[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Bontis_Nicklecture.jpg” caption=”Vote this weekend to make McMaster professor Nick Bontis Ontario’s Best Lecturer.File photo.”]

It's time to get out and vote McMaster. Nick Bontis, associate professor in the DeGroote School of Business, is one of 10 finalists competing in the TVO Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition. Bontis's lecture airs Saturday, March 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. on TVO and will be repeated Sunday, March 9 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Viewers have from 5:45 p.m. on Saturday until Monday at noon to cast their votes to make Bontis Ontario's Best Lecturer. To vote, go to www.tvo.org or call 1-866-281-3536. Voters will also be eligible to win a widescreen 50″ plasma HDTV and home theatre system.

Bontis is well known for his high energy, interactive, problem-based teaching approach and his innovative use of technology and simulations in the classroom.

In 2007, he won three outstanding teaching awards simultaneously for the undergraduate program, the MBA program and the campus-wide President's Award for Excellence in Instruction. Maclean's magazine has identified him as one of McMaster's most popular professors for six years in a row.

“He exudes relentless energy and passion… delivering lectures that are engaging, entertaining and cutting edge. He is always ready and eager to create a learning environment that is educational, challenging and always welcoming,” says one of Bontis's MBA students.

If Bontis wins, along with the pride of being home to Ontario's Best Lecturer, McMaster University will receive a $10,000 scholarship from TD Meloche Monnex.