November 14, 2005 Source: Ryerson University:
http://www.ryerson.ca/news/2005/20051114b.html RYERSON PROFESSOR WINS TVO LECTURER COMPETITION History professor Arne Kislenko is the winner of TV Ontario's Best Lecturer Competition, declared by the station on Nov. 12. Photo of Kislenk Dr. Kislenko was chosen over nine other finalists, including professors from University of Toronto, York University and Carleton University by viewers who graded the professors by phone or Internet. The competition was launched by the station's Big Ideas program in the fall of 2004, when students nominated 359 university and college professors across Ontario. The list was narrowed down to ten finalists by the station's panel of judges in September and pre-taped lectures aired each week starting in October for five weeks. Kislenko's winning lecture, entitled World War II: The Soviet Experience, aired on Nov. 5. "It's amazing. It's one of the nicest professional accolades you can ever get," says the modest professor about the honour. "This is really about two things: it's about the profession of teaching and it's also about the students. The Ryerson students really rallied behind me. They also deserve the accolade because they create an environment where you really feel comfortable in the classroom. This win is about them." Students and staff launched an awareness campaign last month to encourage the university community to vote for their professor by plastering posters around campus and sending out electronic messages. One of the university's student newspapers, The Eyeopener, also threw a party for Kislenko at a campus pub on Nov. 5 with prizes for students to win as they watched his taped lecture. Kislenko received over 100 congratulatory e-mails from students, teachers and viewers themselves. "What was really moving for me was the number of Russians who thanked me for teaching my students about a part of their history," said Kislenko. With Kislenko's win, Ryerson University has been awarded a $10,000 TD Meloche Monnex scholarship as part of the competition. Ryerson University is Canada's leader in career-focused education, with more than 80 graduate and undergraduate programs in the Faculties of Arts, Business, Communication & Design, Community Services, and Engineering and Applied Science. Founded in 1948, Ryerson has graduate and undergraduate enrolment of 20,000 students. With more than 61,000 registrations annually, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. CONTACT:
Suelan Toye
Public Affairs
Ryerson University
416-979-5000 x 7161
stoye@ryerson.ca
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