Jenny Barker Receives Wightman-Berris Individual Teaching Award

Jenny Barker

By: Jessica Boafo

In the spirit of celebration ahead of this Thursday’s SLP Awards & Recognition Celebration, the Department of Speech-Language Pathology is proud to spotlight one of its dedicated clinical educators: Jenny Barker, recipient of this year’s Individual Teaching Performance Award (Health Professions Program) from the Wightman-Berris Academy.

The Wightman-Berris Academy, anchored at the University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital and supported by community and specialty partner sites, is the largest of the University of Toronto’s four Medical Academies. Each year, the Academy honours exceptional teachers who elevate the learning experiences of future health professionals. This year, Jenny Barker joins that esteemed group.

Barker’s award recognizes her extraordinary commitment to teaching, mentorship, and clinical supervision. For her students, the impact of her influence is immediate and lasting. One second-year MHSc student described Barker as someone who “cultivated a warm and enriching learning environment through her passion for the profession and her methodic teaching approach.”

When asked to reflect on Barker as an educator, the nominating student highlighted her sound clinical reasoning, communicated clearly and thoughtfully, her gentle and engaged interactions with patients and families, her strong relationships within the multidisciplinary team as well as the admiration she receives from fellow speech-language pathologists.

Beyond her exemplary work as a clinician and educator, Barker stands out for her scholarly contributions. She has led quality improvement and research initiatives that have directly shaped both clinical practice and academic curriculum. Among these accomplishments is her leadership in developing a bedside swallow assessment protocol, which was ultimately adopted at Toronto General Hospital, a powerful example of research informing practice.

For her students, learning from Barker means learning from someone who bridges clinical skill, research insight, and compassionate communication. As her student nominator shared:

“Jenny transformed me from someone with no experience in this complex medical setting into a confident student clinician approaching independent practice. Her feedback was intentional, thoughtful, and rooted in reflection, always pushing me toward deeper critical thinking.”

The Wightman-Berris Academy Awards are an important recognition of the faculty and staff who sustain the mission of U of T’s clinical teaching community. Barker’s achievement highlights the Department’s continued commitment to providing exceptional clinical education and to supporting educators who shape the next generation of speech-language pathologists.

We extend our warmest congratulations to Jenny Barker and look forward to celebrating her, and many other outstanding faculty members, at this week’s ceremony.