Erhan Erkut
Erhan Erkut, School of Business2003 Vargo Distinguished Teaching Chair
The Vargo Distinguished Teaching Chair, sponsored by the University of Alberta Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), honours University of Alberta professors who combine excellence and a passion for teaching with an established record of substantive research.
Dr Erhan Erkut of the University's School of Business is one of two professors to have been named inaugural recipients of the award in 2003. He shares the honour with Dr Tom Chacko, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Erkut, a professor of finance and management science and one of the first professors to administer online exams, believes in constant training to brush up on his pedagogical innovations. Often taking his teaching ideas on the road and making presentations at workshops across North America, Erkut says that being in front of hundreds of students gives him an adrenaline rush that probably fuels him to run up and down the aisles, sticking microphones in faces to prompt answers and producing skits to introduce case studies. Known for his CD collection of more than 1,000 discs, Erkut selects his one-minute music breaks in his course and maximizes hands-on technology use in his classes.
"Professor Erkut's defining characteristic is his absolute commitment to his students," said Dr Michael Percy, dean of the U of A School of Business. "I do not know the number of times students have stopped me in the halls or e-mailed me to express their wonder that professor Erkut had replied to an e-mail query at 3 am or spent an hour talking with them about future careers.
"I truly can't think of any better way to signal to our stakeholders that the University of Alberta values its teachers and its students, than to give one of the inaugural Vargo chairs to professor Erkut," Percy added.