WILLIAM SCARTH
Economics

Bill Scarth has a thorough grasp of economics and its power to shape the modern world. He has a passionate commitment to students and puts his heart and soul into helping them understand how his discipline will have an impact on their lives. Many of his accomplishments as a teacher follow from this belief in the value of economics and his conviction that students can understand it and indeed must understand it. He spends untold hours preparing for class and working with students both in and out of class, answering their questions and putting right their misunderstandings. In return, students consistently rate him each and every year and one of the best instructors they have encountered at McMaster.

His efforts to ensure understanding extend well beyond his own particular classes. He is the author of a range of materials for learning economics, from a television series to several text books, one of which has been widely adopted by economics teachers across Canada, and others of which enjoy an international audience. His work with graduate students has had a similar impact, including at least one now teaching at an Ontario university who continues to measure his own teaching success against "how Bill would have taught it." He continues to refine how he teaches and has recently conducted two studies on different aspects of learning in Year I Economics. In short, Bill Scarth is the consummate teacher who makes a significant difference in the lives of thousands of McMaster students. His passion and commitment are truly worthy of the 1997 President's Awards for Instruction.