Memorial University community members were honoured during special ceremonies on Jan. 27, when their family and friends joined in the celebration of 11 individuals and three groups.
The President's Awards shine a spotlight on people who are among the most commendable members of the Memorial University community teachers, researchers, service providers and publicly engaged groups and individuals nominated by their peers.
The recipients have distinguished themselves by helping nurture big ideas and by inspiring co-workers, students and others. They are true leaders on campus and in the community.
Congratulations to all recipients, who received their awards at Signal Hill Campus and Grenfell Campus! Meet the deserving individuals below.
Distinguished Teaching
Dr. Tiffany Lee is recognized for her enthusiastic, innovative and collegial approach to teaching, student support and learning assessment.
Dr. Lee's creative instruction approaches include role playing, peer assessment and individualized feedback. She uses case-based, experiential learning to prepare students for clinical practice and incorporate marginalized voices. She holds expertise in course and curriculum development across multiple delivery modes, and her scholarly contributions include extensive publications and conference presentations. As a peer mentor, she helps her colleagues create interactive, online-learning course content.
Dr. Lee has expanded educational access as director of the Working Professional Program, for which she created a curriculum addressing medical personnel shortages and accommodating many pharmaceutical professionals' part-time needs. She also developed and implemented a new curriculum for the PharmD program, ensuring it met the field's evolving needs.
Dr. Lee is a passionate and caring instructor, a committed and patient-centred professional and a supportive and generous colleague.
Outstanding Teaching: Faculty
Dr. Isabelle Côté is recognized for her substantial contributions to teaching, training and mentorship.
Dr. Côté's supervision and collaborative mentorship encourages students to develop their ideas and research skills and reach their full scholarly potential. She publishes with her students more than anyone else in her department. A professional development series she created is now a required graduate course in her program.
Dr. Côté's contributions include strategic planning for improving teaching programs and student experiences. As her department's Graduate Program Committee Member, she was crucial in making changes to the Political Science program. She also helped the department secure funding supporting an academic conference for graduate students and developed and fostered a student travel fund.
Enthusiastic and generous, Dr. Côté inspires her colleagues to push the boundaries for their students. She stands out among her peers due to her drive, empathy, and leadership in teaching.
Outstanding Graduate and Postgraduate Supervision
Dr. Lesley James makes graduate student and post-doctoral fellow supervision a top priority.
Students are more than another body in her lab. She has a keen focus on all aspects of a graduate student's life that extends beyond academics. She's empathetic to personal events in her students' lives, often seeking out scholarships to help alleviate students' financial burdens. Her mentorship and guidance have been invaluable, shaping professional journeys in ways never imagined.
Many of her journal publications and conference presentations are co-authored by graduate students or post-doctoral fellows. After graduation, many of her students have gone on to work in some of the top organizations in Canada and internationally.
Both graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who work with Dr. James said she not only secures significant research funding that supports their academic work, she has a profound impact on the world around them. One supporter said that her commitment to "environmental sustainability is inspiring."
Outstanding Research
Dr. Christine Carter is an internationally lauded clarinetist with an impressive record of artistic dissemination.
Known for her visionary interdisciplinary projects that illuminate the roles of the arts in addressing complex challenges, Dr. Carter co-founded the acclaimed Iris Trio, an ensemble celebrated for its imaginative programming and virtuosity.
An award-winning recording artist, she has performed at prestigious venues across the globe.
A sought-after expert in performance psychology, Dr. Carter is one of the few active concert artists worldwide conducting research in the area, bridging the gap between research and current practice.
Her team's peer-reviewed article on optimizing music learning has been viewed over 21,000 times, influencing diverse fields including medical education.
In recognition of her influential work, Dr. Carter was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2023.
Dr. Sohrab Zendehboudi has made exceptional contributions to the field of chemical engineering, with a particular focus on transport phenomena, energy and environment and process systems engineering.
His work on carbon capture, utilization, conversion and storage has benefitted global efforts to mitigate climate change.
Dr. Zendehboudi's research partnerships have fostered innovative research initiatives leading to significant advancements in areas such as biofuel production, oil spill detection and water treatment.
He has authored/co-authored almost 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, which are among the top 25 per cent in their respective fields.
A prolific educator and researcher, Dr. Zendehboudi has supervised and/or co-supervised approximately 100 highly qualified personnel.
He has been named to Stanford University's prestigious World's Top 2% Scientists list; received the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering's Lectureship Award; and the Terra Nova Young Innovator Award.
University Research Professor
Dr. Colin Farquharson is an internationally recognized expert in the field of electromagnetic methods in geophysics.
With his game-changing approach, Dr. Farquharson is leading the development of more sophisticated and powerful computer-based interpretation methods for geophysical survey data.
His research is creating new insight in critical minerals exploration and is essential for managing and satisfying present-day lifestyle demands while moving toward a greener economy.
Dr. Farquharson's group has been one of the main proponents of the adoption of the next-generation of computer Earth models - the three-dimensional digital maps of what's underground, a "digital-twin" of the Earth's subsurface.
He is author/co-author of nearly 90 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, has supervised and mentored more than 80 students, researchers and/or visiting scientists, and been invited to speak at prestigious international conferences.
Dr. Marco Merkli is recognized as a global expert in the mathematical analysis of open quantum systems where he has made fundamental contributions to the field of mathematical physics.
He is the only researcher to ever complete mathematical validation of several widely used approximations frequently relied on by applied researchers.
This rigorous approach is considered one of the most important advancements in mathematical theory of open systems in recent years.
Dr. Merkli has developed several models that he has used to address various and important problems in physics, quantum information, chemistry and biology.
