Student, three faculty receive Women of Distinction awards

A College of Arts & Science undergraduate student and three faculty members received awards at the 2015 YWCA Saskatoon Women of Distinction Awards on May 28.

Erica Violet Lee, an undergraduate student in political studies and philosophy, received the Under 29 Award. Lee is a youth organizer with the Idle No More movement and was a leader in last year's successful campaign to change the name of her former high school's team name, the Bedford Road Redmen.

Tasha Hubbard, an assistant professor of English, was chosen for the Arts, Culture & Heritage Award. Hubbard is an award-winning documentary filmmaker known for her short films Two Worlds Colliding and Buffalo Calling.

Julita Vassileva, a professor of computer science, received the Research & Technology Award. She is a renowned researcher in the areas of social computing and human-computer interaction, and is in high demand as a keynote speaker and committee chair at international conferences and programs.

Joan Borsa, a professor of art & art history and women’s and gender studies, receive the annual Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a woman “who has been an exemplary leader over the course of her lifetime” and “who has served as a role model for our community.”

The YWCA released the following statement about Borsa’s selection for the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Dr. Joan Borsa is a well-established curator, art critic, interdisciplinary scholar, prominent member of Saskatchewan’s art community, and respected professor of both Art and Art History and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

In 2009, Joan received the Lieutenant Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Arts Award. She is a popular invited lecturer and a widely published and original writer. She has organized countless art exhibitions, conferences, symposia, panels, lectures and visiting artist and scholar presentations. She has served on numerous editorial and advisory boards across Canada and is currently chair of the Public Art Advisory Committee for the City of Saskatoon.

Joan is a consummate educator and brilliant thinker, and a leading academic in the field of gender, representation, and cultural studies. Her legacy has established our province’s women artists as vital contributors to prairie culture with growing international recognition.

Over the course of her almost 40-year career, Joan has enhanced the community where she lives and works, and has influenced the Canadian art community, leaving an indelible legacy for Saskatchewan and Canadian artists. She has consistently championed under-represented art and ideas on the prairies. She strives to bring new and challenging ideas into the local art community, and lives with courage and integrity.”

Many of the women nominated for 2015 Women of Distinction Awards also have connections to the College of Arts & Science. Their names are listed below under each award category.

The complete list of Women of Distinction nominees can be viewed at the YWCA Saskatoon website.