A message from Associate Deans, School of Business and Management , Lisa Mendez and April Tyrrell:
It is with mixed emotions, that we announce that Barb Smith is retiring from an amazing career in the School of Business and Management at Niagara College.She has impacted not only a generation of students, but also many dedicated faculty with her passion for teaching and learning.
Barb joined Niagara College as a part-time business instructor in 1988 while building a career in information technology and Niagara’s burgeoning wine industry. She met many influential staff members who encouraged her to transition to teaching. She became a full-time professor in 1993 in the School of Business and never looked back.
During her 30-year career, she has held many roles within the School of Business and Management including Coordinator of the first-year Business Administration program and,most recently, as the Coordinator of the Human Resources Co-op Program. She was invited to join the curriculum development team for the first degree program offered at Niagara and continued to create new courses for many business programs. She has worked closely with faculty, staff and students supporting their program and departmental initiatives (OCMC, ncLibraries Exploratory, International, Research & Innovation and Career Services). She will be especially missed as a co-advisor for the very active HR@NC student association which provides further opportunities for students to learn and network outside the classroom. During her tenure, she has supported, mentored, and educated a generation (or two) of business professionals as well as been steadfast in her own professional development.
Barb has been a dedicated and highly respected faculty member leading the way in teaching and demonstrating how to integrate technologies to support learning. She tirelessly seeks out new and innovative approaches to experiential learning and more equitable resource access for students.
In 2008, Barb was seconded to the Centre for Educational and Professional Development for six years as an Educational Developer and Faculty Consultant where she focused on pre-service teacher training and provided workshops on a variety of emerging technologies. She was instrumental in designing a six-week hybrid course development training for over 200 staff members. She was often invited to share her work in this area at other Colleges and presented at various local and national conferences. Her Dean has said “she must have had a crystal ball knowing we were heading full force into online learning at some point.” In 2021, she was the recipient of the Faculty Award of Excellence.
Upon leaving her full-time position at Niagara College, Barb has plans to travel, brush up on her piano and French-language skills, become better acquainted with her garden and continue to teach online as well as explore interesting project work.
Retirement celebration on June 22
If you would like to join us and share your well wishes for Barb Smith, Rob Shepherd and and Shelley Merlo as they begin this exciting journey please feel free to meet us at Cat’s Kitchen and Bar in Niagara Falls (6788 Thorold Stone Rd.) on June 22, from 4-6 p.m.
