Graduate Leadership

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Simon Fraser University presents the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral 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.

Eligibility

Continuing tenured or tenure-track faculty members who have been active in graduate student supervision/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, shall be 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

Individuals from the SFU community whose contributions are in accord with the criteria for this award may be considered.

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
Demonstrated commitment to the graduate student learning experience
Develops mechanisms to foster research/performance and/or practice-based skill development
Demonstrated enthusiasm for and innovation in graduate student instruction/teaching
Provides exceptional guidance to students, such as recruitment, applying for internal/external financial support, career planning, etc.

Process

Nominations should include a completed nomination form and nomination letter from the Graduate Program Chair and graduate students. The nomination letter should profile the nominee's contributions to leadership in graduate student development.

Required documents:

Letters of support from the Graduate Program Chair and Department Chair
Letters of support from at least three current or former graduate students
Abbreviated CV outlining nominee's record related to leadership in graduate studies

Email correspondence may be sent to to nominee's graduate caucus requesting an evaluation of the nominee's history of leadership.

The committee adjudicates the awards based on the criteria above.

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 nominations form signed by the nominee and all nominators; new letters of support from the Graduate Program Chair and/or Department Chair or Dean
new letters or documents of support from graduate students
an updated CV

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
the recipient’s name is inscribed on a permanent plaque housed in the Thesis Defence Room
the recipient receives a trophy inscribed with their name and award

Recipients will be presented with their award at a graduate awards ceremony in the following year.

Nominate a faculty member

For 2023: Nomination deadline is March 24, 2023 (Complete nomination packages are normally received by March 15.)

Download and submit the signed nomination form along with all of the other required documents.

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

Email complete nomination packages (as pdf files) to: gsdean@sfu.ca

Download a Leadership Nomination Form

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Nominations: Graduate Leadership