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Faculty Awards, Grants & Accolades 

Professor Oosterveld to study use of technology to improve investigations on sexual and gender-based violence 

Professor Valerie Oosterveld has received a grant from the Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) program of the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, for a project titled "Using Technology to Improve Investigations of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Committed Against Women and Girls in Cross-Border/Connected Conflicts: Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities." Oosterveld is the Principal Investigator of a project team, which involves academics from the UK and Ukraine, and a non-governmental organization in northern Iraq supporting victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) by ISIS. The team will analyze the use of technology in SGBV investigations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in past and current conflicts by international, regional, and domestic courts and investigative bodies. 

Legislative Intent and Ordinary Meaning project draws Western Interdisciplinary Development Initiative funding

April 2024 - Professors Andy Yu and Manish Oza have received a grant from Western's Interdisciplinary Development Initiatives (IDI) program for their proposed initiative titled "Legislative Intent and Ordinary Meaning." The project will bring together scholars from Law, Political Science, Philosophy and French Studies to further our collective understanding of how laws are interpreted within legal institutions and how this intersects with the way laws are understood by the public.

Professors Langille and Yu awarded 2024 Deans Research Fellowship

April 2024 - Two recipients have been selected for the 2024 Western Law Dean's Research Fellowship, Professors Joanna Langille and Andy Yu. Professor Langille’s project, “Private Law Theory in Transnational Perspective,” aims to better understand the nature of private rights by considering the principles of private international law. She hypothesizes that, by taking a transnational perspective (eg the application of domestic private law to non-citizens), we can better understand the sources of private rights, what private rights protect, and the normative basis on which states can use coercive force to protect private rights. Professor Yu’s project is entitled, “The ‘Always Speaking’ Principle of Statutory Interpretation.” Professor Yu will examine the theoretical and doctrinal aspects of this historical principle, which has recently garnered renewed interest in leading Commonwealth courts. Using insights from the philosophy of language, he will explore how legislative meaning, while “fixed” at the time of a statute’s enactment, can change over time.  

Professor Ryan Liss awarded the 2023 Scholarly Paper Award

SSHRC Insight Grant funds interdisciplinary study "Responding to Challenging Times: An Inflection Point for Family Justice in Ontario?" 

August 2023 - Professor Claire Houston is co-applicant on a SSHRC Insight Grant, "Responding to Challenging Times: An Inflection Point for Family Justice in Ontario?". This research program will study how Ontario's family justice system will respond to the seismic changes and profound stresses that Canada's family justice system experienced in 2020-22, including the amended Divorce Act. The project will provide empirical information to policy makers and professionals to improve those responses. The study will include an intersectional analysis of the effects of gender, income, race, sexual orientation and immigration status, representation by counsel, and family violence victimization on engagement with the family justice process and outcomes.

Professor David Sandomierski receives SSHRC Insight Grant to lead study on implicit messages conveyed by "The Architecture of Law Schools" 

August 2023 - Professor David Sandomierski is the Principal Investigator on a successful SSHRC Insight Grant, "The Architecture of Law Schools". This is an interdisciplinary project that brings together the expertise of scholars of legal education (PI Sandomierski and Co-applicant Habermacher) and scholars of architecture (Co-applicants McMinn and Bernbaum, and Collaborator Kedzior). Additional Collaborators, practicing architects Blumberg and Nash, will contribute their expertise in designing and building educational and legal institutions. The phenomenon studied, the architecture of law schools, draws on the methodologies and themes from architecture and the scholarship of legal education to provide an integrative treatment of a novel question – the implicit messages about law and learning conveyed by the built form of law schools.

SSHRC Partnership Development Grant funds interdisciplinary study "Equity at Every Size: Developing a National Weight Stigma Strategy"

August 2023 - Professor Jacob Shelley is a co-applicant on a successful SSHRC Partnership Development Grant application titled "Equity at Every Size: Developing a National Weight Stigma Strategy". This research aims to develop a national weight stigma strategy to support the reduction of weight-based inequities in Canada. To achieve this, the researchers will document the lived experiences of diverse Canadians with higher body weights, summarize relevant policy and case law, and will consult with both the general public as well as weight stigma experts and other Canadian stakeholders.

