Nominate colleagues in student (undergraduate and graduate), faculty and postdoctoral fellows, staff or team categories for their contributions toward advancing equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility at UCalgary 

Celebrating inspiring students, faculty, postdoctoral scholars, staff and collaborative teams working to advance a more accessible, equitable, diverse, and inclusive university.  The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI) is pleased to announce the institutional call for nominations to recognize the transformative efforts by University of Calgary students (undergraduate and graduate), faculty, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and teams. The annual awards aim to recognize and appreciate the passion, dedication and campus engagement by individuals and teams to promote and commit to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in teaching and learning, research and scholarship, community engagement, and living and working environments.

The EDI Awards recognize outstanding achievement in practice, events, applied research, policy, programs, or other activities that foster equitable, sustainable and measurable change, especially for those who traditionally have been under-represented (women, visible/racialized minorities, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ2S+) on campus. The Awards recognize ongoing work or an outstanding accomplishment at a point in time.       

Examples may include, but are not limited to:

  • A faculty strategic plan and action program that embeds a commitment to the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion;
  • An ongoing action, initiative, or program that helps students from an under-represented group feel welcome and included;
  • A tool or practice that provides accommodations for an equity-seeking group e.g. increased accessibility for people with disabilities, or is designed to address racism;
  • An initiative or action aiming at adapting or changing procedures, policies, or practices to make them fair or more inclusive;
  • Fostering inclusive excellence in achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion goals;
  • Exemplifying leadership in fostering an inclusive campus.        

EDI Awards Ceremony

The University of Calgary’s annual Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Awards recognize and celebrate inspiring students, faculty, and staff working to advance a more accessible, equitable, diverse, and inclusive university.  

Wednesday, February 8, 2023
12 p.m - 1 p.m. (MT)

watch the award presentations - recorded >>

Dr. Ed McCauley, PhD, President and Vice-Chancellor, will announce the award recipients during the awards ceremony. The ceremony will be hosted by Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD, Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and Associate Vice-President Research (EDI).  Elder Colleen Sitting Eagle will give a blessing. 

Dr. Ed McCauley, PhD, President and Vice-Chancellor

On November 8, 2018, Dr. Edward McCauley was announced by Board Chair Jill Wyatt as the ninth president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary. Ed McCauley has deep roots on the University of Calgary campus that stretch back over 30 years - as a professor, researcher and vice-president (research).

Dr. McCauley began his UCalgary career as a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in 1985, before moving on in 2009 to serve as director of the prestigious National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2011, he returned to the University of Calgary to take on the expanded role of vice-president (research) during a time of rapid growth on campus.

Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD, Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and Associate Vice-President Research (EDI)

Vice Provost and Associate Vice President Research (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and professor of political science.

Dr. Smith holds a PhD in political science from the University of Alberta, an MA, Master of Development Administration, and a BA magna cum laude in political science and criminal justice, from Western Michigan University. She is a co-author of The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities (2017), co-editor of the forthcoming book, Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy (UofT Press, 2022), editor of three books on Africa, including Securing Africa: Post-9/11 Discourses on Terrorism (2010),  as well as co-editor of Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics, 6/E under revision with OUP (2022); and States of Race: Critical Race Feminism for the 21st Century (2010).

Dr. Smith serves on several national bodies, including SSHRC Council and Executive, and Statistics Canada’s Immigration and Ethnocultural Committee.

Dr. Smith is a 2018 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellow and the recipient of  numerous awards and fellowships, including Compelling Calgarians (2021), the Susan S. Northcutt Award from the International Studies Association (2020), 100 Accomplished Black Women Honouree (2020), the Rosalind Smith Professional Award (2020), the ISA-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award (2018-19), the HSBC Community Contributor of the Year Award (2016); and the Equity Award from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (2015)

Elder Colleen Sitting Eagle

Oki nistowaok Sipiyanatohkomia”ki.

Elder Colleen Sitting Eagle is the Siksika Language Instructor at Siksika Outreach School located in Siksika Nation since 2009. 

Previously, Colleen worked as a researcher with Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park. She has worked with Siksika culture and heritage since 1992. Colleen learned her Siksika history from her late parents and the honour of working with knowledgeable elders. 

She was one of the first groups from Siksika to be integrated to start her schooling in Strathmore, AB. She previously attended and continues to take courses from the University of Calgary. She is the proud mother of three children and eight grandchildren.

Tanmoy Newaz

Mr. Tanmoy Newaz

Student Award

Tanmoy Newaz is a final-year Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial biology student in the Faculty of Science. Tanmoy has always been extremely passionate about serving individuals from traditionally marginalized and underrepresented communities due to his identity as a second-generation immigrant and his lived experiences. Early on in his undergraduate degree, Tanmoy founded the Canadian Organization for Undergraduate Health Research with a team of like-minded individuals to mitigate the barriers faced by undergraduate students from equity-deserving backgrounds in attaining health science-related research opportunities.

In the future, Tanmoy hopes to pursue a career in the healthcare industry to mitigate the barriers marginalized populations face when accessing medical treatment. Additionally, Tanmoy hopes to continue advocating for increased resources for equity-deserving individuals in STEM fields to instill a love for lifelong learning within these students. He hopes through these initiatives; successful students will act as mentors for others in similar circumstances to themselves, resulting in increased diversity in STEM fields overall.


