Profs-in-Commons

Profs-in-Commons is part of the Profs-in-Spaces network, a UBC wide project that seeks to increase meaningful engagement between students and professors outside of the classroom. Since fall 2016, the Chapman Learning Commons has been part of the Profs in Spaces community, embedding professors’ office hours in the pavilion spaces (the Learning Lounge and the Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication) on level 3 of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. The office hours take place alongside other Peer Academic Coaching support programs and the Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication. The intention is that multiple academic supports delivered by a combination of professors, TAs, and student leaders, will lead to innovation in holistic approaches, learning support, and interdisciplinary dialogue. Regardless of the classes they are teaching, our Profs-in-Commons welcome students from any discipline to stop by. Additional Online Support Questions about Medical Sciences, Biostatistics, and STAT 200? Contact Dr. Behzad Azarmju (behzad.azarmju@ubc.ca)! For questions about the Profs-in-Commons program, please contact Lisa Popplewell, Learning Commons Coordinator at lisa.popplewell@ubc.ca.

Office Hours

Learning Lounge | Level 3 | IKBLC

09:00
09:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
12:30
13:00
13:30
14:00
14:30
15:00
15:30
16:00
16:30
17:00
17:30

Monday
- Dr. Lior Silberman MATH 223; general MATH support
- KPAC Kinesiology Peer Academic Coaches
- Dr. Kathy Greaves FMST 210 & 316
Tuesday
- KPAC Kinesiology Peer Academic Coaches
Wednesday
- Dr. Neil Armitage SOCI 102
- Dr. Kathy Greaves FMST 210 & 316
Thursday
- Dr. Jonathan Graves ECON 226, 398, 490; general ECON support; BA ECON Major & Minor Advising
- KPAC Kinesiology Peer Academic Coaches
- SPAC Science Peer Academic Coaches
Friday
- SPAC Science Peer Academic Coaches

Current Profs-in-Commons

Dr. Lior Silberman

I am a mathematician, beginning my twelfth year at UBC. Originally from Israel, I spent eight years as a graduate student and post-doc in the United States before moving to Canada. I am interested in mathematics, broadly construed, including physics and computer science. Talking to people about ideas is one of the best parts of my job, and I hope to do more of that at the library: I’m looking forward to answering questions and holding discussions about coursework, but also about mathematics and science generally and even about topics of general interest such as the relevance of science to our society or the philosophy of phsyics and mathematics. My research spans the gamut from mathematical physics, number theory, and knot theory, all the way to numerical methods for image reconstruction.

Dr. Jonathan Graves

My name is Jonathan Lewis Graves, and I am an assistant professor of teaching at UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics. I am part of UBC’s educational leadership faculty, which means that I specialize in performing research and projects which particularly relate to how we teach and learn economics. However, I am also an economist who specializes in industrial organization, microeconomics, and applied econometrics. I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria (BSc), and my graduate studies (MA, PhD) at the University of British Columbia. I hold degrees in both economics and mathematics, and have also previously worked in the private sector as an analyst. I primarily teach undergraduate students, at the 2nd year and higher level. My non-teaching interests include curriculum development, scholarship of teaching and learning, innovative teaching tools, and online teaching.

Dr. Neil Armitage

Neil did all his studies in Europe, attaining a Bachelors and Masters degree from Uppsala University, and a PhD from Manchester University in the field of cultural cosmopolitanism. Neil is a Lecturer in Sociology at UBC, and this will be his third year as a Prof-in-Commons. In the space, along with TAs, he holds his office hours for SOCI 102 and SOCI 200. When the weather permits, Neil can be found wandering campus with students and fellow profs on a #profwalk, and when not, instructing students how to knit a waterproof toque during ‘Knit n Knatter’. He enjoys going for runs, swimming, and walking his puppy, Polly.

Dr. Kathy Greaves

I am a Lecturer in the Family Studies minor which is part of the Department of Sociology. This year, I am teaching FMST 210: Family Context of Human Development and FMST 316: Human Sexuality. I received my PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University (OSU) where I remained as an Instructor for 18 years. While at OSU, I typically taught introduction to families and human sexuality courses with enrollments from 400-600, resulting in an estimated 45,000 students who took my courses. Cultivating personal growth in students is the central tenet to my teaching. I hope that their experiences in my courses help them to have a better understanding of themselves as individuals as well as facilitate successful and satisfying intimate and familial relationships.