is known for actively seeking unique learning opportunities for students to apply their skills via industry partnerships. Over the last decade, BRTF students have helped produce broadcasts for major sporting events in the Niagara region, including the 2016 IIHF U18 Women’s World Hockey Championship, the 2018 FIBA U18 Americas Championship Basketball Tournament, and the 2019 Canadian Wrestling Trials, in addition to a live election-day broadcast in partnership with the Niagara Dailies newspaper group, and virtual college convocations in 2020 and 2021, among other events.
More recently, VandenBerg developed the broadcast program for the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games as Chair of Broadcast Operations & Production Services, solidifying the college’s role as the Games’ official Digital Production Partner and creating applied learning opportunities for over 100 BRTF students and alumni, who were part of the broadcast team, delivering over 1,000 hours of live games coverage
“Dutch brings such heart and expertise in mentoring and teaching our students,” said Niagara College President Sean Kennedy. “He is a phenomenal ambassador for NC and consistently demonstrates our College values of being student-focused, welcoming, passionate and trailblazing. I am thrilled that Dutch’s hard work at NC, in the community, and with the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games has earned this well-deserved national and global recognition.”
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