YSGS Outstanding Contribution to Graduate Education Award Recipients

2023 recipients

Marc Adler

Department of Chemistry and Biology, Faculty of Science

Associate Professor Marc J. Adler, of the Department of Chemistry and Biology has made an outstanding contribution to graduate education and the mentorship of graduate students. In the last year alone, 5 of his mentees have successfully completed their Molecular Science MSc degrees. Through 1-on-1, as well as group meetings, he ensures that his students' research, learning, and career planning all remain on track. He ensures that his students are actively engaged in the dissemination of their work, through co-authorship of research articles and encouraging students to give conference presentations. He is most deserving of this award.

Cristina Catallo

Urban Health, Faculty of Community Services

Cristina Catallo is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director (GPD) in the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing (DCSN). As GPD she has established a holistic admissions strategy to support equity-deserving applicants’ entry into graduate education. As academic lead for the
PhD in Urban Health, Cristina launched this new program during the pandemic. She seeks innovative ways to bring interdisciplinary faculty and a diverse group of PhD students together to carry out collaborative research opportunities that have lasting impact. As a professor, Cristina is committed to student engagement and mentorship and collaborates with graduate scholars on student-centred SRC activities.

Songnian Li

Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science

Dr. Songnian Li, Professor of Civil Engineering, has made outstanding contributions to graduate education through his role as a faculty member and many-year’s work as Graduate Program Director. His contributions include not only graduate teaching and mentoring high-quality, award-winning graduate students, who landed prestigious faculty and research positions, but also development of the Civil Engineering graduate program and a supportive environment for students. He played an instrumental role in leading the collective efforts on completing two periodical program reviews, which ended up with quality and positive review outcomes, and developing and implementing program’s procedural guidelines.

Yuanshun Li

Master of Science in Management, Ted Rogers School of Management

Dr. Yuanshun Li has played many pivotal roles in improving the quality of graduate student mentorship, teaching, and support of graduate students’ professional development and career advancement. As graduate program director of the MScM program, he led the implementation of program expansion in enrollment and program modifications to improve the students’ learning experience and outcomes. As Chair of the TRSM Graduate Program Council, he uses his collegial approach to effectively contribute to governance and administration. Meanwhile, Dr. Li is a prolific researcher and mentor, and has supervised 20+ MScM theses and MBA MRPs, and chaired 30+ MScM thesis examinations.

Jeremy Shtern

Communication and Culture, Interdisciplinary Studies

Jeremy Shtern, Professor of Creative Industries, has supervised more than twenty MAs, PhDs and Postdocs since 2013. He has served as program director of the TMU/York Joint Graduate Program in Communication and Culture since 2017. His passion for and commitment to the program cannot be overstated. With this award, we recognize Dr. Shtern for leading the program with vision and compassion through challenging times, including a lengthy labour disruption and pandemic, for providing a collegial and supportive environment that fosters innovative scholarly activities, and for effectively mentoring students through all stages of their research and on to successful careers.

Past recipients