Experience is usually a pre-requisite to achieving excellence. For Professor Nazanin Khazra, teaching excellence is more a matter of direct entry.
After just four years with the Department of Economics, the Assistant Professor has won the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award – Early Career for 2023-2024.
“I’m sure Professor Khazra’s students are not shocked by her winning this award at all,” said Thomas Byrne, a third year Math and Economics major at Innis College.
The award recognizes excellence in undergraduate and graduate education with a focus on classroom instruction, course design and curriculum development for early career faculty.
“Nazanin Khazra combines innovative teaching methods with deeply practical contributions that significantly enhance the student learning experience,” said Professor Ettore Damiano, Chair of the Department of Economics. “She develops every opportunity for students to apply what they are learning and to showcase their research and leadership. This well-deserved award is a testament to Nazanin’s talent and dedication.”
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Khazra is the faculty advisor of the Economics Study Centre. Staffed by third- and fourth-year undergraduate student Learning Assistants, the centre assists students with issues arising from the programs’ core first and second year courses. In 2021 Khazra created the annual Tech-Econference of research presentations of undergraduate work. Her commitment to teaching and to the student learning experience has attracted the attention of students and faculty members alike.
Khazra has a reputation. It too is excellent.
“Despite never having been directly taught by Professor Khazra, I have consistently heard great things about her courses from my peers and the applicability of its taught content to real life,” said fourth year student Audrey Tam, a Financial Economics specialist at Trinity College.
The rumours hold up among students who have heard great things and then take the well-reputed courses.
“Professor Khazra has done an incredible job teaching relevant and groundbreaking material in her courses to equip students with the necessary skill set to meet their future goals,” said third-year Victoria College student Juliana Rivas Torrente, an Economics and Public Policy major. “Learning from her in ECO225, Big Data Tools and Applied Machine Learning for Economics, has been one of the highlights of my time at the University of Toronto.”
The praise is especially meaningful as it comes from the notoriously tough undergraduate audience.
“Professor Khazra puts as much effort into her teaching as she does her jokes,” said third year Trinity College student Ian Wan, an Economics and International Relations major. “The jokes occasionally fall flat; her teaching never does.”
When asked for a response, Khazra said, ‘my jokes are pretty good though,” before taking a more serious tone.
“I have complete faith in our undergraduate students’ capacity to engage in meaningful research, particularly with the emergence of new big-data and machine learning models facilitating the creation of more authentic work. This award confirms my faith,” Khazra said. “Since I started, I have received unwavering support from the department’s leadership and my mentors. They have helped me realize my aspirations and expand my horizons. I am deeply grateful to my colleagues and students for their invaluable contributions and support.”
Khazra’s award was indeed cause for celebration among her fellow faculty members.
“It is hard to imagine a more deserving recipient as Professor Khazra’s talents, hard work and dedication to student learning have long been clear to the department,” said Professor Robert Gazzale, Associate Chair of Undergraduate Programs. “The teaching stream ranks to which Professor Khazra belongs are at the forefront of the department’s commitment to undergraduate education, and we are thus simultaneously proud of her achievements and gratified by the recognition.”
Return to the Department of Economics website.
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