A Celebration of Excellence
It’s award season at Concordia — a time to recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in teaching, research, media outreach and administrative leadership.
More than 100 people attended the annual celebration on May 30 to celebrate the achievements of 29 recipients of seven different awards.
This year, a new awards program was added to recognize faculty members and students for their contributions in enhancing the university’s visibility through significant national and international media relations activities. The inaugural Concordia Media Outreach Awards were presented to four of the five recipients by Chief Communications Officer Philippe Beauregard.
“During the last few years, our researchers and experts have managed to capture the attention of the national and international media, taking their research and their knowledge from abstracts to headlines,” said Beauregard. “With these awards, we're able to recognize the ones who managed to garner the most widespread coverage.”
The inaugural award recipients were: Krista Byers-Heinlein, James Pfaus (who could not attend the ceremony), Lorenzo DiTommaso, Bruce Hicks, and master’s student Erin Gee. Read more about these award recipients here.
Concordia’s Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, Graham Carr served as the master of ceremonies for the event, which also included the presentation of the Provost’s Circle of Distinction Inductions, University Research Awards, the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Awards and Concordia Academic Leadership Awards.
Recognizing excellence in research
He also took the opportunity to recognize six new Concordia University Research Chairs:
- Chadi Assi, Concordia University Research Chair in Broadband Wireless Networks (Tier 2)
- Kathleen Boies, Concordia University Research Chair in Leadership Development (Tier 2)
- Alexandre Champagne, Concordia University Research Chair in Nanophysics (Tier 2)
- Damon Matthews, Concordia University Research Chair in Climate Science and Sustainability (Tier 2)
- Masha Salazkina, Concordia University Research Chair in Transnational Media Art and Culture (Tier 2)
- Kim Sawchuk, Concordia University Research Chair in Mobile Media Studies (Tier 1)
He also acknowledged three Canada Research Chairs:
- Jean-Philippe Gouin, Psychology, Canada Research Chair in Chronic Stress and Health (Tier 2)
- Krista Lynes, Communication Studies, Canada Research Chair in Feminist Media Studies (Tier 2)
- Sylvia Santosa, Exercise Science, Canada Research Chair in Clinical Nutrition (Tier 2)
In making the presentation to the recipients of the University Research Awards, Carr noted that these individuals have contributed to strengthening the university’s research reputation. This year’s recipients were Barbara Layne, Technology, Industry and the Environment Strategic Research Cluster, Established Researcher; James Pfaus, The Person and Society Strategic Research Cluster, Established Researcher; and Felice Yuen, The Person and Society Strategic Research Cluster, Emerging Researcher. Read more about these three recipients here.
The 2013 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Awards were presented to three professors: Thanh Dang-Vu, Navneet Vidyarthi and Pablo Bianucci, pictured at left with Graham Carr. Each award, made possible by a generous endowment from Suncor Energy, comes with a $10,000 research grant.
“The quality of the research projects counts for a large part of the evaluation,” Carr said. “Each of these researchers has a fascinating project.” Read more about these researchers here.
Provost’s Circle of Distinction Inductions
Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning, Ollivier Dyens welcomed the newest members to the Provost’s Circle of Distinction, which recognizes faculty members and librarians who have received awards or recognition from external bodies, such as the Order of Canada, as well as those who have received fellowships in external associations.
Interim Provost Lisa Ostiguy sent her regrets and praised the recipients for their efforts to strengthen Concordia’s educational offerings. This year’s inductees were Daniel Cross, Adam Krzyzak, Jordan LeBel, Ira Robinson, Lorna Roth and Dale Stack. Read more about the newest inductees here.
Concordia Academic Leadership Awards
Dominic Peltier-Rivest, executive director of the Centre for Academic Leadership, presented awards to three individuals for their significant administrative accomplishments and their exceptional leadership skills. This year’s recipients of the Concordia Academic Leadership Awards were George Kanaan, Lynn Hughes and Lata Narayanan. Read more about these recipients here.
Following the presentation of the awards, Carr toasted the honourees: “Your success, the recognition that you are receiving here internally from us tonight, is great for the university as a whole,” he said. “Not only are you all leaders here within Concordia but you've greatly improved and helped grow our profile externally.”
To learn more about all of the award recipients and their contributions, please click on the links below :
• Concordia University Media Outreach Awards
• Concordia Academic Leadership Awards
• Provost’s Circle of Distinction Awards
• University Research Awards
• Petro-Canada Young Innovator Awards