UCalgary celebrates students, college and employees advocating for favourable social change | News

The College of Calgary celebrates inspiring adjust-makers and another year of working collectively to attain a much more equitable, numerous, inclusive and available campus group throughout the fifth once-a-year Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Awards. The awards, hosted by the Office of Fairness, Range and Inclusion (OEDI), took spot Feb. 8 as portion of the university’s EDI 7 days.

The ceremony opened with a blessing provided by Elder Colleen Sitting Eagle, adopted by greetings and award presentation by UCalgary President and Vice-Chancellor Ed McCauley, and Dr. Malinda Smith, vice-provost, fairness, range and inclusion and associate vice-president exploration (EDI).

“At UCalgary we are on a journey to progress and embed our commitment to EDI and accessibility, and to outcome systemic and sustainable improve, which is why we continue on to understand and celebrate the achievements of the courageous EDI champions who are the risk-takers and leaders in our neighborhood,” states Smith.

“We very a lot recognize the contributions of colleagues who nominated and selected the 2023 EDI Award winners. We are a superior neighborhood simply because of them and the operate they do. I specifically want to extend my profound many thanks to the OEDI workforce.”

No important function on campus is possible without the aid of a lot of persons and units throughout campus. The 2023 EDI 7 days events had been led by Dr. Sevan Beukian, PhD, OEDI’s director of fairness, variety, inclusion and accessibility. “I want to lengthen my appreciation to the nominators for using the time to nominate their colleagues, college students, faculty members, and postdoctoral fellows for EDI Awards” says Beukian.

“We are grateful to the EDI Awards adjudication committee for this yr who focused time, effort and hard work, and enthusiasm in reviewing the exceptional nominations and picking the recipients. We also want to thank the UCalgary activities and communications groups for their support.”

The EDI Awards celebrate UCalgary’s campus community by honouring pupils, school, postdoctoral fellows, team and groups for their work to progress a a lot more obtainable, equitable, diverse and inclusive college. The awards recognize remarkable accomplishment in observe, occasions, utilized study, coverage, packages, or other actions that foster optimistic social impression, specifically for members of fairness-deserving groups (women of all ages, racialized minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and users of the LGBTQ2S+ neighborhood).

2023 EDI Award winners

College student Award – Tanmoy Newaz, cellular, molecular and microbial biology university student, School of Science

Newaz has utilized his place at the College of Calgary and lived expertise as a second-generation immigrant to advocate for fairness-deserving groups in science and medication. Early in his undergraduate degree, Newaz founded the Canadian Firm for Undergraduate Health Study (COUHR) to mitigate the limitations confronted by undergraduate learners from fairness-deserving backgrounds in attaining health and fitness science-related research prospects.

Due to the fact 2018, the COUHR program has matched hundreds of pupils with scientists and research ordeals. The plan also offers workshops on a wide range of matters aimed at serving to learners create delicate abilities this kind of as resume crafting and economical literacy.

Newaz’s curiosity in serving equity-deserving teams continues to be as he pursues a vocation in the health-treatment market, focusing on aiding marginalized persons in accessing health care procedure.

College Award – Dr. Patrina Duhaney, PhD, assistant professor, School of Social Function

Duhaney has around 14 decades of practical experience working with many racialized and marginalized populations and has performed around $1.3-million worth of investigation concentrated on building spaces for Black and racialized people. Duhaney’s passion for instructing and services function has led to a critical, engaged and transformative tactic to teaching which exposes college students to unique ways of figuring out.

Duhaney has carried out quite a few initiatives that progress EDI and bolster UCalgary’s motivation to addressing anti-Black racism. Her ongoing aid of the advancement of EDI procedures culminates in her management of an Anti-Black Racism Task Pressure — one of quite a few throughout Canada. Her campus-extensive research on anti-Black racism at UCalgary is a initially move towards an prolonged investigation job to tackle anti-Black racism across Canadian universities.

Postdoctoral Fellows Award – Dr. Jean Kaya, PhD, postdoctoral associate, adjunct assistant professor, Werklund School of Schooling

Kaya’s analysis on intercultural competencies explores how linguistic and cultural diversity amid pre-assistance lecturers innovations intercultural knowing and social justice. The undertaking also draws on scholarship in the spot of vital literacies to investigate the intercultural understandings of pre-service lecturers.

Kaya’s work is knowledgeable by his have encounters of educating in Congo (Brazzaville) and instructing and supervising field working experience college students in the United States. His general investigation program and assignments reveal his contributions to the progression of equity, diversity, and inclusion at the College of Calgary. His aim is on unearthing the possible to help learners to imagine critically and develop into socially just citizens who will 1 day effects communities around the globe.

Crew Award – Dr. Brae Anne McArthur, PhD, director of the College of Calgary Psychology Clinic, teacher, Division of Psychology Michaela Patton, PhD prospect, Office of Psychology Caroline Luszawski, medical psychology student, Office of Psychology

This research group took on the generation of schooling for trans and gender-diverse psychological overall health treatment. The challenge was university student-pushed and designed to make improvements to the instruction of scientific psychologists from an EDI, social justice and cultural humility lens. The staff partnered with the Skipping Stone Basis to style a trans-affirming psychological health and fitness-treatment workshop for pupils, school and employees. The crew also developed an accessible psychological overall health company at UCalgary’s Psychology Clinic for trans and gender-varied people today who often encounter increased charges of psychological-overall health issues in contrast to their cisgender peers.

The team is operating to amplify the voices of all those with lived activities, assist the development of trans and gender-various mental wellbeing treatment and emphasize trans and gender-numerous wellness issues within UCalgary and the broader Calgary group.

For much more facts check out the 2023 EDI Awards webpage.