Professor Thomas GW Telfer admitted as member of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law 

July 2023 - Professor Thomas Telfer was admitted as member of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law [IACCL] at their 21st Meeting at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, Israel. The IACCL is focused on the global exchange of ideas and is composed of more than hundred specially selected leading scholars from throughout the world.

The academy recognizes persons in various countries who have achieved renown in their fields through research, writing of books, major articles, teaching and law reform. Membership is accorded to these persons who have excelled and gained recognition nationally or even internationally.

Western's Interdisciplinary Development Initiative funds project Exploring public advocacy to enhance professional education in medicine and law

May 2023 - Professor David Sandomierski, along with Christopher Watling, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and Kori LaDonna, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine have received support from Western's Interdisciplinary Development Initiative to form a better understanding of the role of public advocacy in medicine and law. The team will conduct exploratory research with doctors and lawyers who are engaging in public advocacy to better understand the foundational skills required and the challenges faced. They will use this research to inform the development of educational resources that can more effectively train doctors and lawyers together for roles in public advocacy.

Human-Centred Digital Innovation for Ethical and Trusted Data Governance project gets boost from New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF)'s Exploration award

May 2023 - With the help of the NFRF's Exploration award, professor Alan Miller and a group of interdisciplinary researchers from Western will explore ethical and trusted data governance technologies that maximize human benefits in the era of human-machine coexistence. By focusing on EDI-oriented training, this NFRF project will unify all critical multi-disciplinary expertise for ground-breaking research innovation on trusted data governance. 

Rotman Catalyst Grant awarded to Cross-Discipline Dialogue on Weight Stigma, Obesity, and Eating Disorders project

May 2023 - This project, to be led by professor Jacob Shelley, will bring together individuals adopting different perspectives on the crisis surrounding weight stigma, obesity, and eating disorders (EDs). The researchers aim to establish lines of communication between the various camps and help them develop a shared framework for thinking about the connections between weight and health. They believe facilitating lines of communication among these groups is a necessary first step to developing more just and effective interventions on weight stigma, obesity, and EDs.

Professor Oosterveld and CPIJ team honored with Governor General's Award for Innovation

May 2023 - The Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ), which includes Western Law professor Valerie Oosterveld as a founding member, was named a recipient of the eighth annual Governor General’s Innovation Awards (GGIA). These awards recognize and celebrate exceptional and transformational Canadian innovations that create a positive impact in Canada and inspire the next generation of innovators.

Professor Joanna Langille receives Marilyn Robinson Award for Excellence in Teaching 

April 2023 - Joanna Langille is lauded for her “rigorous, relevant and inclusive teaching,” which draws praise from her students for making “complex legal concepts digestible and applicable.” Langille also attracts admiration from her colleagues for her success in applying the Socratic method of teaching, which reflects both mastery of the subject and the trust of students.

Professor Ryan Liss receives Western Law's Teaching Excellence Award

April 2023 - Enthusiastic, engaging, approachable, and caring. These are all descriptors that students used in their evaluations of Professor Ryan Liss. For his demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentorship over the past three years, Liss was awarded Western Law’s Teaching Award of Excellence.  

Michael Coyle earns Deans Research Fellowship for project on The Recognition of Indigenous Laws and its Implication for Canadian Federalism

April 2023 - Professor Michael Coyle has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Dean’s Research fellowship for his project entitled The Recognition of Indigenous Laws and its Implications for Canadian Federalism: Mapping the Options for Respectful Co-existence. The project will build upon his recent research on legal pluralism and the recognition of Indigenous laws. Grounded in the belief that formal recognition of Indigenous legal orders is crucial to reconciliation, Coyle’s research will propose a menu of possible models for the co-existence of Indigenous and state laws. 

Professors Langille and Neyers to lead 2023 Obligtations Conference

April 2022 - Professors Joanna Langille and Jason Neyers have recieved a SSHRC Connections grant to fund Western Law's leadership of the forthcoming Obligations conference to be held at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in July 2023. Obligations is the premiere private law conference in the world. The tenth edition will focus on the theme of Private Law and the State, enabling participants to explore numerous questions concerning the relationship between private law obligations and the state as a public institution. 

