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It was our pleasure to run the annual UCSA Lecturer of the Year poll during term 3. As always, students were quick to step up and vote for their favourite and well – deserving lecturers and made good use of the three weeks to cast their votes either online or in the voting boxes across campus. On Friday 1st August, the bulging ballot boxes were collected and tallied along with our on-line votes, so there was no shortage of nominations! The UCSA was pleased to host its yearly award ceremony on August20th in Bentley’s – a chance to provide drinks and nibbles for the top nominees and create a little suspense before announcing the winners. There, the lecturers received their ‘feedback sheet’ and were able to read a selection of the comments they had received (anonymously of course!)
This year we got the odd play on words, extreme and profane comments and things we can only assume refer to lecturer / class inside jokes including ‘He loves his applets, ‘The best turbulent eddy impression…hands down’, ‘Smokin hottie’, ‘An angry version of Santa, ‘Klingons’. There was also many tongue in cheek comments that commended lecturers for their unexpected talents, such as ‘he can do cartwheels’, ‘He danced for us all!’, ‘The man plays ukulele, sings waiatas’. Bribery always works: - ‘She bring us chocolate for tutorials’, ‘An all round good guy who gives us Toblerones’, and one lecturer who has obviously got it sussed ‘He gives out invisible chocolate bars – they’re better than real ones’
More rewarding that even the most bizarrely funny comment were all the comments that articulated what students truly love in a lecturer. Comments that were repeated on nominations were things about lecturers who are approachable and have a good attitude towards students, go the extra mile to help students understand the subject matter and lecturers that are encouraging. Students wrote that they like lecturers who are organised, explain things clearly and are knowledgeable in their field. Over half of the nominations we received indicated that students like lecturers who care about their subject, are passionate about what they are teaching and have a sense of humour. Things like, ‘He encouraged me to achieve to a high standard and helped me realise my potential’ and ‘her passion towards the course makes you want to learn’ came up over and over again. It’s great to hear how an enthusiastic lecturer can make such a difference to the interest of a student.
It was also humbling to read the extraordinary difference lecturers make to students’ lives. ‘Inspiring, patient, kind, diplomatic, she made time to drive to Timaru and spend a morning with me to keep me going’ and ‘ He inspired me to learn and stay in Uni after a year of failure.’
Members of the UCSA 2008 Executive were on hand to announce and present the awards.
College of Arts (presented by Hayley Mowat):
The top 3 nominations, in alphabetical order, are Richard Bullen, Kon Kuiper, Gareth Pritchard. The winner is described as having ‘… unwavering enthusiasm, approachability and making learning accessible. A lovely man :-)’ and ‘He’s so passionate about his subject and always hilariously excited about everything. Quite a babe for an older man too’.
The Winner is Richard Bullen from Fine Arts
College of Business and Economics (presented by Amadeus Rainbow):
The top 3 nominations are Stephen Hickson, Seamus Hogan and John Watson….
and the winner is described as ‘a very approachable, student oriented, articulate lecturer’ and someone who ‘works hard to make lectures interesting and FUN! Who thought economics could be fun//!!
The winner is Stephen Hickson from Economics
College of Education (presented by Sam Willyams):
The top 3 nominations in Education are Huhana Carter, Nicki Dabner and Darren Dale
The winner is described as ‘An awesome guy and good teacher’ and someone who has ‘Topical and practical content. He is just SUPER’
The winner is Darren Dale from Sciences and Physical Education
College of Engineering (presented by Kyle Channing-Pearce):
The top 3 nominations are Clemency Montelle, Ken Morrison and Roger Nokes
The winner ‘explains things easily/clearly, is enthusiastic and stimulates my interest in the subject he teaches, and is always happy to answer questions’ and is someone who ‘..makes fluid mechanics less scary’
The winner is Roger Nokes from Civil and Resource Engineering
College/School of Law (presented by Michael Goldstein):
The top 3 nominations are Neil Boister, Chris Gallavin and Richard Scragg
The winner is ‘Funny and informative and politically incorrect’ and is someone who ‘..has the pointiest shoes in the University – also a great sense of humour, which makes lectures great’.
The winner is Chris Gallavin
College of Science (presented by Liz Wiltshire):
The top 3 nominations are Jack Baggaley, Mark Byrd, and Dean Sutherland
The student comments included that he is ‘The best lecturer I’ve had in 4 years at University’ and is someone who gave ‘Interesting, interactive lectures; really went the extra mile to ensure students learning’
The winner is Dean Sutherland from Communication Disorders
Overall Lecturer of the Year 2008 (presented by Michael Goldstein UCSA President)–
This lecturer received more votes than any other lecturer in the poll and from more individual students. He also was a previous winner in 2000 and so has kept up his high standards
Roger Nokes from the College of Engineering! Congratulations!
Thanks to everyone who voted this year! Remember that UCSA is YOUR organisation first and foremost and we’re dedicated to representing your views, whether on great lecturers or any other university issues. Thank you to our valued sponsors, the University Bookshop for providing our winning lecturers with enviable perks and to the University Staff Club for offering an award to the overall Lecturer of the Year .
For more information on Lecturer of the Year, contact the Education Support Office.
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