Nominations: Graduate Leadership

Eligibility

SFU continuing tenured or tenure-track faculty members who have been active in graduate student affairs in various capacities for a minimum of two years, and who have contributed significantly in areas such as graduate student development and/or advancement of the graduate studies enterprise are eligible for this Award.

Up to three awards may be made each year. Minimally, one award will be in the two categories defined by the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies:

• Fine Arts/Humanities/ Social Sciences
• Engineering/Medical Sciences/Natural Sciences

Criteria

• Stimulates graduate students to think creatively and critically
• Participates in workshops aimed to enhance the graduate student experience
  
• Creates mechanisms for students to develop as scholars and as members of the greater community
  
• Develops innovative strategies/policies/procedures to address substantive graduate student issues
  
• Demonstrates commitment to the graduate student learning experience
  
• Develops mechanisms to foster research/performance and/or practice-based skill development
  
• Demonstrates enthusiasm for and innovation in graduate student instruction or professional development
  
• Provides exceptional guidance to students, in areas including, but not limited to, applying for internal/external financial support, and, career planning
• Encourages diversity and promotes a culture of inclusive excellence and belonging

Process

Nominations should include a completed online nomination form and nomination letter from the Department Chair, Graduate Program Chair, or two or more graduate students. The nomination form includes the following questions:

• What are the exceptional aspects of the leadership in graduate studies provided by the nominee? (200 words max.)
• In what ways does the nominee foster scholarly development and promote a culture of inclusive excellence and belonging among graduate students? (200 words max.)
• What is the impact of the nominee's leadership on students? (200 words max.)

Nominees are encouraged to provide specific examples.

Required documents:

• Nomination form (online)
• One page letter of support from the Graduate Program Chair or Department Chair (Department Chair letter is needed only in cases when the Graduate Program Chair provided the nomination or is the individual being nominated for the award).
• Up to three (3) one-page letters of support from current or former graduate students. Letters may be written and signed by more than one student.

Email correspondence may be sent to current and former students requesting feedback on each nominee. (Note: You may wish to send a list of the evaluation criteria so that the student(s) may speak to them.)

The committee adjudicates the awards based on the above criteria.

Prizes

Each award consists of:

• $1000 graduate student travel award to be disbursed in the following year to a graduate student of their choice to attend a conference and present a paper
  
• an inscription of the recipient's name on a permanent plaque housed in the Thesis Defence Room
• a trophy inscribed with the recipient's name and award

Recipients will be presented with their award at a graduate awards ceremony.