BTVI academic dean to receive international award

BTVI academic dean to receive international award

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Academic Dean at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) Dr Pleshette McPhee will receive the Excellence in Education Award to be conferred by the Global Forum for Education and Learning (GFEL) this summer.

The award will be presented to McPhee at the second edition of the GFEL conference, to be held in Las Vegas in June. During the three-day conference, EdTech innovators, thought leaders and academicians who are adding significant value to the global education sector will converge to lead, empower and improve the means of education transmittal.

According to McPhee’s scorecard, she averaged 84.2 percent in five categories. This was based on her answers and the awards committee’s research. The areas included, but were not limited to, overall impact on the industry, spirit of innovation and future readiness.

The veteran educator, who has 31 years of experience and who also serves as chairman of the Eva Hilton Primary Schools Board, said she was humbled to be receiving the award.

“I felt overwhelmed, humbled, filled with gratitude and speechless all at the same time. I kept saying ‘thank you, God’. I feel honored to have been nominated, short-listed and eventually chosen for such a prestigious international award,” said McPhee.

She added that the team behind her is worthy of accolades as well, as the international recognition is beyond her.

“This, too, is an honor for BTVI, because whatever I accomplished as it relates to my role as academic dean, I did it with a team. The team is also deserving to share in this award as well,” she emphasized.

Meanwhile, McPhee considers herself to have an authentic, collaborative and transformational leadership style, with a track record of introducing best practices while driving change.

Noteworthy is the successful leadership she provided the Academic Affairs team in the registration of 11 new BTVI programs with the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council (NAECOB).

She continues to lead collaborative efforts as BTVI seeks programmatic accreditation. In addition, McPhee brought structure to the unit by implementing standards, policies and compliance after conducting a policy audit. She was also pivotal in the institutionalization of a course approval, monitoring and evaluation process and the designing of a performance evaluation and appraisal system for instructors.

BTVI President Dr Robert Robertson congratulated McPhee, stating that he was proud to have a member of staff receive an international award for work done in the education field.

“Dr McPhee is a quality employee who is an integral part of our Deans Council and deserving of this award. One of BTVI’s strategic plan goals is ‘students first’ and Dr McPhee, as head of Academic Affairs, drives our teaching and learning process. She is key in helping to build an instructional culture, which encourages high-quality teaching, faculty engagement and prioritizes student education,” said Robertson.

“Further, the conference itself is an excellent networking opportunity. Leaders in education will meet to discuss complex issues facing the future of education; it is more relevant than ever, particularly with educational institutions worldwide having been forced to pivot to online platforms as a result of COVID-19, even if they are now in hybrid mode. BTVI is no different and we are continuing to search out innovative solutions. I believe this conference will serve her, and us, well.”