Faculty of Arts Awards and Celebration of Excellence

Recognizing faculty, staff, postdocs, grad students and alumni

Visual, creative and performing arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and health domains.

provides new insights and opportunities for discovery;
identifies and responds to challenges through partnerships;
and effects positive change for individuals and communities within and outside of academia.

Nominate yourself or a colleague!

We encourage nominations that reflect the diversity of our research, scholarship, teaching and creative enterprise. We encourage applicants from Indigenous Peoples and other equity-deserving groups.

Awards will be given in the following areas

Career Achievement Award

Up to three awards per year

Award description

The Career Achievement Award Recognizes outstanding contributions made over the person’s career in one or more of the following categories:

For non-academic staff, this award can also be in any of the three areas below for their exceptional contributions towards innovation/initiative, support, leadership, engagement and support of others, and communication.

Assessment rubric

Nominee must have a distinguished track record of achievements.
Examples include:
- contributed to positive and lasting change in their workplace or community
- spearheaded an initiative that benefited their colleagues and peers
- their work has contributed greatly to the advancement of their field
- contributed to the improvement of post-secondary education
- leadership has had a positive and lasting impact beyond the University
Describe the impact of the nominee’s achievements and career on the Faculty, their discipline, their department, or the broader community.
The package will be assessed according to the following weighting:
- 70% statements and CV/resume
- 25% EDIA statement
- 5% Alignment with Strategic Plan priority

Creativity Award

Up to five awards per year

Award description

The Creativity Award recognizes excellence in artistic achievement through exhibitions, publications, presentations, or performances.

This award recognizes single works or a body of work that has received recognition from peers and/or other audiences.

Assessment rubric

Describe the artistic achievement and how it has highlighted the nominee’s strengths and abilities as an artist.
The package will be assessed according to the following weighting:
- 70% statement and CV/resume
- 25% EDIA statement
- 5% Alignment with Strategic Plan priority

Impact Award

Up to five awards per year

Award description

The Impact Award can be awarded to any academic or non-academic staff member whose:

creative/scholarly output or teaching has contributed to changes in understanding, attitudes, or values specifically within the discipline or role and beyond; or
community-engaged research has led to a change in thinking, behaviours, practices, and policies and has contributed to lasting changes in the lives of communities and/or individuals.
recognizes a new idea, method, theory, or finding that has the potential to make a meaningful change in social, cultural, economic, operational or environmental condition of individuals or communities (academic and non-academic).

Assessment rubric

Evidence of the sustained impact and influence of nominee’s contributions.
Demonstrated changes in understanding, attitudes, or values specifically within the discipline or beyond.
Demonstrate how the new idea, method, theory, finding, or initiative, has the potential to make a meaningful change in the condition of individuals or communities.
The package will be assessed according to the following weighting:
• 70% statement and CV/resume
• 25% EDIA statement
• 5% Alignment with Strategic Plan priority

Leadership/Mentorship Award

Up to five awards per year

Award description

The Leadership/Mentorship Award recognizes outstanding mentorship of colleagues, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, or community.

This award may go to an individual or team who has shown outstanding leadership within and/or external to the university and to their discipline or role through the following activities, which can include but are not limited to:

appointments/elections to positions of influence in the university, national/international associations and/or public focused groups;
leadership on editorial or advisory boards; expert positions within formal structures (organizations) or informal (communities).

Asssesment rubric

Proven record of strong mentorship.
Describe the activities and initiatives that the nominee is involved with that led to a significant contribution to the Faculty and/or broader community.
The package will be assessed according to the following weighting:
- 70% statement and CV/resume
- 25% EDIA statement
- 5% Alignment with Strategic Plan priority

Teaching and Learning Award

Up to four awards per year

Award description

The Teaching and Learning Award identifies teaching excellence as critically important to our faculty.

This award recognizes outstanding contributions to student learning by individual academic staff and non-academic staff.

There are many ways in which individuals demonstrate teaching excellence including but not limited to:

Assessment rubric

Describe the activities and initiatives that the nominee is involved with that have led to a significant contribution to teaching and learning
The package will be assessed according to the following weighting:
- 70% statements and CV/resume
- 25% EDIA statement
- 5% Alignment with Strategic Plan priority

Align with our Strategic Plan priorities

The relationships and bonds that individuals, communities and societies form provide a sense of belonging and a platform for collaboration, shared experiences and support. Culture encompasses shared beliefs, traditions, creative expression, customs and values shaping ways of life, influencing behaviours and providing a sense of identity.

Climate, energy and sustainability play a crucial role in addressing existential threats to the environment and ensuring the well-being of our planet and all its inhabitants. This priority follows the wide-ranging themes embedded in the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These themes intersect with our work inside and outside of the university, including teaching and learning, research, community engagement, and operations; for example, quality education, industry innovation and infrastructure, and reduced inequalities.

Significant quantities of information are available to individuals and groups through the widespread use of digital technologies, online platforms and social media. These digital media increasingly shape and transform everyday life, including our social interactions, the way we conduct the daily business of our lives, and how we are educated and entertained.

Understanding the complex interplay of physical, mental, and emotional health of individuals and communities requires a holistic approach. Prioritizing health and wellness is not only beneficial for individuals, but also for society as a whole, as it contributes to a more vibrant population through enhanced social relationships, better quality of life, improved productivity and performance, longevity, and illness-prevention.

The realm of justice, equity and transformation underscores creating, maintaining, and sustaining a more just and harmonious world. By addressing historical and systemic inequities experienced by marginalized groups, this priority focuses on the promotion of social cohesion, integrity, appreciation of and support for diversity, and social justice.

Achievement statement

500-word statement describing how the nominee’s achievements fit the award category and Strategic Plan priority

EDIA statement

250-word statement on whether and how the nominee is advancing the principles of EDIA in their research/creation practice, mentorship, teaching, and/or leadership.

CV / abbreviated narrative CV

For academic staff.

Include a CV or abreviated narrative CV that provides both quantitative and qualitative information about the nominee’s achievements (focusing on achievements most relevant to the award).

Resume

For non-academic staff, community members, and graduate students.

Include a resume that provides both quantitative and qualitative information about the nominee’s achievements (focusing on achievements most relevant to the award).