CFUW Indigenous Women’s Award (IWA) 2023-2024

2023– 2024

Value Range: $10,000 – $25,000 (Renewable)

In March 2015, the Education Council-Wolfville transferred the proceeds of their education fund to the CFUW Charitable Trust to establish a new award, the CFUW Indigenous Women’s Award (AWA).

This award was designed to honour Dr. Marion Elder Grant’s life-long commitment to education of women. Dr. Grant has an outstanding record of leadership as the 11th CFUW President (1949-52), CFUW Wolfville President, and Dean of Women and Professor of Psychology, Acadia University.

An applicant for the CFUW IWA will be considered eligible on the basis of the following criteria:

• Canadian Indigenous woman;
• Study in Canada;
• Holds or will hold an undergraduate university degree or equivalent before the CFUW IWA for which she applied is granted; and
• Must have applied to be a full-time student in any year of an eligible program at a recognized or accredited Canadian post-secondary degree-granting institution.

Eligible programs: are the academic programs for which a CFUW IWA Applicant may be studying. They include:

• Programs leading to a first degree in law – Bachelor of Laws (LLB); Juris Doctor (JD).
• Programs leading to the following first degrees in medicine – Medical Doctor (MD); Doctor of Optometry (OD).
• Programs leading to qualifying for a licence to practice as a Nurse Practitioner in the province or territory of the graduate’s choice.
• Programs leading to a Master’s degree in fields dealing with important Canadian Indigenous issues at the time the IWA is given as defined by the most recent Canadian report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.

2023-2024 Winner: 

ARIELLE BIENIEK

B.Sc. Biomedical Biology, 2015, Laurentian University
B.A. Psychology, 2017, Laurentian University
M.Sc. Biology/Cellular Biology, 2019, Laurentian University
B.Sc. Medicine (Research), 2020-2024, University of Manitoba
M.D., 2020-2024, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba

Arielle’s research project focusses on improving the standard of care for birthing parents who are at risk of delivering pre-term by identifying optimal timing for antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) administration. ACS are used to develop premature babies’ lungs and improve their survival outcome. She intends to inform new guidelines that evaluate what symptoms and measurements are most important and influential at predicting if birthing parents will deliver preterm and require ACS to improve ACS stewardship and health outcomes across Canada.