Open Menu
December 7, 2010
The Political Science Lounge was brimming with faculty, staff, donors and proud parents on November 25th in celebration of the undergraduate community. Sixteen undergraduate award recipients were present to pick up their prizes in the presence of their professors and classmates.
“We are a large university, with large departments and large classes and we see Political Science as one of our leaders in getting the message out that at the University of Toronto, not only do we teach a lot of students, but we teach them in such an excellent way,” said Vice-Dean of the FAS Sandy Welsh, also present. Undergraduate student Nathan Berman was the recipient of three of the twenty awards handed out by the Department: The Monte Kwinter Political Science Award, The Andrew Nigrini Sr. Memorial Scholarship and The Pollara Book Prize. The Pollara is awarded to the student with the best presentation in POL242, Introduction to Research Methods.
“I only wish to say that I was pleased that most of my work in the course was about a local issue, which seemed relevant for the community,” Berman said about his POL242 project about the Toronto Garbage Strike. Min Kyu Kim, recipient of the Graditude Bursary remarked that he began his undergraduate career as a student of Engineering Science. After auditing a selection of Political Science courses, notably one of Professor Jeffrey Kopstein, Kim decided to switch majors.
“Up until now it has been amazing,” Kim said, and credits Undergraduate Coordinator Elizabeth Jagdeo for encouraging him to make the switch.
The reception also marked the end of Professor Linda White’s term as Undergraduate Director. “She has made a wonderful contribution to the department and its work; she has been very entrepreneurial, very open to new ideas and very supportive to students. She has made a very large contribution that I wanted to acknowledge and recognize,” said Professor and Chair David Cameron. Of her successor, Antionette Handley, Cameron quipped, “I will say nothing nice or naughty about her. I’ll wait another three years until her term is over.”
Winners of the 2009-2010 Political Science Undergraduate Awards and Scholarships include:
Mark Adler Undergraduate Scholarship in Political Science
Wei Yang Ong
The Citizen Lab Award
Anna Postelnyak
Canadian International Council Book Prize
Tamara Jewett
Ruth Robinson Leberg Book Prize
Salvator Cusimano
Sima Atri
David Rudin
J. Stefan Dupri Book Prize
Jake Brockman
Brian Mulroney Award
Sabina Voicu
Pollara Book Prize
Nathan Berman
Mary Keenan Award in Political Science
Wesley Dutcher-Walls
Tatiana Titus
The Monte Kwinter Political Science Award
Nathan Berman
Andrew Nigrini Sr. Memorial Scholarship
Nathan Berman
The Alexander Mackenzie Scholarship in Political Science
Colleen Mckeown
The Political Science Gratitude Bursary
Min Kyu Kim
Paul L. Nathanson Scholarship in Political Science
Colleen Mckeown
Frederick G. Gardiner Scholarship in Economics and Political Science
Aaron Kates Rose
Jules and Elaine James Scholarship
Wei Yang Ong
Suzanne and Edwin Goodman Prize
Richard Lizius
Marina Chernenko
BY SAMYA KULLAB