Current and former students and colleagues of John Belec, an associate professor in Geography and Environment, know that he’s an excellent teacher. Now he has received formal recognition. Belec was recently awarded the 2019 J. Alistair McVey Award for Teaching Excellence by the Canadian Association of Geographers.

“The purpose of the J. Alistair McVey Award for Teaching Excellence is to recognize a geography instructor known for the quality of their teaching. This is in recognition of the central importance of teaching excellence in geographic education. The recipient is intended to be a teacher in a university, college or secondary school in BC or Alberta. This award is named after Alistair McVey, a well-known and highly-respected geography instructor in the BC college system for more than 35 years,” notes the award description.

Belec’s research specialities are focused on the study of urban housing markets, urban residential design and cross border regions. In 2013-2014, John embarked on a research endeavour that involved the study of Abbotsford’s ethnic enclave known as the Townline neighbourhood.[i]

Read more about John Belec’s research, and the Geography and Environment courses he teaches at UFV here.