Impact of Mindfulness and Feedback Literacy on Student Wellness and Learning Skills Project earns Western Strategic Support Seed Grant

Professor Thoman Telfer along with Christine Bell (PI) from Schulich, and three other investigators at Western have been awarded a Western Strategic Support Seed Grant for SSHRC Success. The project, titled "Impact of Mindfulness and Feedback Literacy on Student Wellness and Learning Skills," looks to better understand the relationship between mindfulness, feedback literacy, and stress and to use this understanding to develop resources that support wellness and the ability to learn from feedback in school, work, and life for future success. The project builds upon the team's prior IDI grant that supported the development of an asynchronous module of six, 30-minute lessons, called "Mindfulness and Feedback Literacy." This module can be offered as a resource on OWL and is now being offered in 11 courses across campus.

Two Western Law professors awarded SSHRC Insight Development Grant

Professors Francesco Ducci and Alan Miller received an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for their project, “Economic competition and political power."

SSHRC Insight Development Grant to fund age-restrictions/variations in several policy areas

Professor Andrew Botterell — along with Alissa Koski (McGill), Daniel Marc Weinstock (McGill), Monica Ruiz-Casares (McGill), Samantha Brennan (University of Guelph), Vardit Ravitsky (Université de Montréal) — received a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for their project about the justification for age-restrictions/age-variations in various policy areas (voting, health care, etc.). The project application “The Age Gate: Critical evaluation of the range, consistency, and normative basis of age thresholds in Canadian law and policy” was ranked first in the competition.

Grant to fund student wellness research

Professor Thomas Telfer — along with Christine Bell (Schulich), Cecilia Dong (Pathology), Erin Isings (FIMS), Lisa McCorquodale (Occupational Therapy), and Tracey Ropp (Learning Development and Success) — received a $34,700 grant from Western's Interdisciplinary Development Initiative. Their project, titled "Focus and feedback: An interdisciplinary approach to supporting student wellness through mindfulness and feedback literacy," aims to uncover the effects an interdisciplinary approach to wellness could have on students.

Canadian Tax Foundation grant supports Western Law professor

Professor Colin Campbell and Robert Raizenne (McGill) received a $49,050 grant from the Canadian Tax Foundation for two volumes of the History of Income Tax in Canada. The first volume will be published jointly by the Foundation and the Osgoode Society in early 2022.

Two Western Law professors receive SSHRC Success Open Program grants

Professors Andrew Botterell and Martin Petrin were each awarded funding as part of the Western Strategic Support for SSHRC Success Open Program in late 2021. Botterell received $18,791 for his project titled “Diminished Responsibility, Voluntariness, and FASD,” and Petrin received $22,446 for his project titled “Reconceptualizing the Corporation in Light of New Technologies."

Two Western Law professors awarded Insight Development Grant

Professors Jacob Shelley and Claire Houston received an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for their project, “Clarifying the best interests standard in children's medical decision making: Toward a consistent and reliable guide for practice."

Lieber Prize awarded to Western Law Professor

Western Law Professor Ryan Liss won the Lieber Prize, which is awarded by the Lieber Society of the American Society of International Law to one book and one article each year deemed exceptional on the law of armed conflict. This reward was in recognition of his article, "Crimes Against the Sovereign Order: Rethinking International Criminal Justice," which was recently published in the American Journal of International Law.

Research grant supports updates to major Tort law book

Five Western Law professors (Stephen Pitel, Erika Chamberlain, Andrew Botterell, Jason Neyers, Zoe Sinel) and one University of Alberta professor (Mitchell McInnes) have been awarded a $6,800 grant to support the preparation and publication of the fourth edition of Fridman’s The Law of Torts in Canada, a leading Canadian private law treatise frequently cited by courts in Canada and abroad. The book will be published by Thomson Reuters and is expected to be released in late fall 2020.

Grant supports conference on bankruptcy and insolvency law

A new grant awarded to two Western Law professors will support a conference to mark the 100th anniversary of the Bankruptcy Act 1919 – the forerunner of Canada’s modern bankruptcy and insolvency regime – and to formulate reform proposals for the future. Read more. 

Grant to examine rights of transgender children

Professor Claire Houston has received a $6,800 Western University Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Explore Grant for her project, “Respecting and Protecting Trans and Gender Non-conforming Children.” Read more.

