Dr. Aaron Hoffman receives Cormack Teaching Award

Political Science professor Dr. Aaron Hoffman receives the prestigious Cormack Teaching Award. Established in 2010, the Cormack Teaching Award recognizes excellence and innovation in teaching across the faculty. 

The award acknowledges faculty members who demonstrate exemplary pedagogy, foster meaningful learning experiences, and make significant contributions to student education and the culture of teaching within SFU's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS).

As part of this recognition, Hoffman will speak at the annual Cormack Teaching Symposium on September 24, reflecting on his teaching philosophy and pedagogical approaches. 

Professor Hoffman holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is an expert on international security issues, focusing on the scientific study of strategy, emotions and mass media in terrorism, counter-terrorism, and foreign policy. In 2025, he published a book with University of Michigan Press on terrorism and counterterrorism reporting, entitled The Terrorism News Beat: Professionalism, Profit, and the Press.

Hoffman is currently working on understanding the reasons Canada and Europe are trying to insulate NATO and the system of free trade from pressures the US is placing on those institutions. He teaches classes at all levels of instruction, is an enthusiastic user of classroom simulations, and is especially fond of writing courses.

In 2017, Hoffman won the Kenneth T. Kofmehl Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award when he was a faculty member at Purdue University.