Faculty of Graduate Studies

Nominations: Graduate Leadership

Simon Fraser University presents the Dean of Graduate Studies Award for Excellence in Leadership annually to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to leadership in graduate student development and the graduate student enterprise at SFU.

Nominate a faculty member for:

Supervision Award →
Leadership Award →

Nominate a staff member or graduate student for:

Service Award →

See Leadership Recipients

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.

Re-nomination

Nominations from the previous year will be considered only if they meet all of the conditions of the initial nomination and an updated nomination package.

The package must include:

  • a current re-nomination form (the nomination button below will indicate if it's a nomination or a re-nomination) submitted by the nominator; new letters of support from the Graduate Program Chair, the Department Chair, or Dean
  • up to one new letter or document of support from graduate students

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.

See Leadership Recipients

Nominate a faculty member

For 2025: Nominations are due May 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM

Submit the online nomination form along with all of the other required documents as PDF's.  

Nominations for this award may come from current or former students, staff, colleagues, or administrators.

About submitting:

  • The nomination package will be shared with the nominee.
  • You, as the primary nominator, can save the survey at anytime and come back later to complete it before the survey closes on May 15, 2025 (11:59 55 PM) using the same computer you used to start the nomination.

    Use the "EXIT" link at the top right of your browser to save your progressIt will give you a link to save and come back to complete the form.
  • Please note, you will need to request the nominee's abbreviated CV or resume outlining their record related to graduate student supervision from the nominee prior to submitting the completed nomination.
  • You will also need to upload the one-page supporting letters from the supporting nominators to complete the nomination or re-nomination form. You might want to request these prior to starting the nomination.

Go to the Online Nomination Form

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