Research project examines Trans Mountain Expansion debate

Wade Wright is the recipient of the 2019 Dean’s Research Fellowship for his project, “Democracy and Dissent in Canada’s Federal System: Lessons from the Interprovincial Pipeline Debate.” Read more.

Grants supports study of private law doctrinal 'revolution'

A SSHRC Insight Grant of $79,029, awarded to Western Law Professor Rande Kostal and Dean Erika Chamberlain in 2018, will fund research to explore the roots of the swift and dramatic transformation of Canadian private law beginning around 1970. Read more.

Research project to focus on the Administrative State

Professor Kate Berger has been awarded $23,144 from Western’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Board for her project, “The Administrative State in Canada’s Constitutional Order.”

Grant supports research on carbon pricing legal framework

Western Law Professor Chi Carmody has been awarded a grant of $43,500 from the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ontario for the project, “Mapping the Legal Framework of Carbon Pricing under the Western Climate Initiative". Read more.

Grant supports ‘transformational’ power of blockchain technology in the tax world

Professor Jennifer Farrell has been awarded a Western Social Sciences and Humanities Review Board (SSHRB) seed grant of $21,292 for her project, “Blockchain and taxation: A case study on eliminating the sales tax gap.” Read more.

Teaching Fellowship to promote mental health and mindfulness

Professor Thomas Telfer has been instrumental in promoting the importance of mindfulness education for student wellness and now a new fellowship will enable him to further his leadership in this area.Beginning May 1, 2018, Telfer will be the Teaching Fellow in the Faculty of Law for a three-year term. Read more.

New Fellowships support faculty research

Professors Kate Glover and Jacob Shelley are the recipients of the inaugural Western Law Dean's Research Fellowships. The Fellowships, valued at $10,000 each, were established by Dean Erika Chamberlain to enhance the faculty’s research program. Read more.

Western Law professors garner SSHRC grant success

Three significant Social Sciences and Humanities Research (SSHRC) grants awarded to five Faculty members will help expand scholarship in the areas of private law, torts, and indigenous law. Read more.

Michael Coyle wins SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Grant

Western Law professor Michael Coyle has received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant in the amount of $24, 986 to conduct research into Indigenous systems of law. Coyle, Western Law’s Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies, was the only law scholar in Canada to receive such a grant on the issue of Indigenous laws. Read more.

SSHRC Grant funds IP workshop

Professor Margaret Ann Wilkinson has been awarded, as co-applicant, a $22,270 SSHRC Connection grant. She shares the grant with Prof. Mistrale Goudreau (Ottawa-Civil Law). This new grant will support the 2017 Canadian Intellectual Property Scholars' Workshop being held in Ottawa May 9-10 -- a workshop that flows from themes of the four-year SSHRC Grant Professors Goudreau and Wilkinson have been working together under since 2016. Read more.

Valerie Oosterveld named Faculty Scholar

Professor Valerie Oosterveld has been named Western Law’s Faculty Scholar for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 academic years. The Faculty Scholar award recognizes sustained excellence in all scholarly activities. Read more.

UN Women grant to examine international sexual violence prosecutions

Professor Valerie Oosterveld has been awarded a $37,000 grant by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). She is leading a team which aims to draw lessons from the prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence at an international criminal tribunal known as the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Read more.

Oosterveld to focus on gender crimes in SSHRC Partnership Grant

Associate Dean Valerie Oosterveld is part of a 22-person team of leading Canadian academics and non-governmental actors awarded a $2.5 million Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The project, which will run for the next five years, aims to strengthen justice for victims of international crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Read more.

SSHRC grant supports Intellectual Property law research

Professors Margaret Ann Wilkinson of Western Law (pictured left) and Mistrale Goudreau (Ottawa Faculty of Law – Civil Law Section) are receiving $109,374 from SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) to support four years of research into “The Prism of Corporate Culture and the Protection of Inventions and Data.” Read more.

Fulbright Scholar honour awarded to Christopher Nicholls

Western Law professor Christopher Nicholls has been selected as a 2016-17 Fulbright Scholar and will be a visiting professor at the Harvard Law School for the upcoming fall term. The Canada-US Fulbright Scholar Awards enable outstanding Canadian scholars to lecture and/or conduct research in the United States. Read more.

