(Photo by Rick Chard for the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto)
CivMin’s Professor Matthew Roorda has been honoured with the JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Award as part of the School of Graduate Studies’ Supervision Awards, which recognize excellence in supervision over a minimum 15-year period.
This particular recognition is one of two distinctions allotted for the entire U of T faculty community among the four SGS recognitions at U of T.
“There is nothing more rewarding to me than to work with such talented, enthusiastic and overall awesome graduate students!”
~ Professor Matthew Roorda
Roorda casts the attention towards his students, “All I can say is “hats off” to all of the graduate students who have come through this research program. There is nothing more rewarding to me than to work with such talented, enthusiastic and overall awesome graduate students!”
“The annual supervision awards give us an opportunity to celebrate the essential role of supervisors at the University of Toronto. By awarding both early-career and long-time faculty members, we recognize the importance of graduate supervision throughout an academic’s career,” says Joshua Barker, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and vice-provost, graduate research and education. “I am delighted to congratulate this year’s winners and to thank them for their dedication and support of graduate students at U of T.”
Every year, the School of Graduate Studies’ Supervision Awards aim to recognize the tremendous thought and effort that go into graduate supervision and mentorship.
Two JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Awards and two SGS Early Career Supervision Awards are offered annually to successful nominees: one of each award in the Humanities/Social Sciences and in the Physical/Life Sciences.
The SGS Graduate Student Supervision Awards honour active faculty members who, over a minimum of a 15-year period (JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Award) or up to six years (SGS Early Career Supervision Award), have demonstrated excellence in supervision at the University of Toronto by:
- inspiring and guiding students to reach excellence in scholarship, fostering a strong sense of academic integrity;
- providing an environment that is supportive with particular attention to mental health and work life balance;
- enabling students to learn the essential methodologies, concepts and cultures of their discipline;
- introducing students to the wider content of the discipline and relevant communities of scholars;
- promoting student participation in professional development and activities that position them for future careers both within and outside academia; and
- leading a research environment that is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The award winners:
JJ Berry Smith Award for Doctoral Supervision
- Professor Matthew J. Roorda, Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
- Distinguished Professor Steven Bernstein, Chair of the Department of Political Science, U of T Mississauga, and Co-Director of the Environmental Governance Lab (Department of Political Science and School of the Environment), Faculty of Arts & Science
Early Career Supervision Award
- Assistant Professor Claire Battershill, Faculty of Information and Department of English, Faculty of Arts & Science
- Assistant Professor Amaya Perez-Brumer, Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Honorable Mention Award
- Assistant Professor Anastasia Kuzminykh, Faculty of Information
Read more about the 2025 SGS Supervision Award winners on SGS News & Celebrates.