What makes a professor great? Is it the knowledge they share? The passion in which they share it? The friendships they form with their students?

In the case of Panteleimon Ekkekakis, students and colleagues say his greatness emerges from all three.

Last fall, Ekkekakis, associate professor of kinesiology, created the Journal Club with the help of Ph.D. student Zack Zenko. The club was meant to help students learn how to review and critique published journal articles, similar to the work done in graduate schools.

“A lot of professors expect you to go out and find these articles and write papers based on them, but a lot of the research is just taken for face value,” said Meghan Ludwig, senior in kinesiology and health. “[Ekkekakis] tells us to dig deep and to investigate the biases to make sure that it is quality research.”

This semester, Ekkekakis turned the Journal Club into an independent study course. The course is designed to allow students to review different journal articles each week and to teach them to appraise the quality of research.

Jaime Freiburger, senior in kinesiology, said because Ekkekakis is the professor, he gets most of the credit, but Zenko deserves the same amount of credit for the work he has done in both the club and in class.

Ekkekakis teaches his students to never trust research without doing a proper investigation. He teaches them that good writers can make anything believable, so it is important to analyze literature with an unbiased, critical approach.

Freiburger sais Ekkekakis’ teachings help in other classes. She said a lot of teachers expect students to be capable of looking at literature with this critical approach, and with his help, they actually know how to do it.

Ekkekakis’ work will not only help with undergraduate work, but it will help in graduate and professional school as well. Once these students enter graduate and professional school, they believe the work Ekkekakis has done will give them an edge over the other students.

“I would say 95 percent of the students I will be going to physical therapy school with won’t know how to do what he’s taught us,” said Colton McConnaha, junior in kinesiology and health.

The skills Ekkekakis teaches students are graduate level work. Students are expected to enter graduate programs with a knowledge of critical appraisal and the Journal Club prepares students to excel in future academic and professional endeavors.

“He is so approachable,”  Freiburger said. “He”s probably the most approachable professor I’ve ever had.”

Ekkekakis’ efforts go beyond simply educating his students, he also goes to great lengths to build relationships with them.

“Dr. E is the kind of guy that I’ll be keeping in touch with throughout my graduate career. He’s one of the best people to have behind you for support,” Freiburger said.  

Ekkekakis’ students thank him for opening their eyes to the faults in research and for giving them the extra opportunity to learn.

“He never gave up on us,” Ludwig said. “He was always there and if you were unsure about something, he was always so friendly and great about clearing the air.”

McConnaha said Ekkekakis truly cares about his students.

“I’d like to thank Dr. E for the unconditional support he has given all of us,” Freiburger said. “If you consider the amount of students that cross his path each year and the fact that he’s taken so much interest and put so much time into this group of students, you realize how much he really cares about us and our education. He’s one of a kind. You don’t find professors like him very often.”