Renowned for his capacity to present ideas with confidence and authority, Western sociology professor Anton Allahar’s shot at being crowned Ontario’s Best Lecturer is now in the hands of the voters.
Part of the top 10 finalists for TVO’s show, Big Ideas, Allahar’s competition lecture entitled ‘Why Is the Whole World Not Developed?’ is currently online for viewing at tvo.org.
Anton Allahar
From March 31 at 12:01 a.m. to April 5 at 6 p.m., you will be able to vote for Allahar, grading him on a 5-point scale in each of three categories:
Clarity and Coherence: Did you follow the theme of the lecture and understand its main points? Energy and Performance: Were you engaged by the lecturer’s manner and style? Confidence and Authority: Did the lecturer convey confidence and mastery of the subject?
You’ll be able to vote in the following ways:
• online through the Best Lecturer website
• through a mobile device by texting the word vote to short code 333111*
• by calling 1-866-281-3536
The winning lecturer, and the winner’s school, will be awarded a $10,000 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex scholarship.
“It is an honour and an act of supreme flattery to have been placed in the top 10 of this stellar field of outstanding teachers,” says Allahar.
“To be carrying the flag for Western and Fanshawe (if not all London), where there is no shortage of outstanding, dedicated and committed teachers, my selection was just the luck of the draw. I can only hope they are satisfied with the way in which I represented them and I pledge my full support to all our erstwhile representatives next year and the years after that.”
Allahar’s principal areas of interest are economic development, the politics of globalization & democracy, and ethnicity, nationalism and racial relations, as these apply to the Caribbean and Latin America. His books include: The Sugar Planters of Colonial Cuba (1982); Is there Life after Debt? The Latin American Debt Crisis (1993); Richer and Poorer: the Structure of Inequality in Canada (1998); and Ivory Tower Blues: a university system in crisis (2007).
“Anton has long been recognized as one of Western’s most inspiring lecturers. He puts together ideas with an energy and passion that moves our students to reach higher and deeper into the knowledge that he conveys,” says Fred Longstaffe, Western’s Provost & Vice-President (Academic). “We could not ask for a better public ambassador of Western’s commitment to providing the highest standards of pedagogy.”
Allahar has won six major awards for excellence in teaching, including the USC/Bank of Nova Scotia Award in 1996 and again in 2002.
Before this Allahar was honoured with the Western’s Gold Medal and Pleva Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1986 and more recently he won three major awards for excellence in university teaching: the province-wide OCUFA in 2004, the national 3M award in 2005, and the Government of Ontario’s LIFT award in 2007.
Based on his combined scholarly publications and awards of excellence in teaching, Allahar was named Faculty Scholar at Western. He is currently President of the Caribbean Studies Association, whose membership is drawn from over 200 universities and 60 countries internationally.
In this capacity he was invited to accompany Prime Minister Stephen Harper on a recent trip to the Caribbean, where the PM met with a group of Caribbean prime ministers to discuss challenges to the region.
“Professor Allahar has to be the most inspiring person I’ve ever met,” says one student. “The way he challenged my thoughts and helped me open my eyes to the real world is incredibly gratifying. Professor Allahar’s lectures are what higher education is all about.”
Check out this year’s Best Lecturer jurors, Suanne Kelman, Jesse Hirsh and Donna Bailey Nurse, as they discuss their notions of what makes a lecturer great and what pitfalls lecturers should avoid.