Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence

Efosa Obano recognized with Minister of Colleges and Universities' Award of Excellence

lanthierj — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 18:41:22 +0000

Efosa Obano recognized with Minister of Colleges and Universities' Award of Excellence

Community

lanthierj Tue, 02/01/2022 - 13:41

Alumni

Scarborough

Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence

landscape

(Photo courtesy of Efosa Obano)

University of Toronto Scarborough alumnus Efosa Obano, creator of the Black Founders Network, has received a Minister of Colleges and Universities’ Award of Excellence for his extraordinary contribution in supporting Black entrepreneurs and creating more Black-led businesses.

“Efosa Obano has created an inclusive community for Black entrepreneurs and is helping dismantle the systemic barriers they face,” says Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “His dedication to finding innovative and entrepreneurial solutions is inspiring – and the University of Toronto congratulates him on this important recognition of his work.”

Launched in October 2021, the Black Founders Network aims to accelerate the success of Black startups by providing support and resources to entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey. Having this community is valuable, Obano says, “because it allows us to learn from entrepreneurs, investors and mentors with shared lived experiences as we build our ventures.”

More than 100 Black founders and over 50 Black organizations participated in the consultation process leading up to the launch of the network.

“This is a win for the Black Founders Network community and our supporters from day one. Thank you for everything,” said Obano. “We’re just getting started in our mission to support aspiring and existing Black founders with community, capital and capacity building.”

Learn more about the Black Founders Network

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Suzanne Stewart recognized with Minister of Colleges and Universities’ Award of Excellence

lanthierj — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 17:02:36 +0000

Suzanne Stewart recognized with Minister of Colleges and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Community

lanthierj Tue, 02/01/2022 - 12:02

Faculty

St. George

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence

landscape

(Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Suzanne Stewart, an associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and director of its Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health, has received a Minister of Colleges and Universities’ Award of Excellence for assisting with Indigenous-led COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

"Dr. Stewart and the University of Toronto have made important contributions to Ontario’s successful vaccination effort,” said Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. “Her work helping organize a vaccine powwow and clinic [at U of T’s Varsity Stadium] helped redress the inequities in health-care delivery revealed by the pandemic. We are proud that she is continuing her commitment as the leader of the university’s Indigenous Research Network.”

Stewart said she was grateful for the award and recognized the students, colleagues, Elders and community partners who played a big role in the Indigenous-led clinics’ success.

“The work our group does in public health is about changing the system to better meet the needs of Indigenous peoples to close the gap in health outcomes among our peoples both on and off reserve; this is especially challenging because the colonial systems thrust upon us are created to oppress and prevent healing,” she added.

“Our work is also about creating system change in health generally that is centered in cultural safety and Indigenous knowledges to improve the lives of all Canadians as we begin to move on and heal, both individually and in community, from the global pandemic experience.”

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Fiona Rawle recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

lanthierj — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 18:49:42 +0000

Fiona Rawle recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Community

lanthierj Fri, 10/23/2020 - 14:49

Faculty

Mississauga

Department of Biology

Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence

U of T Mississauga

landscape

(photo by Lucas Rawle)

Fiona Rawle, associate dean, undergraduate at the University of Toronto Mississauga, has received a Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence for her extraordinary contributions to the COVID-19 response in Ontario.

“The University of Toronto congratulates Fiona Rawle, on this important recognition,” said Professor Christine Allen, U of T’s associate vice-president and vice-provost, strategic initiatives. “In the early weeks of the pandemic, she asked faculty and students on social media how they could better help each other – and then collaborated with colleagues Ann Gagne and Simone Laughton to help faculty and librarians share their experiences and advice. She designed and led a series of virtual sessions on remote learning for faculty, staff and teaching assistants.

“Her creativity and determination to help students learn and thrive has had a real impact.”

Rawle, who is also an associate professor, teaching stream, in the department of biology at U of T Mississauga, said everyone is under more stress than usual these days and “if ever there was a time for a pedagogy of kindness, it’s now.

“I’m truly honoured to receive this recognition,” Rawle said. “But I want to point out that I’m part of a broader community of faculty and staff that are so dedicated to giving students meaningful learning experiences.

“The wonderful thing about UTM is our community – it is truly supportive and collaborative.”

Steve Joordens recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

lanthierj — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 14:13:23 +0000

Steve Joordens recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Community

lanthierj Mon, 10/19/2020 - 10:13

Faculty

Scarborough

Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence

U of T Scarborough

landscape

(photo by Ken Jones)

Professor Steve Joordens of the University of Toronto Scarborough has received a Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence for his extraordinary contributions to the COVID-19 response in Ontario.

“The University of Toronto congratulates Professor Joordens on this important recognition,” said Professor Christine Allen, U of T’s associate vice-president and vice-provost, strategic initiatives. “Within weeks of the lockdown, he launched a new – and free – online course to help people understand and manage their mental health, generously sharing his expertise to help others during a challenging time.”

The ten-hour course, which received a 98 per cent approval rating on Coursera, offered tips on how to stay socially connected despite physical distancing, techniques of guided relaxation to help people manage anxiety, and how to use learning to stay positive.

“At the onset of COVID I felt it was critical that we all gain a deeper understanding of the way our minds and bodies react to all the various challenges COVID brought,” Joordens said. “Through courses I created, interviews I took part in, and various other webinars and panels I was able to share my knowledge along with some tips and strategies that I and others can use to understand their reactions and to manage their mental states.

“It is an honour to have these efforts recognized and amplified by this MCU award.”

Matt Ratto recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

lanthierj — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:38:10 +0000

Matt Ratto recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Community

lanthierj Wed, 10/14/2020 - 16:38

Faculty

St. George

Faculty of Information

Hospital for Sick Children

Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Toronto General Hospital

landscape

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Associate Professor Matt Ratto of the Faculty of Information has received a Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence for his extraordinary contributions to the COVID-19 response in Ontario through the Toronto Emergency Device Accelerator (TEDA).

“The University of Toronto congratulates Professor Ratto on this important recognition,” said Professor Christine Allen, U of T’s associate vice-president and vice-provost, strategic initiatives. “When essential protective health equipment was in short supply this spring, he coordinated a 20-strong team of professionals, using equipment like 3D printers to produce materials such as reusable face shields – and user-friendly guidelines to ensure they would be used safely.”

“Partnering with the Toronto General Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre among others, they were able to make a real and immediate difference.”

Ratto said TEDA shows “the clear positive impacts” that can happen when people work across disciplines and connect directly to communities in need.

“I was so impressed at the way University of Toronto faculty, staff, and students worked directly with health-care professionals in hospitals and long-term care facilities to create innovative solutions to the critical supply issues we faced in Canada,” Ratto said. “Some of this work leveraged U of T’s technical expertise and involved new uses of digital fabrication equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters. But much of it involved the study and analysis of social context and workplace organization as part of the process of finding and fitting innovative solutions into actual use.

“I’d like to thank the designers, engineers, scientists, clinicians, and humanities scholars who all lent their knowledge and skills to the project.”

Minister of College and Universities' Award of Excellence

Efosa Obano recognized with Minister of Colleges and Universities' Award of Excellence

Learn more about the Black Founders Network

Suzanne Stewart recognized with Minister of Colleges and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Fiona Rawle recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Read more about Rawle and the pedagogy of kindness

Steve Joordens recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Read more about Steve Joordens

Matt Ratto recognized with Minister of College and Universities’ Award of Excellence

Read more about TEDA