Merv Mosher, a senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in York's Faculty of Health, is ready to take on his competition on Sunday, March 29 as a finalist in TV Ontario's 2009 Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition.
TVO's "Big Ideas" will broadcast Mosher's lecture, "Statistics: What's the point?", on Sunday, March 29 at 4pm. Following the lecture, the television audience can rate Mosher's performance and viewers can vote for their favourite lecturer online. The winning lecturer's university will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship from TD Insurance Meloche Monnex.
Left: Merv Mosher
Students have called him witty, enthusiastic, humorous, intelligent and someone who grabs their attention and keeps it. “I don’t take myself too seriously,” says Mosher. “I take my teaching seriously, but I poke fun at myself.” Learning to lecture in a way that would capture his students’ attention took years of hard work, but it’s something Mosher loves to do. “I live for the light bulb moment when the students go, ‘ah, now I understand’.”
To view a clip of Mosher lecturing, click here. Voting starts immediately after the lecture has aired. There are three ways to vote for Mosher as Ontario’s Best Lecturer:
- Online through the TVO Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition Web site.
- By phone to 1-866-281-3536.
- Through a mobile device by texting the word "vote" to short code 333111.
The public can vote for Mosher starting Sunday, March 29 at 4:45pm until Monday, March 30 at 3pm and again from Tuesday, March 31 at 12:01am until Sunday, April 5 at 6pm. A brief excerpt of Mosher’s lecture will air again on the "Big Ideas" shows on April 4 and 5 on TVO. The winner will be announced on "Big Ideas" on TVO Saturday, April 11 with a repeat on Sunday, April 12. Viewers who vote online will be eligible to enter a draw to win a 50-inch plasma HDTV and DVD home theatre system valued at $5,000, sponsored by TD Insurance Meloche Monnex. For more information about voting, click here.
Mosher has received teaching awards from York’s Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Health and was inducted into the York University Sport Hall of Fame in 2002 for his outstanding success as a varsity volleyball coach. In 2005, he was given a Syl Apps Special Achievement Award for volunteer work on behalf of the Ontario Volleyball Association by the Ontario government and the Sport Alliance of Ontario. Two years later, Mosher was inducted into the Volleyball Canada Hall of Fame. See YFile, Feb. 5, for more on Mosher's journey through the competition.
About TVO’s 2009 Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition
Created to recognize the best and brightest lecturers at the province's colleges and universities, the competition invites Ontarians to pay tribute to professors whose love of learning has helped to stimulate imaginations, open eyes and push boundaries. Now in its fourth year, TVO's 2009 Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition, sponsored by TD Insurance Meloche Monnex, celebrates the most engaging and intellectually stimulating lecturers in Ontario. TVO viewers and a panel of judges will help judge the winning lecturer, and the winner's school will be awarded a $10,000 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex scholarship. This year's competition began with a six-week nomination period beginning in September 2008, during which students nominated a record 160 professors.
For more information, visit the TVO Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition Web site.