Selkirk College Economics Instructor Wins UVic's Business Alumni Award of Excellence

Some exceptional people have a peculiar way of making their accomplishments seem not so exceptional. They pick up recognition the way the rest of us pick up groceries. Yet they seem completely unaffected by it, which isn't to say they're ungrateful or indifferent.

At only 28, Suzanne von der Porten, a Selkirk College economics instructor, has added another award to what already has become an impressive list.

Last month, von der Porten became the very first recipient of the UVic Business Alumni Award of Excellence, which celebrates the achievements of commerce and business graduates, and recognizes exceptional accomplishments at the local, regional, national or global level.

As a graduate student at the University of Victoria, von der Porten won the Best Student in Entrepreneurship Award and the Co-op Student of the Year Award.

Mentioning the latest award, however, doesn't appear to stir her the way raising the subject of her research does -- or her teaching, for that matter.

"Economic issues that are controversial are incredibly fascinating to me," von der Porten said. "However, it was my students that pushed me to change the way I taught by bringing more of my research directly into the classroom."

Von der Porten, who holds an MBA, is well aware that she's forging a path of educational discovery, engagement and personal responsibility that's somewhat unique for a business graduate, and she doesn't shy away from the activist moniker.

"No, I accept that there are certain positions that I feel compelled to support, even though in the classroom I encourage my students to examine the facts and make up their own minds," she said.

The former forest-fire fighter who grew up in Vancouver published her first case study about Wal-Mart in 2005. In it she captures some of the tension concerning the role of multinational corporations in the global economy and their effects on societies and the environment.

She recently published a second study on the Cochabamba Water War, which involved a water privatization conflict in the Andean region of Bolivia. Apart from doing her research there, von der Porten also made use of her time by volunteering with a Bolivian orphanage.

In her spare time, von der Porten initiates public lectures that encourage dialogue. Her latest talk and slide presentation at the Rossland Mountain Film Festival examined Royal Dutch Shell's aggressive campaign to extract coal-bed methane from the Sacred Headwaters of the Nass, Skeena and Stikine rivers. She also likes to ski, hike and bike in the Kootenays.

Of course, all of this energy hasn't gone unnoticed.

"Suzanne brings a combination of academic expertise, real-life experience and passion for her subject to her courses. As a small rural college we are really lucky to attract instructors of her caliber," said Carol Retzlaff, chair of the school of University Arts and Sciences at Selkirk College.

On the topic of the award itself, von der Porten is self-effacing. "I got so much attention when I got the award that I feel silly talking about it anymore," she said.

Clearly, there are other things she'd prefer to discuss.

First published on December 04, 2007