10/05/2026
Cape Breton University is proud to announce that Dr. Heather Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Psychology at CBU, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) Anne Marie MacKinnon Educational Leadership Award.
Presented annually by the AAU, which represents 16 post-secondary institutions across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, this honour recognizes an educator who demonstrates a sustained commitment to excellence in teaching and learning through educational leadership that extends significantly beyond their own classroom, role and discipline.
For more than fifteen years, Dr. Schmidt has distinguished herself through her dedication to inclusion, allyship and the ongoing work of decolonizing higher education. Dr. Schmidt emphasizes critical reflection, questioning routine practices and opening supportive spaces where educators can learn from diverse ways of knowing, together.
“Educational leadership is at the very heart of Cape Breton University’s mission to create transformative, inclusive and impactful learning environments for all students,” said David C. Dingwall, President and Vice-Chancellor of Cape Breton University. “Dr. Heather Schmidt embodies the ideals of the Anne Marie MacKinnon Educational Leadership Award in her work, daily. Her mentorship, innovation, collaborative leadership and dedication to empowering colleagues and enhancing students’ journeys in their classrooms have had a lasting impact across our campus and beyond. On behalf of our entire university community, I am proud to congratulate Dr. Schmidt on this tremendous recognition.”
Dr. Schmidt’s educational leadership has left a clear mark on campus culture. A former Psychology Department Chair and long-time champion of equity, diversity, inclusion and indigenization (EDII) initiatives, she developed one of Canada’s first Indigenous Peoples Psychology courses and served as the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Teaching Chair in Allyship and Decolonizing Educational Practice from 2023 to 2025. Her advocacy has supported tangible, campus-wide inclusion milestones, including collaborating on early 2SLGBTQIA+ education and advocacy on campus.
“My instructional leadership work has focused on finding ways to slowly transform academia into a place where an immense diversity of people feel a strong sense of belonging, connection and meaning,” says Dr. Schmidt. “This work wouldn’t be possible without so many different staff and faculty collaborators who are just as deserving of recognition. I hope that being in this spotlight helps motivate more educators to prioritize actively working to become good allies who will join in finding ways to decolonize our teaching and the university more broadly.”
Dr. Schmidt’s impact reaches well past campus walls. Through keynote addresses, workshops and scholarly publications, she has become a nationally recognized voice guiding post-secondary educators in engaging with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and advancing decolonial pedagogy in psychology and higher education.
