Sylvia Wallace

Master Teacher Award - Spring 1988

Dr. Sylvia Wallace attended the University of British Columbia. She received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1968 and a PhD in Pharmaceutics in 1972. The next year she was award a Killam Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship which allowed her to pursue a research program at the University of California. In 1976, Dr. Wallace joined the staff in the College of Pharmacy and, in 1984, she was promoted to full Professor. Her field of specialization is pharmacokinetics and she has more than thirty scientific and professional publications to her credit.

Dr. Wallace was nominated for the Master Teacher Award because she has established a reputation for excellence in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She consistently receives very high ratings from students for her undergraduate teaching which ranges from first year pharmaceutical science to senior elective courses in pharmacokinetics. Students have described her as a "very perceptive woman" who understands the needs of students "from the freshman to the senior level." Last year (1987) she was selected by the graduating class as the first recipient of the Squibb teaching award to recognize the outstanding professor of the four-year Pharmacy program.

Graduate students note that Dr. Wallace provides the "proper level of guidance, ensuring an understanding of new principles while encouraging students to think independently." They speak of developing "respect and admiration for her as an instructor, a researcher, and a friend."

Colleagues say her ability "to explain, in a logical fashion, the difficult areas of pharmacokinetics and statistics is unsurpassed." In addition, they note Dr. Wallace has demonstrated a willingness to assist virtually every graduate student in the College. They also cite her contributions to the College of Pharmacy's Curriculum Committee, noting, in particular, her effective leadership in designing and implementing a major revision of the undergraduate curriculum.

Dr. Wallace is a most worthy recipient of the Master Teacher Award, and has set an example of excellence in teaching that we might all hope to emulate.