YSGPS Outstanding Contribution to Graduate Education Awards Recipients

2024 recipients

Sarah Dermody

Faculty of Arts

Dr. Sarah Dermody is an exceptional mentor to Psychology graduate students in their roles as scholars, teachers, academic professionals, and future clinician-scientists. Her commitment to fostering a supportive environment for graduate research and scholarship is evident in the numerous successful projects and publications that have emerged under their mentorship. Further, she authentically cares about her students' well-being and supports their development of work-life balance. Dr. Dermody's intentional and caring mentorship approach has resulted in successful degree progress amongst all of her graduate students and gained admiration from students across the program.

Sara Edge

Faculty of Arts

Dr. Sara Edge is an Associate Professor Geography & Environmental Studies, Associate Director of the Centre for Studies in Food Security and an affiliate faculty of the interdisciplinary graduate programs in Environmental Applied Science & Management and Immigration & Settlement Studies. Sara has made outstanding contributions to graduate education and mentorship. Through partnership-engaged research, Sara prioritizes professional development for her graduate students, mentoring them in ethical and equity-focused practice, research design, project management and methodologies critical for emerging scholars. Sara leads with compassion and strategic vision, guiding students to be competitive in their career pursuits.

Farhad Ein-Mozaffari

Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science

Ein-Mozaffari has supervised/co-supervised 20 PhD and 27 MASc students, who were able to take up positions that require highly desired skills. Under his supervision, these students have authored 7 book chapters, 153 journal papers, and 214 conference papers. His students have been the recipients of TMU Gold Medal, NSERC-Postdoctoral Fellowship, NSERC-IRDF, NSERC-Postgraduate Scholarships, and OGS. As the Director of the Graduate Studies and Chair of GPC of Chemical Engineering and MEIE programs, he made outstanding contributions to the enhancement of graduate programs. He has served on numerous graduate committees and actively participated in graduate studies fairs to promote graduate programs.

Konstantinos Georgiou

Faculty of Science

Konstantinos Georgiou, a staunch advocate for graduate education, significantly chaired a committee that secured $60,000 for the PhD space renovation, enhancing students' resources. His leadership extended to organizing a TMU-hosted conference, obtaining substantial funding for graduate student participation. Remarkably, he's mentored an extensive array of students, collaborating on numerous research papers, and his mentees have gone on to successful careers. His unwavering commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles has led to increased funding for graduate students, shaping a brighter future for graduate education.

Joyal Miranda

Faculty of Community Services

Dr. Joyal Miranda is an Associate Professor in the Daphne School of Nursing and a full member of the YSGS since 2011. During that time, she has mentored, supervised, and supported graduate students across several disciplines and provided opportunities for career and professional advancement both within and outside of the university. For example, Dr. Miranda supported a student in the publication of their manuscript based on their practicum experience. The impact of Dr. Miranda's support for students have resulted in many students moving onto complete doctoral and post-doctoral degrees, as well as transitioning into the role of scientists and academics.

Oliver Okafor

Ted Rogers School of Management

Dr. Oliver Okafor, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, has made outstanding contributions to graduate education at TMU. As teacher, Oliver taught nine student cohorts in the past five years, and his excellent teaching skills contributed to high pass rates of TMU students on CPA certification exams. As scholar, Oliver obtained two SSHRC grants of $160,880 as PI and two grants of $540,897 as co-applicant between 2018 and 2023, and supported and supervised graduate students. As director, Oliver provided funding opportunities, enhanced curricula and played pivotal roles in reaccreditation. He co-chaired a committee that proposed a MAcc degree program.

Past recipients