An innovative thinker, Dr. Merkli has ongoing collaborations with colleagues across the globe.
He has authored more than 65 refereed articles in top international journals; been invited to present at more than 60 conferences; and mentored more than 20 next-generation researchers.
Exemplary Employees: Champion of Service
Darcy Andrews, classroom technologist with the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) is a valued member of the Classroom Support Team. On this team, he addresses classroom multimedia needs and provides support for special events and conferences.
Mr. Andrews often takes on new challenges in response to the university community's evolving needs. He was instrumental in helping Memorial navigate the many disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, often working directly with instructors and staff to help them use new video conferencing tools for remote work and instruction. He was also responsible for setting up and supporting many virtual town halls, graduations and other ceremonies held during those years.
Most recently, Mr. Andrews showed his commitment to service when he jumped on a plane and headed to Corner Brook within hours of the Grenfell Campus cyber-attack to help ensure all classrooms were up and running for the semester start.
Officer Colin Lane with Campus Enforcement and Patrol (CEP) is a true champion of service. A CEP employee for more than 14 years, Officer Lane exemplifies the highest standards of service and dedication, consistently going above and beyond to foster a welcoming and secure campus environment.
Officer Lane exhibits an unwavering commitment to safety and well-being. Whether through proactive crime prevention, offering support to students in distress or calmly handling high-stress situations, he always demonstrates an exceptional level of care and compassion. He also makes time to engage with students, faculty and staff, fostering a sense of trust and collaboration between campus enforcement and the university community.
When there are requests for volunteers, Officer Lane is among the first to step forward. He assists with CEP's annual holiday toy drive, regularly collects donations for the Campus Food Bank, and has dressed as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny during holiday periods.
Elizabeth Simms, manager, planning and strategic operations with the School of Graduate Studies has innovative ideas on processes, policies and procedures to better serve graduate students.
Ms. Simms has been a champion in the design and offering of a new breakfast program for graduate students and a program for graduate student families. She has also contributed to a pilot program to provide parental leave support to graduate students in research programs and she helps students in financial need apply for scholarships.
Ms. Simms is eager to support equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism initiatives. She has worked to recruit, hire and mentor graduate students from equity deserving groups and her mentorship has made a real difference in the lives of many. She was an integral part in helping launch a Black graduate student lunch and subsequently provided advice and support to graduate students to form the Black Graduate Student Society.
Exemplary Employees: Champion of Innovation (Team Category)
The Centre for Social Enterprise team of Dr. Gillian Morrissey, Sarah Croft, Alyssa King and Nancy Leung is a leading force in social innovation, demonstrating a remarkable ability to drive change.
Among the team's achievements are several "first of its kind" programs for the province, including the Social Ventures Incubator which helps students and alumni develop innovative solutions to pressing social issues. Similarly, the Investing Fellowship Program introduces students to the growing field of social finance. A social enterprise living lab enables students to work alongside a social enterprise in the province and the Work Experience in Social Enterprise program, invested over $93,000 in wage subsidies to hire students to work with social enterprises last year alone.
The team frequently re-evaluates its processes and programs, incorporates feedback and explores new methods to enhance outcomes for students and the community. Their approach has had a lasting positive impact on the community, faculty and on students.
Exemplary Employees: Team Memorial
The Grenfell Campus cybersecurity attack was unprecedented.
The information technology staff at Grenfell and individuals in the Office of the Chief Information Officer and the Department of Technical Services, worked collaboratively and tirelessly in response to the attack that paralyzed communications, teaching and research tools, and access to information.
The urgent situation meant immediate action was necessary. The main goal was to support the academic mission and ensure faculty could continue their work in teaching and research.
The situation involved a nearly around-the-clock response in the initial days and weeks. Remarkably, there was only a two-day delay to the semester. To go from a campus without the use of technology to a campus that could open, even in a limited way, defied the odds.
As the semester continued, the team transitioned to maintenance and the longer-term rebuilding plans.
What started as a disaster became a remarkable story of success and resilience by July 1, 2024.
Exceptional Community Service
Dr. Paul De Decker is dedicated to supporting the stuttering community in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Through his work with the Communication Collaborative and the Newfoundland and Labrador Stuttering Association, Dr. De Decker advocates for the rights and adequate supports for people with communication delays and disorders.
With the mission of rebuilding confidence and hope for people who stutter by dismantling stuttering myths, stereotypes and barriers, he created a podcast called Some Stutter, Luh! The podcast is on track to air its 100th episode in early 2025.
He also uses film to advocate for the stuttering community, including Getting the Words Out, a documentary short about the stigma people who stutter face, and Unapologetic: challenging discommunication, a film produced in solidarity with people in Newfoundland and Labrador who stutter.
In 2023, as primary lead he launched a two-poster educational resource introducing stuttering awareness to the K-12 school system.
Public Engagement Partnerships
Each person with cancer is an individual with a unique experience with the illness, but this experience isn't always heard during the research process.
The Public Interest Group on Cancer Research is a collaboration between Faculty of Medicine scientists and people whose lives have been affected by cancer.
Members work together to set research directions, co-design studies that address patient and family priorities, disseminate public and scientific knowledge about cancer, and advocate for cancer-affected individuals and families.
The group published several scholarly manuscripts with public partner co-authors, presented at countless community and scholarly events, hosted a conference on cancer, co-developed and co-led multiple projects, and launched a podcast.
Much of the group's success comes down to the central role people affected by cancer has in the group's work. It is truly a member-driven project.
They are stronger and more efficient, and they impact the community and academia through their work together.
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