Alexander Gainer 2019 Winner William Hardy Alexander Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

1 January 2019

Congratulations ot Alexander Gainer who is this year's winner of William Hardy Alexander Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of Alberta. The decision is made by the GFC University Teaching Awards Committee. An awards celebration will be held at a later date.

Dr. Alexander Gainer received his Undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Alberta and his Master's degree from the University of British Columbia. He worked for several years in finance and public policy before joining the University of Alberta to teach Economics.

Alex is known for his creative teaching and evaluation techniques. He has been innovative in the way he conducts his exams, opting for online. He presented a seminar at the 2017 Festival of Teaching and Learning entitled, "You Should be Giving your Exams on Computers". He gives over 4,600 exams in classes ranging in size from 75-400 students. In providing the option of using computers, he finds there were many benefits to instructors and students.

He has also evaluated several online homework systems as they are an important part of economics courses. He presented a lecture in 2016 outlining 4 systems.

Alex has been described as a 'solid professor who explains concepts well and is very thorough and motivating'. He teaches Macroeconomic Theory, Introduction to Macroeconomics and level one and two Introductory courses in Economics.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Gainer on a job well done.