Faculty of Science Biology Professor Dawn Bazely will receive the title of University Professor during York University’s spring convocation ceremonies. The University Professorship is one of the highest accolades given to an academic by York University. Bazely will be honoured during morning convocation ceremonies for the Faculty of Science and the Lassonde School of Engineering on June 22.
A University Professor is one “who has made an extraordinary contribution to the University as a colleague, teacher and scholar” and the recipient is selected by the Senate of York University’s Committee.
“Over nearly three decades, Dawn has cemented her early international reputation as an ecologist working at the leading edge of plant-herbivore interactions, and invasive plants,” writes her nominator and colleague Professor Sapna Sharma. “She is also one of relatively few STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) scholars who is internationally recognized for her research and expertise at the intersection of science, policy and politics.”
Bazely not only has a strong scholarly record, she brings her work to the community and is frequently interviewed by the media. She inspires and educates students in outreach initiatives (particularly to high school students), is a regular speaker at many school science conferences and events, and is active on social media, continuing to raise awareness of women in STEM.
Bazely is also an award-winning teacher at the Faculty and University level and a valued mentor, many of whose graduate students have gone on to prestigious fellowships and academic careers. Her service to the University is wide-ranging, including long-term leadership of the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability, as well as active Senate committee membership.
One nominator states: “Professor Bazely is one of those all-too-rare individuals who recognizes the significance of interactions between research, scholarship, teaching and community leadership.”
She is the recipient of a 2013 President’s University-Wide Teaching Award and earlier this year, she was awarded a President’s Sustainability Leadership Award.