2024 Award for Excellence in Supervision: Travers

Dr. Travers serves as a Professor in SFU’s Sociology and Anthropology (SA) and also as a Faculty Associate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (GSWS). As a supervisor, Travers takes on more students than most professors in their unit because, as Associate Professor of Sociology & Grad Program Chair, Sociology and Anthropology, Dr. Lindsey Freeman says, “they deeply enjoy working [with] and mentoring future scholars and current sharp thinkers.”

Co-nominator, Dr. Jennifer Marchbank, Graduate Program Chair, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, who is also a co-supervisor for some of Travers’ PhD candidates, shares how working with Travers provides an ‘insiders’ perspective on Travers’ supervisory work.

Marchbank says, “I have personally witnessed the gentle but directed fostering of writing and analytical skills Travers provides. Travers challenges students to think beyond the obvious conclusion and to be creative both in thinking and in writing style. Travers is very timely in providing this feedback and guidance and as such, their students are able to continue a good pace of progression. Travers is also incredibly gifted in creating a supportive environment for scholarly development and often this includes employing graduate students on their own research grants. These RA opportunities are not only financially supportive but are opportunities for graduate students to join academic teams and experience research environments and practices beyond their own direct field of interest.”

Travers’ students consider Travers to be a “gem of a supervisor.”  GSWS students (KJ Reed, PhD Candidate; Nerida Bullock, PhD Candidate; Cameron Michaels, PhD student) and SA students (Kevin Park, MA Sociology Candidate; Zhexi Hu, Sociology, PhD 1st year; Candase Jensen, MA Anthropology Candidate; Rowena Keil, MA Sociology (2023); Marina Khonina, MA Sociology (2018)) share how Travers’ supported their personal, academic, and scholarly growth in a joint letter.

Says the group, “[Travers is] supportive and reliable, they allow us space to explore but not so much that we get ourselves in trouble, and they see how we work and adapt their style of supervision to fit what we need. Travers is exceptionally generous with feedback and advice about how to access funding, navigate through our programs and university bureaucracy, writing our theses and dissertations and - most critically - how to do this all while maintaining our sanity, motivation, and passion for our work.”

PhD student, Marina Khonina, a current student in the Faculty of Health Sciences was supervised by Travers for their MA work. Travers is currently on Khonina’s PhD committee.

Says Khonina, “When I think of Dr. Travers, the first thing that comes to mind is their commitment to equity and to uplifting historically underrepresented voices in academia. Dr. Travers’ passion for social justice is evident in their academic work, mentorship of graduate students and junior faculty, and guidance of students toward developing meaningful research projects with potential for social and academic impact. Dr. Travers takes a genuine interest in their students and encourages students to bring their whole selves to their work. Just as importantly, they recognize the many challenges that minoritized students experience, and can always be counted on for advice, advocacy, and words of support. My decision to pursue my current PhD research on trans equity in sport was inspired by my work with Dr. Travers, and it would not have been possible if I had not had the opportunity to develop my critical thinking skills about sport and gender—as well as the confidence to speak on a topic that is becoming increasingly challenged amid rising anti-trans sentiment—while also bringing my lived experience as a trans athlete to my work and research.”

Former Sociology MA student, Rowena Keil, shares how Travers’ guidance helped them transition to a new career.

Says Keil, “As a student who returned to university later in life after a long career in an industry marked by instability, my primary goal had centered solely around survival. However, Dr. Travers’s mentorship inspired me to question the status quo, reevaluate my agency, challenge my cynicism, and build solidarity with others around dismantling oppressive systems. Working as a research assistant under Dr. Travers’s supervision was one of the best decisions I made as a graduate student at SFU, given that it helped me pivot professionally to a new and more rewarding career. This opportunity was particularly valuable to my career development because I had spent most of my adult life in one industry in the private sector and had never worked in an academic environment. Dr. Travers encouraged me to gain work experience in an academic setting, which provided me with practical skills in researching and analyzing policy, and after I finished my master’s I was able to smoothly transition to meaningful employment in the public sector.”

We congratulate Travers on receiving this award and for the support they provide to the students, regardless of whether or not they supervise them, so that all students they work with feel empowered, safe, and inspired.

The 2025 Dean of Graduate Studies Awards for Excellence are open for nominations until May 15, 2025.