The Faculty of Education is proud to honour two exceptional faculty members whose contributions to research and graduate education continue to shape our community in profound ways.
Graduate Teaching Award – Lisa Farley
The Graduate Teaching Award honours the impact of teaching, curriculum development, and pedagogy and recognizes those who display substantial, significant, and sustained excellence, as well as commitment and enthusiasm to the multifaceted aspects of teaching at the graduate level.
We are thrilled to announce the recipient of this year’s award, Professor Lisa Farley. In nominating her for this award, students commend Farley as “an outstanding graduate teacher, supervisor, and mentor who demonstrates an unwavering commitment to fostering students’ academic and professional growth through sustained and meaningful mentorship. Her approach to supervision is distinguished by accessibility, opportunity, humility, and her teaching invites students to engage deeply with difficult and disruptive knowledge. Through her mentorship, she has helped countless graduate students develop not only as researchers and educators, but as thoughtful contributors to the field of education.
Dean’s Research Impact Award – Emerging Stream – Natalia Balyasnikova
The Dean’s Research Impact Award highlights research excellence, leadership, and innovation in the Emerging Stream. The award celebrates promising scholars whose work already demonstrates significant impact and potential for long-term leadership in the field.
We are excited to announce that this year’s award has been granted to Professor Natalia Balyasnikova. In nominating her for this award, colleagues highlighted Balyasnikova’s “ability to identify critical issues, develop context-specific solutions, and create unique methodologies to explore and address these challenges”. Balyasnikova’s expertise, commitment, attention to detail, remarkable ability to engage and critically explore a wide range of significant topics, research methodologies, and theoretical frameworks, and contributions to academic excellence make her an outstanding researcher.
“As we celebrate Professors Farley and Balyasnikova, we also celebrate the broader culture of excellence, mentorship, and innovation that defines our Faculty”, commented Associate Dean Research, Khaled Barkaoui. “Their work not only advances knowledge, but also exemplifies what it means to lead with care, insight and impact in the field of education”.