Award-winning College instructor revamps professional certification program

November 24, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lovleen Brar had started her second year at Douglas College and was waiting for her first marketing class to begin. "I didn't really care about school," says Brar. Then instructor Gerard Edwards walked into class with a big smile on his face. "I was thinking, okay, great, another teacher, but with him, it was different. He cared about each and every one of his students. By the end of the second class, he knew everyone's name."

By the end of the semester Brar knew what she wanted to do. "It was because of Gerard I decided to go into marketing."

With dedication like this, it's no surprise Edwards is one of the 2003 winners of the Faculty Excellence Award at Douglas College.

He goes 10 extra miles for his students, says his colleague Gail Tibbo. "He's exceptionally good at what he does. He has a way of engaging the students so they learn - by putting the information across in a way they can relate to and bringing out their experience in topics he's teaching."

Edwards, currently on Educational Leave from the Marketing Department, is working on revamping the professional certification program for a professional organization, Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI).

As an instructor, he's not hesitant to embrace new things such as the Internet, which he started using as teaching resource in his classroom five years ago. "That was a real turning point for me," he recalls. "There is always pressure to deliver content in the classroom. Using the online resources frees you up to put the onus back on the students to learn the material, and you become more of a coach. That's how I see myself, as a coach."

Marketing student Juanita Murley says Edwards goes out of his way to create opportunities for students. "Gerry is a very caring teacher," says Juanita Murley. "He puts a lot of effort into what's going on at the school. When we needed something done urgently for the Marketing Students Society, he came to Douglas College on the weekend and used his own time to help out - above and beyond the call of duty."

Marketing has become a philosophy for Edwards. "A lot of people think of marketing as a job or function," says Edwards. "It's a lot deeper than that. Your business philosophy has to be marketing-oriented -- aimed at satisfying your customers, employees, society and the environment. You can't sell what you have if you're not being respectful of all of them."

His philosophy is serving him well in his work as Acting Director of Education with SMEI, where he has been active for six years now. SMEI has over 10,000 members worldwide and provides the Certified Marketing Executive (CME), Certified Sales Executive (CSE) and SMEI Certified Professional Salesperson (SCPS) credentials.

"My challenge is to expand and promote the certification program," says Edwards. "And to ensure the programs reflect marketplace trends."

Edwards is also working to create on-line resources to support the certification program and to ensure college and university courses are compatible with the program and vice versa.

"The material in the certification programs should meld really well with what we're teaching at the college and university levels in North America," says Edwards. "The long-term goal is for college and university graduates to get credit for their education in the certification process."

He has been busy networking and attending conferences and committees, looking at what post-secondary institutions teach and what businesses want people to know.

"I'm learning how other institutions teach marketing, and I'm also learning how the business world views what we are teaching. Projects like this keep me supplied with current workplace examples for use in teaching."

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For more information, please contact:
Kimberley Fehr, Communications & Marketing Office: 604-527-5325