Ducey, Walby recognized for excellence with 2022 Arts awards

The Faculty of Arts has announced Dr. Kimberley Ducey and Dr. Kevin Walby as recipients of the 2022 Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity awards.

Dr. Ducey, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, is the recipient of the 2022 Faculty of Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. A beloved and much sought-after thesis supervisor and instructor, Dr. Ducey works tirelessly to empower students to dismantle structures of racism, social inequality, and oppression. According to one of her referees, Dr. Ducey does so with an unusual “fierceness”: she “confronts the most controversial topics with a directness and, frankly, fearlessness that I have seen very few colleagues risk.”

Education faculty member Dr. Jan DeFehr, who nominated Dr. Ducey for the award, has witnessed firsthand how Dr. Ducey “skillfully facilitates classroom dialogue addressing difficult subject matter” and praises her “deep commitment to anti-racist decolonial liberation work.” Guided by a philosophy of “mutual education with mutual respect,” Dr. Ducey engenders a collaborative learning environment that, according to one of her students, “humanizes” challenging topics.

Dedicated to pedagogical dialogue amongst university colleagues as well, Dr. Ducey initiated in 2021 an international reading group that considers teaching theory and praxis. Particularly impressive is Dr. Ducey’s record of teaching-focused scholarly publication and invited lectures, an indication of the extent to which thoughtful reflection informs—and is informed by—her classroom practice.

Dr. Walby, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, is the recipient of the 2022 Faculty of Arts Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity Award. Dr. Walby was nominated for the Prison Pandemic Papers, an online dataset making accessible vast amounts of information on the response by Canadian prisons to the COVID-19 pandemic. Created through freedom of information and access to information requests, the project involved extensive collaborative work, the training of students as research assistants, and attracted a SSHRC Partnership Grant. Access to the dataset is available to all.

As Dr. Kelly Gorkoff, Chair of Criminal Justice, wrote in her nominating letter: “This work has significant methodological and empirical contributions to the fields of criminology, criminal justice, sociology, political science, and numerous other areas. [It] has been referenced in public pieces including Policy Options and several media outlets including Ottawa Citizen, Winnipeg Free Press, and others across Canada.” The selection committee was particularly impressed with the scope of the project and long-term impact it will have on both academic and non-academic fields.

“I congratulate both Dr. Ducey and Dr. Walby on this achievement,” said Glenn Moulaison, Dean of Arts, “which recognizes a stellar commitment to their craft. I would also like to congratulate all nominees and those who supported them, as well as the members of the selection committees.”