Congratulations to the following people who were nominated by Osgoode students and faculty for 2012 Osgoode Hall Law School Teaching Awards in recognition of excellence in teaching:
Full-time Senior Faculty: Jamie Cameron
Excerpt from nominators' comments: "Professor Cameron is a lively and engaging lecturer, as prone to perspicacious reflection as she is to the whimsical commentary that we have come to love. She is a patient listener, who fosters robust debate in class, without shirking from allowing her views to be challenged or challenging her own. She also made it clear her students were her first priority, whether by the countless times she stayed late after class to indulge our many questions or providing unusually detailed comments on our assignment. But most importantly, her passion for her subject matter is palpable ..."
Full-time Faculty: Peer Zumbansen
Excerpt from nominators' comments: "While providing us with the required legal knowledge and technical skill, he also seeks to foster an environment wherein the full legal story is unpacked. Rather than assess the single blade of grass, he seeks to view the whole landscape. This approach thus fosters the creation of a complete student, not a student of memorization and regurgitation ..." "Never intimidating and always welcoming of students' insight, his sincerity and genuine interest is inviting to all students ..." "In over 30 years of teaching at a variety of law schools in Canada and abroad, I cannot recall encountering anyone who possesses a similarly high level of personal commitment, creativity and sheer resourcefulness, and who gives so freely of his time and energy in the cause of stimulating and engaging with his students."
Adjunct Faculty: Ronald G. Atkey
Excerpt from nominators' comments: "Professor Atkey employed an interdisciplinary approach ... also consistently deployed a critical perspective when teaching course materials ... This approach helped his students realize that controversies in the national security arena must be continuously negotiated and re-evaluated. Finally, Professor Atkey demonstrated teaching excellence through his interaction with students. He was always approachable and encouraged student participation."
Osgoode Professional LLM Faculty: Michael Lynk
Excerpt from nominators' comments: "Professor Lynk is a member of the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario and teaches 'The Charter and Human Rights in Labour Law' in Osgoode's LLM in Labour Relations and Employment Law ... Professor Lynk used his years as a lawyer, arbitrator and law professor to teach the difficult, dense and often contradictory subject matter related to the Charter, human rights and labour law. In class he harnessed the diversity of the student experiences in labour, employment and human rights law to engage the class and offer cutting edge insights into where we were headed in the future. The coursework challenged us to develop new lines of analysis and to interrogate our assumptions about the state of the law ... Professor Lynk is a wealth of knowledge on his subject matter, a dynamic speaker, and a very approachable person. The course was fast-paced and the students were totally engaged."
Osgoode Professional Development CLE Contribution Award: Geza R. Banfai
Excerpt from nominators' comments: "In the past five years or so, Geza has been heavily involved in five of our Intensive programs in Public Procurement law, both in Toronto and Ottawa, has chaired and helped develop four Essentials of Construction law programs, a program on Negotiation Skills for Construction Professionals, and a program on Structuring, Negotiating and Drafting Infrastructure Deals. He was instrumental this past year in getting the first very successful Osgoode Certificate in Construction Law off the ground ... His Heenan Blaikie bio goes on for pages about his involvement with many organizations, and lists his extensive writing. You can see from his bio that he’s an energetic guy, but what the bio doesn’t fully capture is his unfailing enthusiasm, his creativity, and his deep desire to engage and teach."