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Sarwan Sahota Distinguished Scholar Award

The Sarwan Sahota Distinguished Scholar Award is presented annually to one or more established faculty members (mid to late career) who have made an outstanding contribution to knowledge or artistic creativity in their area(s) of expertise while employed at Toronto Metropolitan University. The contribution to SRC activity may be a notable, significant, cumulative contribution; or a particularly insightful or formative body of work (which may include  discovery, application, interpretation, or creative or artistic work), either of which has had great impact or significant outcomes and/or has changed the nominee’s field/discipline.

Award recipient(s) will receive a certificate of recognition and a monetary award of $3,000 as a one-time payment (subject to applicable deductions).

The Distinguished Scholar Award is made available through the joint contributions of professor emeritus Sarwan Sahota and Toronto Metropolitan University.

Key criteria: Scholarly, research and creative activity

Nomination guidelines

  • Established TFA members (mid to late career) are eligible to be nominated for this award. Please note that retired members, professors emeriti and adjunct professors are not eligible.
  • Faculty who receive this award may not receive the same award again.
  • Award recipients shall present to the university community a seminar in which they discuss the scholarly, research or creative work for which they are receiving the award.

Candidates are nominated by two colleagues, a ‘Nominator’ and a ‘Seconder’. The Nominator is required to supply the information and documents as outlined below under Nomination Process and Nomination Package. A Seconder for each nomination is also required and may assist the Nominator in preparing the nomination package. Please note that either the Nominator and/or the Seconder must be a member of a department or school other than the nominee’s.

Distinguished achievement will be adjudicated by the following criteria:

SRC activity resulting in significant external recognition* and/or substantial societal impact either of which has had significant outcomes and/or has changed the nominee’s field/discipline:

  • A notable, significant, cumulative contribution; or
  • A particularly insightful or formative body of work (which may include  discovery, application, interpretation, or creative or artistic work).

*Recognition by professional societies and/or other national or international distinguished scholarly, research or creative awards (e.g., Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada, Molson Prize, etc.).

Contributions to the training and research careers of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists and technical staff are foundational to TMU’s SRC activities. The nominee’s contributions to training, taking into account the standards of the field, will be considered in the adjudication process.

  1. Obtain the nominee’s permission;
  2. Complete the nomination package as described below;
  3. Submit the nomination package via the Online Nomination Portal on the Recognition website.
  4. Nominee will receive a confirmation email with a link to provide online consent. This step must be completed before the deadline.

The nomination package must include:

  • Citation (100 word maximum) highlighting how the nominee meets the criteria of excellence for this award and any notable achievements. This citation will be included in related university communication should the nominee be selected.
  • Supporting Statement (three page maximum) that explicitly describes how the nominee meets the award criteria.
  • Summary (two page maximum) of the nominee’s overall SRC excellence and strengths, and a brief note about norms for the field as these can vary between disciplines.
  • The supporting statement and summary should be written in language that can be understood by non-experts.
  • The nominator has the option to provide supporting materials (five-document maximum) including, if appropriate, external appraisals of the nominee’s work and one or two significant publications. Materials may include up to two full-length articles or book chapters (no page limit), each of which counts as one document. Non-publication supporting materials should not exceed ten pages in total.
  • Updated CV in CCV or OCGS format highlighting the relevant key contributions related to the nomination. This requirement is submitted after the initial nomination process. Nominees will be prompted by email to submit their highlighted CV.

The award recipient(s) shall be recommended to the VPRI by the OVPRI Prizes and Awards Committee. Members of the Committee who are nominated or who are acting as a nominator must recuse themselves from all discussion related to the selection process for this award. The Committee may recommend not to present an award in a particular academic year.

Nomination deadline: November 7 at noon
Recipient notified by: December 21, 2023
Award presentations: Celebration of Excellence; Toronto Met Awards Gala

Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation
Programs Assistant
srcfunding@torontomu.ca
416-979-5000, ext. 553553

Celebration details

This award is celebrated at the Celebration of Excellence and the Toronto Met Awards Gala.