Professor Rob Ritchie, who teaches in the General Education department of the School of Advancement, has been selected as one of TVOntario's Top 20 nominees for the public broadcaster's Best Lecturer Competition this year.

The competition invited anyone to nominate a professor at any Ontario post-secondary institution. Rob joins an esteemed list of professors from the University of Toronto and Queen's University (three profs each) Carleton, York and Ryerson universities (with two nominees each), and one nominee from UOIT, Trent, uOttawa, Laurentian and Brock universities, and Georgian, Durham and Seneca colleges.

Rob has been teaching at Centennial for approximately 25 years, leading courses in the areas of psychology and sexuality. Initially he was hired as an instructor in the Correctional Worker program, where he taught such courses as the Criminal Justice System, Static and Dynamic Security, and Counselling Skills. Rob had worked his way through undergrad and graduate school as a part-time correctional officer in such institutions as the Toronto West Detention Centre, the Vanier Centre for Women and Toronto's Don Jail.

Nominations largely hinge on student testimonials. In Rob's case, the support was heart-felt: "Mr. Ritchie teaches a course on Human Sexuality at a college that is among the most diverse schools in Canada. While the material studied in this course is sensitive by nature, Mr. Ritchie teaches it with care, concern for the feelings of all his students, and (with) a sense of humour that helps all students relax and enjoy their educational path."

TVO staff and an independent jury will review the submission videos to select 10 finalists, whose names will be announced on Monday, February 8. The lectures of the top 10 will air on TVO in March. The winning lecturer will be chosen by viewers and a panel of judges. The winner's school will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship from TD Insurance Meloche Monnex, the competition sponsor.

Congratulations to all our Centennial nominees this year:

Louis Anderson - School of Transportation
Jackie Bishop - School of Community and Health Studies
Malcolm Byard - School Communications, Media and Design
Christine Cadieux - School of Community and Health Studies
Liz Clarke - School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science
Philip Cunnington - School of Business
Mark Fox - School of Community and Health Studies
Amit Lahiri - School of Business
Dwayne Locke - School of Community and Health Studies
David McClyment - School of Communications, Media and Design
Andrew Petrou - School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture
Shanks Seetharam - School of Business
Patti Ann Sullivan - School of Business
Anwaar Syed - School of Advancement
Shirley Wood - School of Advancement