Angela Hildyard Recognition Award

About The Award

The annual Angela Hildyard SWAAC Recognition Awards, of $1,000 each,  recognize an influential and an emerging leader who have continually demonstrated innovative and impactful leadership in advancing the mission of, and achieving outstanding contributions to, their institution and/or to higher education.  A donation will be made on each recipient’s behalf to an institution of their choice, in the form of a contribution to an endowment or fund that supports students, or to a registered charitable organization supporting educational initiatives.

Eligibility

All SWAAC members in post-secondary institutions.

Influential Leader Selection Criteria

Evidence of leadership, through:

  • Rich and meaningful contributions at an institutional, community and/or system level
  • Demonstrating a commitment to the advancement of institutional vision, mission, values and major goals
  • Improving the educational experiences of post-secondary students at all levels  
  • Promoting and supporting equity, diversity and inclusion within institutions
  • Engaging the community of institutional stakeholders
  • Communicating a vision and commitment to new initiatives and continually contributing to innovation
  • Demonstrating exemplary support for administration and/or teaching and research endeavours, and held in high regard by colleagues, staff, students and faculty
  • Fostering positive and lasting impact on the department/division/institution, colleagues, faculty, students and alumni
  • Consistently and demonstrably coaching and mentoring the next generation of Canadian educators by providing them with the opportunity, inspiration, and/or best practice tools to pursue professional excellence
  • Enhancing the experience of peers by employing innovative techniques to motivate, mentor and inspire others to realize their potential
  • Providing students with academically challenging, exciting, well-taught programs


Emerging Leader Selection Criteria

Evidence of leadership, through:

  • Demonstrating a commitment to the advancement of institutional vision, mission, values and major goals
  • Promoting and supporting equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Demonstrating leadership on the engagement of the community in relationship to  institutional priorities
  • Communicating a vision and commitment to new initiatives and continually contributing to innovation
  • Held in high regard by colleagues, student, staff
  • Recognized as an outstanding and inspiring mentor within the institution


Each nomination must address the key areas that form the basis for nomination

The nomination should be accompanied by a one page summary and two letters of support from senior colleagues, one of which is written by a constituency that has benefited from the work of the nominee.

The deadline for submission of nominations: February 14, 2025.

The Selection Committee shall be the elected members of the Executive.

Nominations for the 2025 award must be sent via electronic mail to:

SWAAC President
Dr. Donna Kotsopoulos
Western University
Email to: swaacadmin@uwo.ca

If you have any questions about the award or require further information please contact Megha Ajmani, SWAAC Registrar and Treasurer at swaacadmin@uwo.ca

Recent Award Recipients

Lisa Phillips
Influential Leader


As Provost & VP Academic at York University, Lisa Philipps played a critical role in leading development of the University Academic Plan (UAP): 2020-2025, charting a bold path to creating positive change for York’s students, its campuses, and its communities near and farWith a bold commitment to elevate the University’s collective contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, York has been recognized repeatedly among the top 40 institutions worldwide in the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking.   
 
Lisa began her academic career in the Faculty of Law at the University of VictoriaShe later served as associate dean for research, graduate studies & institutional relations at Osgoode Hall Law School, associate vice-president of research for York University, and interim dean of the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University. In this last role Lisa helped support a new law school to realize its mandate of strengthening the Indigenous bar and preparing lawyers to practice in northern and rural communities.  
 
As Provost, Lisa continues to demonstrate her interest in empowering emerging leaders to make meaningful contributions to University communities and to strengthening the post-secondary sector’s impact in Canada and around the world. In 2021, she created the Provostial Fellows Program, an initiative aimed at creating pathways for diverse future academic leaders through mentorship and skill building. Fellows have gone on to assume associate dean positions, oversee undergraduate programming and take on senior chair positions at other top postsecondary institutions. 

Dr. Tammy Eger
Influential Leader


Dr. Tammy Eger is the Vice-President, Research (VPR) (2020), Graduate Studies Dean (2021) and Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at Laurentian University. 

During significant challenges for Laurentian, Dr. Eger provided leadership across several files including Executive Lead for COVID-19, and Interim President (2-months), leading the University’s exit from insolvency. Furthermore, she played a critical role in rebuilding trust with researchers, funding agencies, and partners to stabilize the research enterprise. 

Her unit-level leadership includes, Kinesiology Program Coordinator, co-developing Masters and PhD programs, Faculty Research Coordinator, and co-founding the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH). As CROSH Director and Research Chair, Tammy established an industry and community Advisory Board, led the development of its first strategic plan, co-developed a custom-designed mobile research lab and workplace simulator, and secured the first 5-year Provincial funding agreement. 

Tammy’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has spanned her career. She has co-organized panels for Women and Indigenous persons in STEMM, chaired the inaugural organizing committee for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, co-developed the first university-wide EDI workshop for graduate students, and hired the first Research EDI Officer. At the Provincial level, she was Co-Chair of the COVID-19 Recovery EDI Working Group, Chairs the OCUR EDI Working Group, and is a member of the COU EDI Reference Group. 

Dr. Eger holds a BSc, in Biology (1995), Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (1995), and a MSc (1998) and PhD (2007) in Occupational Biomechanics from Queen’s University. She is the recipient of Laurentian’s Presidential Advisory Committee on the Status of Women Award (2011), Research Excellence Award (2013), and Innovation Award (2017). In 2019 she was selected to an international leadership program for Women in STEMM, culminating in an expedition to Antarctica with 99 women. 

Dr. Jennifer Lokash
Emerging Leader


Dr. Jennifer Lokash is Provost and Vice-President (Academic) pro tempore at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her wide-ranging experience as an academic administrator, her compassionate, equity-driven leadership style, and her steadfast commitment to Memorial’s students, to its academic mission, and to the lands and waters on which its five campuses are situated, have positioned her as a stabilizing and impactful leader during a time of unprecedented challenge and change. 

Dr. Lokash is known for bringing teams together and inspiring positive and bold new directions. From 2014-22, she served as the Head of the Department of English, one of the largest and most complex academic units at Memorial. In that role, Dr. Lokash nurtured a dynamic and optimistic culture, championed student and faculty diversity and success, and facilitated significant program growth and transformational change. 

Dr. Lokash’s strong administrative skills have been bolstered by her deep knowledge of the academy. She chaired the Planning and Research Committee for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, co-chaired Memorial’s inaugural Advisory Committee on Sustainability and developed its first Sustainability Action Plan, and in 2019, was appointed to the Joint Gender Equity Salary Adjustment Committee, which resulted in over 300 women faculty members receiving raises. 

Following her tenure as Head of English she took on the role of Interim Associate Vice-President (Academic), and shortly after that was appointed Provost and VPA pro tempore. In her current role she provides strong, reliable, and strategic leadership to her large portfolio and to the whole of the Memorial community. 

A compassionate, dynamic, and collaborative leader, Dr. Lokash seeks to inspire confidence, motivate engagement, and empower her teams to reach, and grow, and thrive together. This approach has always been fundamental to her teaching, but it is also how she strives to support all leaders, colleagues, and stakeholders, now and into the future.

1137 Western Rd, London Ontario N6G 1G7.




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