Versatile instructor and “consummate departmental citizen”

Fri. May. 2, 2025

Last fall, Mr. Mike Halldorson retired from his longstanding position as Instructor in the Department of Psychology. 


Carolynn Smallwood took these pictures of Mr. Halldorson’s former office’s door 1L04, left, and of the lab 4L29, below, where he taught, and later, served as the 4L29 lab coordinator.

 
Dr. Derrick Bourassa, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology, summed up Mr. Mike Halldorson’s contribution to the Department in just a few words. “Mike could do it all!” And so he could. As we’ll hear from his colleagues, Mr. Halldorson was as an excellent instructor, a supportive mentor and colleague, and a willing volunteer for committee work or administrative tasks – and he was skilled with technology.

Dr. Bourassa went on to say, “Mike was a highly effective teacher who thrived in both large classroom (Introductory Psychology) and small classroom (Forensic Psychology) settings, and he was widely respected as a dedicated mentor for dozens of Honours students and teaching assistants. Mike was also a consummate departmental citizen; he could always be counted on to fill spots on important departmental committees and to support students, faculty, and staff members in need of his superb technical skills and his encyclopedic knowledge of statistics and methodology. His wide-ranging contributions to the Department will be dearly missed.

Dr. Jim Clark, Professor and a former Chair of the Department, emphasized how important Mr. Halldorson was to the Department and the University. “Psychology, the University of Winnipeg, and many students benefitted greatly from Mike’s knowledge and willingness to take on numerous critical roles in the department, many behind the scenes. He managed most of the computer functions central to our teaching and to department communications, including our website, mailing list, and computer lab. Mike also taught important courses, notably Forensic Psychology, and supervised our heavy enrolment statistics and research methods courses, which give students an early hands-on exposure to scientific psychology. He regularly taught intermediate data analysis and supervised thesis students, both central to our Honours program. Moreover, Mike was a collegial, active, and thoughtful member of the department who always went above and beyond.”

On a more personal note, Dr. Clark offers that “He is sorely missed here, although Madalena is pleased he can finally do more jobs around the house.” And Clark expresses the sentiment of the Department saying, “Happy retirement Mike!”