Lessons from beyond the pages of the textbook

Charles Janthur smiles

I bring my work experience into the classroom to help students get a real-world perspective to textbook learning."

Charles Janthur, an instructor with the University of Guelph-Humber’s Business program, is not only a successful businessman, but he’s equally effective when it comes to moulding the lives of students.

Fifteen years ago, when Janthur was pursuing his Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Queen’s University, a friend teaching at another post-secondary institution called him one day to ask if he was interested in delivering an “Introduction to Business” course to first-year students.

Janthur had little time to mull over his decision as classes were starting in a few days. However, that first class and the others that followed turned out well, and Janthur found a passion for academia.

In 2005, Janthur started teaching a course on international trade at the University of Guelph-Humber. The school’s premise of giving students a complete education by combining real-world experience with a strong academic component appealed to him, he said.

“I bring my work experience into the classroom to help students get a real-world perspective to textbook learning,” Janthur said. “Blending these two (theoretical and practical) aspects is really what the University of Guelph-Humber is all about and that’s why I love this institute so much. It goes beyond: ‘Here’s a textbook, read it.’”

The Business instructor’s academic credentials combined with his equally successful career in the money market segment makes him a real asset. In 2012, Janthur received an award from the University of Guelph in recognition of his contribution to teaching.

As a short-term debt instrument expert, Janthur helps clients invest in the Government of Canada treasury bills and Guaranteed Income Certificates (GIC). He’s currently the vice-president of money market at DEPAG Deposit Agency of Canada Inc., a position he has held since 1995.

Janthur believes teachers have profound influence in shaping the lives of students and recalled an incident that happened during his undergraduate days as underscoring this point.

One of Janthur's professors was a Canadian Armed Forces veteran hired to teach a course on international security. The instructor in question was a stickler for perfection. His classes were popular because he brought the academic world and the real-world with him to the classroom.

While presenting his final assignment in front of the class, a nervous Janthur received a nod of approval from the instructor who later told him he was impressed by his confidence.

“It was a defining moment for me, and bless his heart for helping me find something within me that had meaning,” Janthur said.

“Those 15 seconds or so of interaction (during the presentation) had a big impact on me and if I can do something like that for one student, once a year, then I am a happy man and have done what I am supposed to do.”