PROFESSOR ART BLAKE WINS ALAN SHEPARD EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION FACULTY AWARD

PROFESSOR ART BLAKE WINS ALAN SHEPARD EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION FACULTY AWARD

Professor Art Blake is this year’s recipient of TMU’s Alan Shepard Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Faculty Award. Since joining TMU’s history department in 2007 as a specialist in 20th-century U.S. urban and cultural history, Dr. Blake has taken a leadership role in a number of high-profile and successful initiatives aimed at increasing EDI among students, faculty, staff, and the wider community.

Dr. Blake was the inaugural director (2020-2023) of the Dimensions Pilot Program at TMU. Dimensions is a nationwide federal initiative designed to increase EDI in scholarly, research, and creative (SRC) activities. TMU was one of seventeen Canadian postsecondary institutions selected to launch this program, and in 2023 was one of ten universities to receive a federal Dimensions Recognition for its efforts to strategically integrate EDI within its research environment. As the Alan Shepard awards committee noted, Dr. Blake’s leadership of the program was instrumental to “the significant positive change and substantial growth” that led to this national recognition.

The awards committee also cited Dr. Blake’s central role in the successful development and implementation of TMU’s 2SLGBTQ+ minor. He played a central role in designing the minor, and teaches several courses that contribute to what the committee calls a “transformative” addition to the TMU curriculum. The committee also had high praise for Dr. Blake’s contributions to the campus Positive Space Committee, to the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs’ “Let’s Talk” workshop series, and to “countless educational and community events” dedicated to enhancing EDI. As the award citation declares, his “impact transcends the university, reaching across and outside its boundaries.” Congratulations Dr. Blake!