Dean's Scholarly, Research and Creative Activity Award recognizes three Arts professors

The Dean's Scholarly, Research and Creative (SRC) Activity Award recognizes individual faculty members on an annual basis for outstanding SRC achievements and impact on their disciplines during the previous academic year. Nominees are evaluated for all faculty functions, including teaching and service, to ensure recipients exude excellence in all aspects of their roles. The 2024 Faculty of Arts awardees are Dr. Colleen Derkatch, Dr. Paul Moore and Dr. Hongbing Yu.

Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of English, Dr. Colleen Derkatch's body of interdisciplinary research is impressive for its theoretical sophistication, critical depth, and superb publication venues. Over 2022-23, she published a monograph, brought two co-authored articles from conception to completion, launched a co-edited book series, and organized a major scholarly conference. Dr. Derkatch's SSHRC-supported monograph, Why Wellness Sells: Natural Health in a Pharmaceutical Culture, has been praised by scholars and media for its originality, compelling subject matter, robust evidence, and clear, engaging prose. It solidifies her international reputation as a leading scholar in rhetoric of health and medicine, health humanities, and science and technology studies. 

Colleen is grateful to her colleagues for taking the time to support her nomination, sharing that “Research in the humanities is often a solitary endeavour so this recognition is a timely reminder that I think and work in relation to the broader scholarly community.”

Dr. Paul Moore, professor and undergraduate program director in the Department of Sociology had three long-term projects reach distinct milestones from his series of major grant-funded projects, in addition to ongoing collaborative endeavours. His book, The Sunday Paper: A Media History was published by University of Illinois Press in August 2022. Additionally, three of his essays reached publication stage, and he began a new SSHRC Insight Grant, all while maintaining his involvement in various national and international collaborations.

“It's humbling to receive this award, I'm incredibly proud of last year's achievements, which were hard fought,” said Dr. Moore. “Media history and humanities research doesn't usually get much attention. I began work on The Sunday Paper my first months on the job in 2006, and it took 15 years to finally finish.”  

In addition to this recognition, Dr. Moore shared he is equally excited for the new work he is doing with colleagues on the global task force of the Media History Digital Library, scanning historic Canadian film industry journals for Internet Archive. 

Dr. Hongbing Yu, assistant professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, has consistently made significant academic contributions, establishing himself as an exceptional pre-tenure faculty member. In his fifth pre-tenure year alone, Dr. Yu authored six high-quality journal papers (four solo and two co-authored) in esteemed peer-reviewed journals, all of which have now been published. Additionally, a peer-reviewed book chapter authored by him is set for release with Wiley in 2023. Dr. Yu's intellectual prowess and accomplishments reached a pinnacle of his probationary period in March 2023 when he was elected Vice President and President-Elect of Semiotic Society of America, marking a remarkable career milestone.

Dr. Yu credits three key characteristics for this accomplishment: gratitude, grit, and commitment. “Since 2018 when I joined the Faculty of Arts, I have learned and benefited so much from my students and colleagues (in our University and my fields) who are exemplars of academic freedom and critical thinking,” he shared. “To me, receiving this honour not only means the Faculty’s acknowledgment of my work, dedication, and eagerness to make the most of the academic freedom defended and promoted by the Faculty of Arts and the University, but also means that I must work even harder in the future, keeping looking up to and learning from many exemplars in the Faculty and the University, of which I am truly proud to be a member.”

Congratulations to Dr. Colleen Derkatch, Dr. Paul Moore and Dr. Hongbing Yu on their achievements!