Created 2 March 2022 10:03

For Immediate Release – Port Moody, BC, March 2, 2022 – The Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 CUFA BC Distinguished Academics Awards:

• Early in Career Award: Dr. Travis Salway (Simon Fraser University)
• Ehor Boyanowsky Academic of the Year Award: Dr. Sarah Wright Cardinal (University of Victoria)
• Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award: Dr. Colin Bennett (University of Victoria)

At CUFA BC, we see first-hand the outstanding scholarship and public policy contributions of faculty at BC’s research universities. Every year since 1995, the CUFA BC Distinguished Academics Awards series has honoured faculty whose ideas contribute to the community beyond the university and whose scholarship demonstrates the necessity and vitality of university-based research in the public interest.

“For twenty-eight years now, we have celebrated faculty who contribute in significant ways to our citizenry and democratic landscape, our intellectual life, and our economy,” says CUFA BC President Dr. Dan Laitsch. “The awards bring a welcome opportunity to recognize how much faculty research contributes to our communities.”

Dr. Travis Salway is the recipient of the Early in Career Award. Dr. Salway is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. As a social epidemiologist, he investigates structural health inequities in the context of stigma, focusing on Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (2S/LGBTQ) people. Dr. Salway’s research has resulted in an improved understanding of patterns and causes of mental health outcomes among 2S/LGBTQ people. He was also integral in providing evidence-based recommendations to strengthen Canada’s anti-conversion therapy legislation.

Dr. Sarah Wright Cardinal is the recipient of the Ehor Boyanowsky Academic of the Year Award. Dr. Wright Cardinal is Assistant Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. Her work centres the importance of healing from colonial disruptions to Indigenous identities, and addresses these fractures with land, water and spirit-based teachings and practices that contribute to children, youth, and community wellness. Dr. Wright Cardinal is recognized for her work on a two-year project entitled “Reclaiming Nuu-chah-nulth teachings to empower and strengthen the roles and responsibilities of Pacheedaht young men.”

Dr. Colin Bennett is the recipient of the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award. Dr. Bennett is Professor of Political Science at the University of Victoria. He is world renowned for his contributions addressing some of the most significant privacy rights issues of the day. His research methods involve extensive collaboration across twenty-five countries with leading scholars, public and private organizations, and civil society groups. Dr. Bennett’s work reminds us that privacy is not just a legal and technical issue of interest to governmental and corporate elites, but an intrinsic human right under threat from a range of powerful institutional and technological forces.

Congratulations to the winners and all the nominees for these awards. The awards will be presented at a gala reception at the Laurel Point Inn on April 13, 2022. For more information on the award winners and nominees, please visit www.cufa.bc.ca/awards.

For further information or comment please contact CUFA BC Executive Director Annabree Fairweather at 604-367-5856 or [email protected].

DOWNLOAD CUFA BC 2022 Distinguished Academics Awards Announcement

CUFA BC represents over 5,500 faculty members, professional librarians, lecturers, instructors, and other academics at the five research-intensive universities in British Columbia, which include University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, Royal Roads University and University of Northern British Columbia.

CUFA BC celebrates fifty years of working closely with the member Faculty Associations at each institution. Our purposes are to support high-quality post-secondary education and research in British Columbia and to advocate for the interests of our members.