The 2017-18 academic-year award recipients were announced at the Spring awards ceremony that was held at the Faculty of Education.
2017-18 academic-year award recipients
The Faculty of Education has announced the award recipients for the 2017-18 academic year at the Spring awards ceremony held at the faculty.
W.A. Townshend Gold Medal in Education
The Gold Medal is in honour of the Late Bishop Townshend of London, Ontario, and is awarded to the student who has achieved the highest academic standing in his/her program of study.
Fall 2017 Convocation
The Fall 2017 recipient of the W.A. Townshend Gold Medal is Melissa Coyne-Foresi. Melissa’s research is titled, A mixed methods exploration of benefits for youth mentors in an Indigenous high school peer mentoring program.
This study explored the benefits of youth mentors participating in the Fourth R: Uniting Our Nations peer mentoring program. Data were collected from 11 youth mentors via interviews and returned to them for interpretation and meaning-making through a statement sorting activity as part of a larger concept mapping procedure. Additional interview questions were explored through traditional thematic analysis. The findings indicated that mentors identified the program’s cultural relevancy, such as participation in cultural practices, connecting with their Indigenous peers in a group setting, and exploring their cultural identities, as the biggest benefit in their roles mentoring their younger peers. Other benefits reported by mentors included perceived intrapersonal (i.e., self-perception, self-confidence) and interpersonal (i.e., relationships with others, self-advocacy skills) gains as a result of their participation in the program, as well as improved connection to school. Youth mentors reported improved behavioural conduct at school, improved academic commitment, and improved school attendance resulting from their awareness of their positions as role models to younger peers. Dr. Elizabeth Nowicki is Melissa’s Supervisor.
Spring 2018 convocation
The Spring 2018 recipient of the W.A. Townshend Gold Medal is Sakthi Kalaichandran. Sakthi’s research is titled, Risk factors for domestic homicide: Immigrant & Canadian-born populations.
Domestic violence is a critical human rights issue that can escalate to cases of domestic homicide. Globally, approximately 30% of women in relationships have reported experiencing violence at the hands of an intimate partner. In Canada this pattern is echoed, as over 25% of police-reported violent offences were from victims of domestic abuse. Recent research has revealed that immigrant and refugee victims experience unique risk factors that may render them more vulnerable to this form of violence. This study investigated factors that pertain to a victim’s vulnerability to violence across immigrant and Canadian-born populations. Although several factors, such as actual or pending separation, were shared across both demographics, other factors, such as social isolation, featured more prominently in cases of immigrant domestic homicide victims. By identifying these shared and unique characteristics, front line workers and policy makers will be informed of important trends that can influence the creation of research-based and culturally-relevant risk assessment, risk management and safety planning strategies. Dr. Peter Jaffe is Sakthi’s Supervisor.
Other spring 2018 awards and recipients
Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children
- Elisabeth Steel Reurink Memorial Award
- Corinne Qureshi
- Scotiabank Graduate Award for Studies in Violence Against Women and Children
- Sakthi Kalaichandra
- Natalia Musielak
- Casey Oliver
Centre for School Mental Health, the Fourth R Awards
- David Wolfe Scholarship on Research on Violence Prevention
- Amanda Kerry
- Ray Hughes Scholarship on Innovative Practices in Violence Prevention:
- Steven Budafalvi
Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education Awards
- Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education Award
- Kayla Edwards
- Huda Ghadban
- Luyi Liang
- Jessica Jean Campbell Coulson Award
- Tsz-Wing Zita Lau
Graduate awards
- Alberta O’Neil Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- Amanda Kerry
- Art Geddis “Learning About Teaching” Memorial Award
- Luyi Liang
- Dr. Allen Pearson Graduate Award in Educational Leadership
- Diana Kuhl
- Joan Pedersen Memorial Graduate Award
- Luyi Liang
- John Dearness Memorial Award
- Lin Sun
- The Robert Macmillan Graduate Award in Educational Leadership
- Rebecca Doxtator
- Walter M. Lobb Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- Melissa Coyne Foresi
- Melissa Gollan-Wills
Teacher Education
- Alberta O’Neil Award in Physical Education
- Stephanie Yuen
- Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
- Maureen O’Neil
- Catherine Zeisner
- Amber White
- Beatrice Helmkay Scholarship
- Brittany Jenkins
- Dawson Woodburn Memorial Award
- Renee Dreise
- Mitchell Arnold
- D. Carlton Williams Gold Medal in Education
- David Bossmin
- Dean’s Award in Education
- Elizabeth Jackson
- Don Galbraith Preservice Teacher Award of Excellence
- Nicole Merkel
- Don Wright Faculty of Education Music Scholarship
- Thomas Lapiccirella
- Daniel Baerg
- Dorothy Emery Memorial Award in Visual Arts Education
- Alana Colgan
- Heidi Hammerberg
- Faculty of Education Students’ Council Award
- Cadence Rhamey
- Faculty of Education Students’ Council Award for Practice Teaching Excellence
- Jennifer Davies
- Faculty of Education Students’ Council Award for Student Leadership
- Elizabeth Jackson
- F.C. Biehl Memorial Award for Excellence in English Education
- David Bossmin
- Harold Dene Webber Scholarship in Education
- Andrea Manchisi
- Helen G. Mitchell Award
- Carina Sue-Chu
- Bowden Memorial Award
- Nicole Merkel
- John Dearness Memorial Preservice Award
- Jenna John
- Laura & Ed McLeish Scholarship
- Francis Grek
- Emily Ritz
- Margaret Fallona Award for Excellence in French Second Language Education
- Haylee Weese
- Matthew & Cornelia Koens Scholarship
- Katherine Cox
- Milton & Helen Walker Scholarship in Science Education
- Lucy Donkers
- Milton & Helen Walker Scholarship in Mathematics Education
- Kimberly Sanders
- Retired Teachers of Ontario District 8 Student Award for Excellence in Practice Teaching
- Stephenie Chambers
- Vanessa Medeiros
- Robert and Joline Brant Religious Education Award
- Nicole Primeau
- Sylvia Cann Memorial Award
- Juliette Hebert
- Rebecca Brown
- The Elizabeth T. Dorner Award
- Monika Lucier
- W.S. Turner Award
- David Bossmin
