Donor Report 2009

Developing leaders at Mount Allison

Prof. Pravin Varma spends a lot of time contemplating — imagining the ways in which he can promote student leadership at the university he was proud to call home for more than 40 years.

Prof. Varma retired this year. But his generosity will continue to shape the lives of Mount Allison’s outstanding students for years to come. In 2008 he and his wife Indu created an endowment to support the Professor Pravin K. Varma Teaching Internships in Physics.

Says Prof. Varma, “When you work that long at an institution, you want to give something back — something substantial — that will benefit future generations. And I don’t see this as giving up anything; I’m getting so much in return, including the satisfaction that comes with knowing this endowment is providing hands-on learning and leadership experiences for deserving students.”

The purpose of the award is threefold: to honour and recognize a top student’s achievements; to provide that student with valuable leadership experiences such as instructing and developing course content, organizing peer events, and providing guidance to classmates; and for that student to be mentored by a physics faculty member and by Prof. Varma himself.

“If I can do something that will propel a student to perform at a higher level, then I can feel good about the legacy of excellence I’m leaving at Mount Allison.”

Prof. Varma was an early leader in developing experiential teaching methods at Mount Allison and a driving force in promoting active learning experiences in physics. In 2001 Prof. Varma led the creation of studio-like labs for first-year physics students — spaces that promoted group work with technical aids, thus enabling students to get a ‘feel’ for the concepts they learned in class.

Prof. Varma says the results were immediate, and impressive. “You could hear the hum of activity. The materials and tests didn’t change; it was just the teaching approach. But right away there was a noticeable improvement in the marks and the failure rate almost halved. Attendance was up, and the students were really engaged.”

The Professor Pravin K. Varma Teaching Internship Award is Prof. Varma’s way of continuing what he started years ago — by personally facilitating a unique teaching internship and leadership opportunity for a deserving student.

The Professor Pravin K. Varma Teaching Internship will be awarded annually to an exceptional senior physics student. The first Varma Scholar, Luyao Li will begin her Teaching Internship in September 2009.