Law and education profs win inaugural awards

UVic has selected the first two recipients of the newly created University of Victoria Distinguished Professorships, the highest academic honour that the university can bestow on a faculty member.

The two distinguished professors are Prof. Gerry Ferguson (law) and Dr. Larry Yore (curriculum and instruction). (For feature stories on them, see page 3.)

The university created the awards to help add strength to each faculty and retain UVic’s best teachers and scholars. They go to faculty members who have achieved great distinction in teaching and scholarly research and have made substantial contributions to the university and the wider community.

“This is the university’s way of recognizing some of our faculty members who excel all-round—individuals who are gifted classroom teachers, internationally respected scholars, and committed citizens of the university community,” says vice-president academic and provost Jamie Cassels.

The professorship is awarded for a five-year period, renewable once for a second five years, and comes with a salary stipend and annual research allowance. Candidates are nominated by their faculty, with nominations adjudicated by the vice-president research and the vice-president academic. The final selection is made by the vice president academic.

No more than three per cent of UVic regular faculty members can hold Distinguished Professorships at any time, and the positions will be distributed among all faculties at the university.