Created 2 April 2009 05:04

VANCOUVER – A University of Victoria professor whose research helps Aboriginal men to become better fathers and a University of British Columbia professor working with families, schools, and communities to find ways to promote children’s empathy, altruism, and well-being will receive this year’s CUFA BC Distinguished Academics Awards on April 8th.

UVic’s Dr. Jessica Ball will be named Academic of the Year for her work with Aboriginal communities in developing new understandings and resources to support fathers. UBC’s Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl will receive the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award for more than two decades of work on finding ways to promote positive emotional and social growth in young people.

These awards are presented annually by the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC (CUFA BC) to recognize faculty members at BC’s public universities who use their research and scholarly work to make contributions to the wider community.

“Dr. Ball and Dr. Schonert-Reichl are outstanding examples of faculty members at BC universities who not only use their research to benefit the wider community, but who also work in partnership with community organizations to identify and help fill research needs,” said Dr. Paul Bowles, President of CUFA BC.

“Dr. Ball’s work in creating research-based resources for Aboriginal fathers is unique in Canada and moves beyond stereotypes to help heal the wounds created by the residential schools,” Bowles continued. “Dr. Schonert-Reichl’s research on child and adolescent emotional and social development has resulted both in new theoretical insights and in practical programs used by schools and community organizations to develop healthier and happier kids.”

Mark Forsythe, host of CBC Radio One’s BC Almanac, will emcee the awards dinner on Wednesday, April 8th at the Law Courts Inn in Vancouver.

The CUFA BC Distinguished Academics Awards are in their fifteenth year and receive generous support from Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd., CBC Radio One, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia and Royal Roads University.

CUFA BC represents 4,500 university professors, instructors, academic librarians and other academic staff at the province’s five doctoral universities – SFU (Burnaby, Vancouver and Surrey campuses), UBC (Vancouver and Kelowna campuses), UNBC (Prince George, Terrace, Fort St. John and Quesnel campuses), UVic and Royal Roads University.

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For further information, please call Robert Clift, CUFA BC Executive Director, at (604) 817-1649.