CFUW Dr. Alice E. Wilson Awards 2022-2023
2022-2023
Total Value: $20,000
Two awards at the masters level and two for doctoral level study. The value of each award is $5,000.
Dr. Alice E. Wilson, CFUW member, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the first woman to hold a professional position at the Geological Survey of Canada won the 1926 CFUW Travelling Fellowship.
Awarded to mature students returning to graduate studies in any field after at least three years.
2022-2023 Winners:
RAAFIA SHAHID
MICHELLE TILFORD-SHAW
CAROLYN BONTA
KATHLEEN MURPHY
RAAFIA SHAHID
B.A. International Relations (Hons), 2019, University of Toronto
M.P.P., 2022-2024, University of Toronto
Racialized immigrant women experience multiple discriminations due to their intersectional identities, including higher unemployment rates, health inequity and economic insecurity. As Canada works to accept 451,000 new immigrants per year by 2024, there is an imperative to ensure that all new members of our society are given the tools they need to succeed.
Raafia’s research will explore the patterns of civic engagement among racialized immigrant women, with the hypothesis that civic engagement promotes political efficacy, contributing to the eradication of systemic barriers experienced by this group.
MICHELLE TILFORD-SHAW
B.Sc. Engineering, 2006, University of Saskatchewan
Master of Environment and Sustainability, 2021-2023, University of Saskatchewan
Mining of Alberta’s oil sands consists of water-intensive processes that result in large quantities of contaminated oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) stored in tailings ponds. Michelle’s research will identify and explore the perspectives of affected parties on OSPW remediation and release and constructed wetland treatment systems using genomics.
Michelle aims to encourage the weaving together of community-based and professional expertise, contributing to evidence and recommendations for OSPW remediation and release regulations.
CAROLYN BONTA
B.Sc. Biology and Psychology (Hons), 1998, Carleton University
M.Sc. Zoology, 2001, University of Western Ontario (now Western University)
Ph.D. Geography, 2018-2023, Queen’s University
Climate warming is impacting the Arctic beyond its physical and biological features, having repercussions on economic and social factors as well. Carolyn’s research investigates the contribution of erect-growing shrubs to satellite-detected “greening” on the Bathurst caribou range.
Her insights into landscape-level change will guide resource management efforts to reverse the precipitous decline of this barren-ground herd, thereby ensuring the long-term health of the tundra ecosystem and the people who rely on caribou.
KATHLEEN MURPHY
B.Sc. Biology, 2012, St. Francis Xavier University
M.P.H., 2017, University of Toronto
Ph.D. Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, 2021-2025, University of Oxford
Kathleen’s research is focused on understanding the gendered dimensions of parenting practice and the engagement of male caregivers in parenting programs for low-income families; particularly for parents in street situations.
Building on work she has engaged in since 2018, she will be undertaking community-based participatory research to optimise an adapted version of the Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) program for families in street situations in Kenya to reduce violence against children and violence against women.