Favorite Professors

I've taken courses at Stanford, Columbia, Northwestern, LSE, NUS, ANU, and elsewhere. Below are the professors I really liked, by last name. I don't care what grade I got. I care about the teaching.

• Jessica Collins — Philosophy of Probability and Decision TheoryLucid, meticulous; board work is impeccable.
• Charles Manski — Public Policy MethodsMakes you question econometric orthodoxy (especially statistical significance); sharp wit.
• Jean McClelland — Voice & Alexander TechniqueDeeply encouraging; builds actor confidence.
• James Rekoske — NegotiationsHis own cases hit harder than the textbook ones.
• Ee Waun Sim — Public SpeakingPoised, cultured, elegant.
• Hannah Smith-Drelich — Creative Non-FictionOpen-minded, deeply constructive on essays.
• Jonathan Vandenberg — ActingStanislavski & Bogart; class run like a professional rehearsal.

My standard for a great professor: two things. First, real charisma — never mediocre, never merely utilitarian. Second, the power to spark: not spoon-feeding the syllabus, but lighting up genuine curiosity about the subject. The best ones leave you wanting to keep learning on your own, for life.