Spot-light on revered BCS Teachers – part i [Mathew Zachariah]

Mathew Zachariah.
Mr. Zachariah, as we knew him at BCS, taught there during the late 1950’s and through the 60’s.
Dr. Zachariah shines out, in the brilliant work he has done in Canada where he migrated to from India. We OCs join in thanking him for the education he imparted to us, and are so proud of sharing a common association – BCS Simla.
Here are some excerpts –

Mathew Zachariah, Ph.D. retired from the University of Calgary in 2000 after more than three decades of service and is now an emeritus professor of education. His academic specialty was comparative sociology of education. He has taught, researched and published extensively in the areas of race relations, multicultural education and international development. His professional and voluntary service activities have also been in these three areas. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Race Relations Foundations (2003-2006). He co-edited Canadian Multiculturalism: Dreams, Expectations, Realities published in 2004. The most recent of his 15 career awards was in 2005: The Alberta Centennial Gold Medal for his contributions in the area of human rights, multiculturalism and diversity. Dr. Zachariah continues to be active in promoting respectful dialogue between communities within Canada and internationally.

Dr. Zachariah’s avocation is writing essays, articles, poetry and short stories. A few of his general interest essays, articles, poems and short stories have been published in newspapers and magazines. Examples: One of his short stories was awarded second prize and was published in Calgary Herald in 1986. His long poem “My Place? My Home?” was published in Sense of Place: A Catalogue of Essays (Nickle Arts Museum, 2005) pp. 29-31.

 

Dr. Mathew Zachariah
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Education

mzachDr. Zachariah is primarily a comparative sociologist of education. He has been internationalizing the University of Calgary since its inception in 1966 through his teaching, research, writing, and volunteer work.

He has been the Academic Co-ordinator of Development Education (International Centre), Associate Dean, Faculty of Education, Head of the Department of Educational Foundations, and Development Studies Co-ordinator, Faculty of General Studies. He has also served on the University Senate and on various university committees, and has supervised numerous graduate students in the field of international studies.

Dr. Zachariah has created many courses in his area of expertise that have influenced his colleagues in Calgary and worldwide. He is renowned internationally for his work in development education and international/comparative education. Over the years he has sensitized colleagues, students and members of the community about important “North-South” issues.

He has received 32 local, provincial, national and international academic and community research grants, 95 percent of which have led to at least one publication. He has received 11 honours during his tenure at the University of Calgary, including two terms as a Killam Resident Fellow, and two terms as a Fellow of the Institute for Humanities. The Comparative and International Education Society, based in the USA, named him an Honorary Fellow, a rare honour, this past March. He also has had a long association with the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute as Chair of the local Shastri Committee, Member of the Board, and Course Director for the Summer Programme in India.

Dr. Zachariah has been a visiting professor or fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, the Centre for Development Education in Kerala, India, the University of Delhi, the Regional Institute for Higher Education in Singapore, the University of Alberta, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, the University of British Columbia, and the International Institute for Education Planning in Paris, and other institutions.

He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Recently, Dr. Zachariah returned from Manitoba, where he was the Paul and Ester Esau Distinguished Visiting Professor at Menno Simons College (affiliated with the University of Winnipeg).

Dr. Zachariah has been an ardent ambassador for the University of Calgary throughout his career. Although he officially retired in 1999, he continues to be actively involved in campus life as both Professor Emeritus and Faculty Professor in the Faculty of Education.

As seen at University of Calgary website

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