Dr. Patrina Duhaney

Dr. Patrina Duhaney

Faculty Award

Dr. Patrina Duhaney is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Her research is informed by critical race theory and focuses on race, crime, victimization and criminalization. Specifically, she examines Black women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and with the police. She also focuses on racialized people’s experiences in academia and broader society.

Dr. Duhaney has over 14 years of experience working with various racialized and marginalized populations, including women and children exposed to IPV, youth in conflict with the law, young parents and children, and youth and adults with multiple disabilities.


Dr. Jean Kaya

Dr. Jean Kaya

Postdoctoral Fellows Award

Dr. Jean Kaya is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Werklund School of Education. His research has been primarily with pre-service teachers to investigate their intercultural understandings and support them in integrating critical literacy as pedagogy to mediate issues of equity, diversity, social justice, and inclusion of diverse groups.

In working with pre-service teachers, Dr. Kaya values them as vital change agents well positioned to put EDI goals into practice, which has the potential to help students become critical and socially just citizens and eventually impact communities to make the world a better place for all.


Psychology Trans Affirming Care Team

Psychology Trans Affirming Care Team

Dr. Brae Anne McArthur, Ms. Michaela Paton and Ms. Caroline Luszawski

Team Award

Dr. Brae Anne McArthur

Dr. McArthur’s research program focuses on understanding individual and family-level risk and resiliency factors that impact child and youth mental health and well-being. Recognizing that healthy functioning in childhood emerges from multiple interacting factors in the social ecology, Dr. McArthur examines proximal factors (e.g., child characteristics, lifestyle habits) and distal factors (e.g., positive interpersonal relationships, parent mental health, and discrimination). Dr. McArthur’s research also applies positive psychology to scientifically study how young people cultivate psychological strengths and generate wellness and resilience.

Dr. McArthur has studied child and youth mental health and well-being among at-risk and healthy populations using various research methods, including qualitative, quantitative, and longitudinal designs. Most recently, Dr. McArthur has actively evaluated treatment outcomes for BIPOC and LGTBQIA2s+ youth seeking mental health services.

Current research interests and projects include screen use and youth mental health; predictors and trajectories of youth mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic; mental health treatment outcomes for BIPOC and LGTBQIA2s+ youth.

Michaela Paton

Michaela Patton is a Clinical Psychology PhD candidate studying under the mentorship of Dr. Fiona Schulte. Michaela’s primary research interests are in creating accessible psychological interventions. Her doctoral dissertation project will test an internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for survivors of childhood cancer struggling with chronic pain. Michaela is also passionate about researching the best ways to provide 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming care.

Caroline Luszawski

Caroline Luszawski (PRONOUNCED LU-SHAV-SKI) is a first-year PhD student in the Clinical Psychology Program working under the supervision of Dr. Keith Owen Yeates. Her research focuses on the role of sleep in recovery from pediatric mild traumatic brain injury. Caroline is also dedicated to improving mental health care and treatment outcomes for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

2022 EDI Award winners

  • Student Award: Sarah Ride, Department of Geoscience
  • Faculty Award: Dr. Gregor Wolbring, Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine 
  • Team Award: Faculty of Social Work Anti-Racism Research Team
    • Sheliza Ladhani, PhD Candidate, Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Social Work
    • Dr. David Este, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Social Work,
    • Dr. Kathleen Sitter, Associate Professor, CRC, Faculty of Social Work
    • Kimberly Van Patten, Project Manager, Faculty of Social Work
    • Dr. Peter Gabor, Professor, Faculty of Social Work; and,
    • Dr. Darren Lund, Professor, Werklund School of Education. We posthumously recognize Dr. Darren Lund for his remarkable contributions as a true champion of human rights and his outstanding effort to advocate for equity for underrepresented and marginalized groups.
  • Staff Award: Alison Barrett, Manager, Community and Social Impact, Schulich School of Engineering
2022 EDI Award winners

Watch the presentation of the awards to the 2022 recipients.

 


2021 EDI Award winners

2021 EDI Award winners

  • Student Award: Keshia Holloman-Dawson, Faculty of Law
  • Faculty Award: Dr. William Bridel, associate professor, Faculty of Kinesiology 
  • Team Award: Calgary Black Medical Student Association members of the Cumming School of Medicine 
    • Ebdalla Aya
    • Nwawroh Chidera
    • Keri McNeil-Inyani
    • Mohamud Mursal 
  • Staff Award: Renée Huntley, Indigenous health program co-ordinator, Cumming School of Medicine 

2020 EDI Award winners

  • Student Award: Jasmine McDermott, a mechanical engineering student
  • Faculty Award: Dr. Tonya D. Callaghan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education
  • Staff Award: Pamela Beebe, Indigenous education and protocol specialist
  • Staff Award: Elise Ahenkorah, programs and partnerships specialist, WELab, Hunter Hub
  • Team Award: Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta’s Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative: CV&Me
2020 EDI Award winners

2019 EDI Award Winners

2019 EDI Award winners

  • Staff Award: The Alberta Sexual Assault Course and Conference Planning Team
  • Faculty Award: Schulich School of Engineering Leadership Team
  • Student Award: Laura Fader, Schulich School of Engineering