Environment faculty member receives Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision
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Dr. Susan Elliott in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management has received the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision.
Nomination for the award is based on submissions from current and former graduate students in recognition of excelling as a mentor, advisor, role model, humanist and strategist. Each year supervisors who exemplify these qualities, as well as a high level of energy and ingenuity, are selected for the honour. Dr. Elliott now joins their esteemed ranks.
Dr. Elliott is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management and University Research Chair in Medical Geography. As a health geographer with a distinguished career, she has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles related to the global environment and health. Her research spans the built, socially constructed and physical environments’ effects on health, always emphasizing the integration of science and policy. Her work is characterized by a transdisciplinary approach that includes partnerships with knowledge owners and users.
In her role as the head of the GoHelP lab at the University of Waterloo, she has supervised and mentored 27 Master’s students, 22 PhD students, and 16 postdocs. These former students are now conducting innovative geographical research, drafting new health policy, and advocating for health and social equity in a range of venues: academic institutions, all three levels of the Canadian government, governments abroad, industry and the private sector, and local and international NGOs.
The letters of support in Dr. Elliott’s nomination package highlight the strong research training, supportive mentorship, and sense of community that she provides to her graduate students. They note that Dr. Elliott’s open-door policy and genuine interest in their personal and professional lives created a supportive environment. This support extended to their academic training and careers.
Several former students note that she holds her students to high standards, praising their successes while also pointing out areas where they need to keep improving and advising them on strategies to achieve their goals. She enhances student success by providing opportunities to network with an interdisciplinary group of scholars and international organizations. Her mentorship continues as students graduate and enter the work force. One student noting that, “she is always a ‘phone text’ away.”
Dr. Elliott has made, and continues to make, an important contribution to graduate training in the Faculty of Environment. She is currently supervising 3 Master’s , 7 PhD students and 3 Post-Doctoral Scholars in addition to research staff, interns and co-op students.
As her nominator noted: “Her’s is a legacy of academic excellence and deep compassion and humanitarianism that has been passed down through her students as they become leaders and mentors to the next generation. This legacy is perhaps the most significant measure of excellence in supervision.
