Three faculty members from U of T Scarborough are among the 10 finalists in TVO’s Best Lecturer Competition.
Professors Maydianne Andrade, (Biology), Marc Fournier, (Psychology), and Steve Joordens, (Psychology), from the Scarborough campus have been selected among the 10 finalists, TVO announced recently.
Altogether, the University of Toronto has six finalists in the top 10 for the Best Lecturer Competition at TVO -- the most of any university -- with half of those from U of T Scarborough. The other three U of T finalists are: Kenneth Barlett (History), Bryan Karney (Civil Engineering), and Nick Mount (English).
The four remaining finalists are: Rupinder Brar, (University of Ontario Institute of Technology), Jacalyn Duffin, (Queen’s University), Allan Hutchinson, (Osgoode Hall Law School, York University), and Michael Persinger, (Laurentian University).
“We are absolutely thrilled with the success of our professors and with this acknowledgement of the teaching quality on our campus,” says Ragnar Olaf-Buchweitz, Vice-Principal (Academic) and Dean at U of T Scarborough. “Such strong showing and public recognition of outstanding teachers is very welcome, and we are so proud of all nominees. This event will put us, literally, on the big screen, as the lectures start to be shown on television in the new year. I hope the U of T Scarborough community will watch --- and vote!”
Talks given by the finalists for the Best Lecturer title will be televised on the program Big Ideas on TVO on Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00 p.m., beginning January 13. Here’s the schedule for the U of T Scarborough finalists:
Saturday, January 13: Professor Steve Joordens
Saturday, February 3: Professor Marc Fournier
Saturday, February 10: Professor Maydianne Andrade
A $10,000 scholarship will be awarded to the university where the winning professor teaches. Contestants were initially nominated by students across the province, with 155 names proposed, cut to 71, then to 30, and most recently, to 10. These finalists were chosen for their ability to present complex ideas with clarity, energy and authority by a distinguished panel of judges: Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente, novelist Camilla Gibb, and Maclean’s managing editor Tony Keller.
The audience of Big Ideas will be able to rate each of the top 10, and ultimately determine the Best Lecturer in Ontario. Each finalist will deliver a lecture, and television viewers can vote for their favorite lecturer online. More information can be found at: www.tvo.org.