Dr. Lisa Korteweg Named Chair of Robbins-Olivier Award for Excellence in Equity

Congratulations to Dr. Lisa Korteweg (Associate Professor, Thunder Bay) on being named Chair of the Robbins-Olivier Award for Excellence in Equity committee, administered by the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program.

This prestigious award, launched by Canada’s three federal research funding agencies—CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC—supports bold initiatives that address systemic barriers, and promote equity in academia. 

The award honours the contributions of eight academics (Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Louise Forsyth, Glenis Joyce, Audrey Kobayashi, Shree Mulay, Susan Prentice, Michèle Ollivier and Wendy Robbins) whose 2003 Canadian Human Rights complaints led to a 2006 Settlement Agreement and its 2019 addendum, advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the CRC program and Canada’s research ecosystem. 

The Robbins-Ollivier Award, named after two of the original complainants—the late Michèle Ollivier and Wendy Robbins—provides $100,000 to faculty-led projects that boldly challenge institutional barriers and spark long-term change. The funding supports initiatives that enhance understanding of systemic inequities, and drive innovative solutions within academic institutions. 

Lisa notes that "it is a great honour to be appointed Chair of the Robbins-Ollivier equity award committee, which plays a crucial role in challenging systemic barriers and advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion within academia and Canada's universities. Despite decades of effort, persistent inequities continue to disproportionately affect racialized individuals, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, women, and individuals from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community; thus, this new award is essential for funding bold, transformative initiatives that disrupt the status quo and create lasting institutional change."