A LECTURER in English literature has been nominated for a National Teaching Fellowship award by a panel of staff and students at York St John College.

Gweno Williams, senior lecturer in the school of arts, is York St John College's 2002 nominee for the Institute of Learning and Teaching national awards.

She was selected for demonstrating the ability to inspire students to achieve to their highest level, and for her ability to inspire colleagues and positively influence the wider national community of teachers and learners in higher education.

Gweno has also achieved impact on an international level, as founder and director of The Margaret Cavendish Performance Project, which produces original video versions of Cavendish's plays, filmed in York.

These videos have been used as teaching material in universities in North America, Australia and around the world.

She was presented with an Outstanding Collaborative Project award by the International Society for the Study of Early Modern Women for her video work in 1999, and will be speaking on Margaret Cavendish and Shakespeare at The Shakespeare Association of America conference in Minneapolis, USA, this month.

Gweno has recently initiated an Outstanding Achievement in English award, which the college presents to local school children who have performed well in the study of English. She hopes that by encouraging links with schools and by rewarding young students for their achievements they will be motivated to study English in higher education. She is also a governor of Canon Lee School.

The shortlist for the national awards will be announced at the end of March.

Updated: 11:47 Thursday, March 21, 2002