Jocelyne Morin-Nurse
The University of Ottawa Excellence in Education Prizes honour exceptional educators who provide instruction of incomparable quality while conducting solid research programs. A profile of each of the nine 2007 recipients will appear in the Gazette in the coming months.
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“Don’t tell anyone,” says Pierre C. Bélanger with a wry smile, “but I’m an athlete at heart.” Bélanger, a professor in the University of Ottawa’s Department of Communication and the Institute of Canadian Studies, is a recipient of the University’s 2006-2007 Excellence in Education Prize. “At 16, I was the first goaltender to be drafted by a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team. Until I was 20, I expected to earn a living with my goalie pads. When I discovered this wasn’t to be, I chose to become a coach. And it’s this mentality that I bring to my work at the University.”
In high demand on the lecture circuit, a member of the TFO board of directors, a consultant for major public- and private-sector media entities, and having spent four years (1997- 2001) in senior management at Radio-Canada’s French-language radio service, Pierre C. Bélanger understands the issues facing Canada’s large media entities. And while skilled at imparting theoretical knowledge of his field, he also uses his frank speaking style to teach students about life in the profession.
“Students who take my course because they hear Bélanger puts on a good show are often disappointed when they receive their grades,” he says. “I like students who want to excel, and regularly remind my classes of the need to make an impression, both at school and in the workplace. They need to be professional, creative, curious, rigorous and bilingual. The communications field in Canada is in full-blown expansion, and firms are constantly searching for new talent. So I do all I can to prepare students to meet the needs and expectations of employers. It’s a jungle out there.”
Pierre C. Bélanger teaches by example. An emerging technology specialist, he commits himself fully to everything he undertakes. His early passion for communications drew the attention of his first academic mentor, Professor Bill Gilsdorf of Concordia University, who today remains the model Bélanger strives to emulate in his interactions with students.
André H. Caron, the Université de Montréal professor who would become his Ph.D. supervisor, also had a profound influence on Bélanger’s career path towards being a hands-on intellectual and communications practitioner.
When Pierre C. Bélanger learned he had received an Excellence in Education Prize, his first thought was of his three daughters. “‘Papa’ works a lot,” he says. “Even my daughters would probably say I work too much. But as a general rule, work done with care always yields results. And these are values (perseverance, diligence and hard work, being generous in what you do) I try to pass on to them. The honour of receiving the Excellence in Education Prize sends an extraordinary message to my children.”
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