Vibrant, dynamic, upbeat, ionate, and genuine are some of the words that have been used to describe Queen’s University Professor Jacalyn Duffin. Last spring, Duffin was nominated by Ahmed Kayssi, Meds ’09, and Michel Shamy, Meds ’06, to submit a videotaped lecture to TVO’s annual Best Lecturer Competition.
The submitted lecture discussed historical patterns of various plagues, spanning from the Plague of Athens in the fifth Century BC to current crises such as AIDS and SARS.
More than 250 other university professors from all over Ontario submitted videotaped lectures. The submissions were then reviewed by the competition’s judges who narrowed them to a final 10 lecturers, one of whom is Duffin. Each of the finalists will deliver their full lecture on TVO’s program. The show’s viewers will then cast their vote for whomever they feel is the best lecturer. The winner’s school will win a $10,000 scholarship.
Since 1988, Duffin has held the Hannah Chair for the History of Medicine at Queen’s and she has taught at the graduate and undergraduate level in the departments of medicine, history, philosophy, and at the Faculty of Education and law. Her lectures specialize on the history of 19th and 20th-century medicine.
Duffin was in the Vatican and unavailable for comment.
Kristina Powles, Meds ’08, said Duffin brings a rare enthusiasm to her class.
“This is my sixth year in University and I can say, in my experience, [Duffin] stands out for me and I’m not surprised she stands out for others as well.” Duffin’s unique lecturing ability was also noticed by one of the show’s judges, Margaret Wente. Wente, who is a columnist, told the Queen’s is lucky to have Duffin.
“She wasn’t one of the ones who just made it into the top ten,” Wente said. “We all said, ‘This woman really has a gift.’ She made us think, ‘God, I’d like to take her course.’”
Duffin’s lecture will air on TVO on Jan. 13 and 14 at 4 p.m. Viewers can vote for Duffin at www.tvo.org/bestlecturer from 5:45 p.m. Saturday at to Monday at noon.
The competition is part of TVO’s program, which, as Producer Wodek Szemberg said, was a way to provide bonafide education programming.
Szemberg said he hopes the show will make the public understand why higher education is a worthwhile endeavor.
“I wanted to showcase people who have the knack of speaking well and engaging in subjects in which they specialize,” he said.
Szemberg said the Best Lecturer Competition is unusual programming.
“It is a person talking for 45 minutes,” he said, laughing. “Normally, people would fall asleep.”
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