- Admission
- Programs
- Learning
- Community
- About
- Research
- Strategic Research Plan
- Implementation Plan
- Supporting Health and Wellness of Individuals, Populations and Communities
- Expanding the foundations of knowledge and understanding our origins
- Strengthening Democracy, Justice, Equity and Education
- Supporting Research Graduate Students
- Supporting Postdoctoral Fellows
- Valuing and Measuring Scholarly Impact
- Incorporating Indigenous Perspectives into Research Ethics
- Building World-Class Research Space and Infrastructure
- Involving Undergraduate Students in Research
- Supporting Early-Career Researchers (Faculty)
- Funding Research Chairs
- Reducing Administrative barriers to Research
- Implementation Plan
- Performance & Excellence
- Innovation
- Knowledge Mobilization
- Researcher Resources north_east
- Institutes, Centres & Facilities
- Leadership & Departments
- Strategic Research Plan
- Dashboard
- Campuses
- Contact Us
- Emergency
SFU Newsmaker Awards
Call for nominations
SFU is pleased to recognize excellence in media relations and online engagement.
The call for nominations is open to current staff and faculty in three categories: Media Newsmaker of the Year, Newsmaker Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Thought Leader Newsmaker Award.
Each award showcases a staff or faculty member who supports SFU’s values by sharing expertise with the public through media, social media and other platforms. SFU is a leading research university and advances an inclusive, sustainable future.
Nomination and selection
University staff, students, faculty, alumni and members of the general community can nominate candidates. Previous nominees can be re-nominated.
SFU Communications & Marketing will review the nominations and recommend the award winners to the Provost and Vice-President, Academic.
Next cycle: the deadline for receiving nominations is Friday, December 19, 2025.
Make a nomination
Nominate yourself or another candidate by emailing us at mediarelations@sfu.ca with the subject line: SFU NEWSMAKER AWARDS.
Please submit the following information about the candidate:
- Candidate’s name, department, contact information including phone number.
- Description of nominee’s contributions, including a clear statement indicating why this candidate exemplifies outstanding service to the university through earned media and other engagement. Work should have taken place at some point over the past three years.
- Applications should be no more than one page.
- Supporting letters are welcome but not necessary.
Nominees will be considered based on the following criteria:
MEDIA NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR
Impact on advancing/shaping public knowledge/opinion over a year-long period during the last three years, measured by:
- Reach and frequency of media coverage (i.e. local, national, international)
- Availability for media opportunities concerning events in the news and/or the individual’s research, including: writing articles and op-eds for media outlets, The Conversation, online engagement via various communication channels, etc.
- Leadership voice on key issues and demonstrated engagement with the community
- Promotion of knowledge sharing with the public amongst colleagues and students thought mentorship/workshops
NEWSMAKER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Continued impact on advancing/shaping public knowledge/opinion measured by:
- Long-standing and significant media coverage (i.e. local, national, international)
- Availability for media opportunities concerning events in the news and/or the individual’s research, including: writing articles and op-eds for media outlets, The Conversation, online engagement via various communication channels, etc.
- Leadership voice on key issues and demonstrated engagement with the community
- Promotion of knowledge sharing with the public amongst colleagues and students thought mentorship/workshops
EMERGING THOUGHT LEADER NEWSMAKER AWARD
Early career researcher impact on advancing/shaping public knowledge/opinion over a year-long period during the last three years, measured by:
- Reach and frequency of media coverage (i.e. local, national, international)
- Availability for media opportunities concerning events in the news and/or the individual’s research, including: writing articles and op-eds for media outlets, The Conversation, online engagement via various communication channels, etc.
- Leadership voice on key issues and demonstrated engagement with the community
- Promotion of knowledge sharing with the public amongst colleagues and students thought mentorship/workshops
2024 Award Winners
Media Newsmaker of the Year
2024 - Andrey Pavlov, professor of finance
Newsmaker Lifetime Achievement Award
2024 - Brent Ward, professor of earth sciences
Emerging Thought Leader of the Year
2024 - Kaylee Byers, professor of health sciences
Previous award winners
2023 - James Horncastle, professor of international relations - Media Newsmaker of the Year
2023 - Robert Gordon, professor emeritus of criminology sciences - Newsmaker Lifetime Achievement Award
2023 - Aviva Philipp-Mueller, professor of marketing - Emerging Thought Leader Newsmaker of the Year
2022 - Darren Byler, professor of international studies - Media Newsmaker of the Year
2022 - John Clague, professor emeritus of earth sciences - Newsmaker Lifetime Achievement Award
2022 - Andy Yan, the City Program director - Social Media Newsmaker of the Year
2022 - Lara Aknin, professor of psychology - Emerging Thought Leader Newsmaker of the Year
2022 - Sharon Mah, faculty of health sciences communications manager - Strategic Communicator of the Year
2021 - Megan MacKenzie, professor of international studies - Media Newsmaker of the Year
2021 - Scott Lear, professor of health sciences - Social Media Newsmaker of the Year
2021 - Chloe Riley, SFU Library communications officer - Strategic Communicator of the Year
2021 - Julianne Piper, health sciences researcher - Emerging Thought Leader Newsmaker of the Year
2020 - Caroline Colijn and Kelley Lee, professors in science and health sciences - Media Newsmaker of the Year (shared award)
2020 - Laya Behbahani, lecturer, labour studies - Social Media Newsmaker of the Year
2020 - Katrina (Kat) Trinidad, director, student communication - Strategic Communicator of the Year
2020 - Julia Smith, research associate, health sciences - Emerging Thought Leader Newsmaker of the Year
2019 - Stewart Prest and Sanjay Jeram, SFU political science lecturers - Media Newsmaker of the Year (shared award)
2019 - Merran Smith, Clean Energy Canada SFU Fellow - Social Media Newsmaker of the Year
2019 - Rachel Bennett, marketing and communications director, SFU Lifelong Learning - Strategic Communicator of the Year
2019 - Fatemeh Torabi Asr, affiliated researcher, SFU’s Discourse Processing Lab - Emerging Thought Leader Newsmaker of the Year
2018 - Andy Yan, Director, City Program - Media Newsmaker of the Year
2018 - David Shiffman, postdoctoral fellow, biology - Social Media Newsmaker of the Year
2018 - Donna Dove, Student Services - Strategic Communicator of the Year
2017 - Paul Kingsbury, professor of geography - Media Newsmaker of the Year
2017 - Paola Ardiles, senior lecturer in health sciences - Social Media Newsmaker of the Year
2017 - Tia O’Grady, VP Reseach and International - Strategic Communicator of the Year