Fellowship to explore indigenous economic justice

Brenda Young, Community Justice Director for the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, will join Western Law for the 2016-17 academic term to focus on understanding and improving access to justice for Indigenous Peoples. Young is the recipient of The Law Foundation of Ontario’s Community Leadership in Justice Fellowship (CLJF). Read more.

Michael Lynk named UN Special Rapporteur

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council has appointed Western Law associate professor Michael Lynk Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967for a six-year term beginning May 1. Read more.

WADA taps Richard McLaren to head Sochi Olympics investigation team

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Sir Craig Reedie has appointed Western University's Richard H. McLaren as the independent person heading an investigation team tasked with probing doping allegations related to 2014 Sochi Olympics. Read more.

New foundation grants support legal research

New grants from two different foundations will help further the research of two Western Law professors. Read more.

Prof. Richard McLaren named to Order of Canada

Western Law professor and alumnus Richard McLaren LLB’71, has been awarded one of Canada’s highest civilian honours. Governor General David Johnston named McLaren an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 30. Read more.

Sara Seck lauded for her environmental law research

Sara Seck has been awarded the prestigious Emerging Scholar award by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Academy of Environmental Law. Read more.

Nicholls named Beattie Chair in Corporate Law

Western Law professor Christopher Nicholls (pictured left) has been appointed The W. Geoff Beattie Chair in Corporate Law effective July 1, 2015. Read more.

Sara Seck appointed Senior Fellow to research impact of climate change

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Western Law professor Sara Seck as Senior Fellow with its International Law Research Program. Read more.

Neyers honoured with Faculty Scholar award

Professor Jason Neyers has been named Western Law’s Faculty Scholar for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic periods. This campus-wide award recognizes significant achievements in teaching or research. Read more.

Michael Lynk named to Mayor of London Honours List

Law professor Michael Lynk topped the list of honorees when London Mayor Matt Brown released the annual Mayor of London Honours List on Jan. 1. Read more.

Richard McLaren recipient of Huron Alumni Award of Distinction

Western Law professor Richard McLaren was the 2014 recipient of Huron College’s Alumni Award of Distinction. The award is presented for outstanding achievement in a professional field and community service, enriching the lives of others through generous gifts of time and talent. Read more.

Oosterveld named inaugural member of Royal Society’s ‘College'

Western Law professor Valerie Oosterveld has been named among 91 inaugural members of the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Those named to the College represent the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada. Read more.

Nicholls appointed Research Fellow at U.S.-based think tank

Western Law professor Christopher Nicholls has joined a distinguished advisory group of academic, nonprofit and financial services leaders. Nicholls has been appointed a research fellow at The Filene Research Institute, a U.S.-based nonprofit independent think tank for the consumer finance industry. Read more.

Professor Robert Solomon awarded Distinguished University Professorship

During his exemplary 40 years at Western, Robert Solomon has achieved a synthesis of teaching, research and service that Western Law Dean Iain Scott called “virtually unmatched.” His impressive career has now been honoured with the 2013 Distinguished University Professorship. The award honours faculty who have built a record of excellence in the areas of teaching, research and service over a substantial career at Western. Read more.

Stephen Pitel wins OCUFA teaching award

Prof. Stephen Pitel is a recipient of the prestigious Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) Teaching and Academic Librarianship Award. “As noted by his nominators, Professor Pitel’s work has transformed legal education at Western and across Ontario,” said Kate Lawson, President of OCUFA. “He has pioneered the teaching of ethics and professionalism, ensuring that Ontario’s young lawyers understand their responsibilities and professional obligations. Read more.

Prof. Tom Telfer awarded Canadian Insolvency Foundation Fellowship

The Canadian Insolvency Foundation’s Lloyd Houlden Memorial Research Fellowship was presented to Western Law professor Tom Telfer at a conference of the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals held in Toronto this past May.The $20,000 Fellowship, named after the late Hon. Lloyd Houlden, Q.C., a distinguished former Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal, supports research for a paper that addresses current issues in Canadian insolvency policy and practice. Read more.