Sarah Shorten Award

Nomination Form & Deadline

Nominations for the award can be made using this form. The deadline for submissions for nominations will be June 1st of each year.

Background

The Sarah Shorten Award was established in 1990 in honour of Sarah Shorten, who served as Vice-President (1982-83) and two terms as President of CAUT (1983-84 & 1984-85), to recognize outstanding achievements in the promotion of the advancement of women in Canadian universities and colleges.

Criteria

The criteria used by the Committee for its nomination to CAUT Council:

  • Candidates may be individuals or groups. They need not be a member of the academic community but the results of their contribution(s) must have benefitted women in post-secondary education;
  • Candidates’ contribution(s) may have benefitted any or all groups of women (faculty, students, staff) in the post-secondary community;
  • The form of the candidates’ achievement(s) may include but are not limited to the following:  organizational leadership, policy implementation, legislation, publication, educational initiatives, or distinguished service;
  • The outstanding quality of the contribution may derive from the result of a single project or activity, or in the accumulation of efforts through consistent involvement over a long period of time in supporting the advancement of women in the post-secondary community; and
  • Candidates’ contributions to the advancement of women in the post-secondary community may have been focused locally, provincially, regionally, or nationally, or a combination of these.

CAUT will solicit nominations in the spring of each year. The deadline for submissions for nominations will be June 1st of each year. Nominations will be reviewed by CAUT’s Equity Committee and recommendations will be forwarded to CAUT Council. The number and frequency of awards will be as the Committee and CAUT Council deem appropriate. Actively serving members of the CAUT Equity Committee or the CAUT Executive Committee are not eligible for the award.

Recommendations

Recommendations should include the following:

  • a letter of nomination giving a detailed statement describing specifically the contributions and achievements of the candidate as they relate to distinguished contributions to the advancement of women in the post-secondary sector;
  • a letter of support from a CAUT member association (if the letter of nomination has not come from a CAUT member association);
  • relevant supporting documents such as:
    • a curriculum vitae, where appropriate; and
    • other letters of support.

The Committee may gather additional information as it feels necessary to assist in its decision making.

Academic staff associations, status of women committees, or any other interested parties are invited to submit recommendations for the Sarah Shorten Award.

Recommendations should be addressed to: Co-Chairs, Equity Committee, c/o Canadian Association of University Teachers, 2705 Queensview Drive, Ottawa, ON K2B 8K2.

Approved by the CAUT Council, November 2019;
Approved by the CAUT Council, April 2024.

Recipients

2024 — Rupertsland Centre for Métis Research (Alberta)
2023 — Chantal Dion (Carleton) and Kathleen Nichol (Brandon)
2022 — Joint Gender Equity Salary Committee (Memorial)
2021 — Geneviève Boulet (Mount Saint Vincent)
2020 — Amanda Bittner (Memorial)
2019 — Michelle Dion (McMaster)
2018 — Margot Young (British Columbia)
2017 — Sunera Thobani (British Columbia)
2011 — Maureen Shaw (Kwantlen)
2010 — Andrea O'Reilly (York)
2009 — Judy Rebick (Ryerson)
2008 — Audrey Kobayashi (Queen's)
2008 — Patricia Demers (Alberta)
2007 — Patricia Monture (Saskatchewan)
2007 — Jill Ker Conway
2006 — Patricia Baker (Mount Saint Vincent)
2006 — Janice Dodd (Manitoba)
2005 — Meg Luxton (York)
2003 — Jennifer Bankier (Dalhousie)
2002 — Ursula Franklin (Toronto)
2001 — Margaret-Ann Armour (Alberta)
2000 — Susan Sherwin (Dalhousie)
1999 — Jennie Hornosty (New Brunswick)
1998 — Diane Huberman-Arnold (Ottawa)
1997 — Susan Jackel (Alberta)
1996 — Dr. Elizabeth Percival (UPEI)
1995 — Lorna Cammaert (Calgary)
1994 — Mary Lou Dietz (Windsor)
1993 — Jill Vickers (Carleton) (CAUT Past President)
1992 — Helen Breslauer (OCUFA)
1991 — Dr. Norma I. Mickelson (Victoria)