Dr. Pleshette McPhee
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Academic Dean at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI), Dr. Pleshette McPhee, will be receiving 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 Dr. 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 Dr. McPhee’s scorecard, she averaged 84.2% 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’ experience, said to be receiving the award was humbling.
“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 Dr. McPhee.
She added that the team behind her is worthy of accolades as well, as the international recognition is beyond her.
“My contributions in the field of education, the work that I do, the craft that I am so passionate about and dedicated to, resonated with others; in this case, an international organization like GFEL. 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, Dr. 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, Dr. 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.
“In my critical role, I oversee the curriculum, instruction, assessment and the quality assurance process. I am keen on my team delivering a superior product – one that will train students who are ready for the workplace or entrepreneurship. Quality teaching is central, but also paying attention to our value chain, inclusive of human resources and human capital to provide quality education,” said Dr. McPhee.
Dr. McPhee underscored her role in the teaching and learning process at BTVI.
“It must always be student-centered and our approaches and methodology must coincide with the mandate to continue to impact, reform, shape future citizens and build a nation via technical and vocational education, while closing the skills gap,” said Dr. McPhee, who is also Chairman of the Eva Hilton Primary Schools Board.
BTVI’s President, Dr. Robert W. Robertson, congratulated Dr. 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 Dr. 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,” he stated.
During the three-day event to be held at the MGM Grand, there will be sessions on topics such as ‘Digital Literacy: What Are The Next Steps?’, ‘The Impact Of Web Technologies On Education’, ‘Digital KPI Framework - Is Your School/Institution Edtech Ready?’, ‘Instructional Design And Curriculum Priorities’ and ‘Overcoming Barriers To Student Engagement.’
As a part of the conference, an elite group of 100 high-performing leaders in education and 50 educational organizations, will be awarded for their contributions to the education sector. All awardees are required to be physically present at the event to collect their awards. In the event an awardee is unable to attend, a nominee is allowed to collect on his or her behalf.
GFEL is organized by Prism Events, Inc. Over 500 delegates are expected to attend the education conference, where the latest in the field of education is expected to be on display in the exhibitor's arena.
