Steve Alisharan
Steve Alisharan, Senior Instructor in our Accounting Division, passed away on September 26, 2016 after a brave battle with cancer.
Over his more than 30 years at UBC Sauder, Steve taught thousands of students, many of whom say that his values and work ethic had a profound influence on their lives. He was a remarkably accomplished educator, an inspiring colleague and a generous friend. He will be sorely missed.
Throughout his career, Steve was passionate about the transformational power of education. Steve won many awards for the quality and impact of his teaching, including the Life Long Teaching Achievement Award, the Arne Olsen Award for Career Teaching Excellence, the Talking Stick, the MBA Teaching Excellence Award, and the CGA Graduate Master Teaching Award. He also led the school's successful nomination for the 2001 Alan Blizzard Award, a national prize for "Collaborative Projects that Improve Student Learning" for the UBC MBA program.
Starting at UBC Sauder in 1981, then the Faculty of Commerce, Steve taught courses in accounting, financial reporting, entrepreneurship, and small business development, among others. He also delivered customized programs for individual consulting clients, and was a key contributor to the success of our Executive Education program. During his tenure, he also held director roles in the MBA, undergraduate programs and Executive Education.
One of his key contributions to the school was his leadership in the UBC MBA Core, an innovative program that integrated key academic disciplines in business. In his work in the core he championed the importance of combining academic study with experience of the nature and complexity of real world business problems. During this period, Steve also designed and implemented the Capstone Program for the MBA and MM programs.
Steve's dedication to program excellence and student experience was unsurpassed and contributed invaluably into making our MBA program the world leader that it is today. He always went far above and beyond in his service to students, inspiring our faculty to match his levels of dedication. Despite his heavy workload, Steve always found time to hold extra review sessions for students, and offered career advice and assistance long after graduation.
His family asks that we honour Steve by carrying his legacy forward: "Always go the extra mile and lift someone up by giving them a picture of themselves that they didn't think possible. Be quietly generous and kind when no one is looking."