TORONTO, October 17, 2011 –York University professor Haideh Moghissi has been awarded the prestigious Trudeau Fellowship prize from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
“We were thrilled to learn that professor Haideh Moghissi was a recipient of the Trudeau Fellowship prize,” says Mamdouh Shoukri, York’s president and vice-chancellor. “The Trudeau Fellowship is an incredible honour bestowed upon the finest thinkers who have demonstrated outstanding research achievements, creativity and social commitment in all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. We are proud that one of our own is a member of this esteemed group.”
After a prolific career inIranas an archivist, Moghissi became an internationally acclaimed analyst of women’s issues in the Muslim world. The Fellowship prize recognizes her work in this area.
“Even though I have had the good fortune of receiving several large research grants in the last decade or so, the Trudeau Fellowship has special significance as it reflects a recognition of my academic and community-related research in the areas that are also the focus of the Trudeau Foundation, including human rights and dignity, and responsible citizenship,” says Moghissi.
Moghissi, a professor in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, is one of four new 2011 Trudeau Fellows to be announced today at a ceremony atYorkUniversity.
“My academic work has always had a specific audience and specific purpose in mind, hoping to contribute, in the most modest way, to change in areas that need change, be it in my country of birth,Iran, or inCanada, the country that I now call home,” she says. “The Fellowship will help me to continue my work, providing more opportunity to explore the complexities and nuances of such issues as multiculturalism, minority rights and belonging, under the present, rapidly changing political and social circumstance.”
Each prize is worth $225,000. Trudeau Fellowships are awarded to individuals who set themselves apart through research achievements, creativity and commitment to critical social issues of importance toCanada.
“[The Fellowship] will provide more opportunity for organizing and attending academic gatherings to learn from and exchange ideas with others who work in these and similar areas, to provide support to a few more graduate students as future scholars,” Moghissi says.
About the Trudeau Foundation
A Canadian institution with a national purpose, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is an independent and non-partisan charity. It was established in 2001 as a living memorial to the former prime minister by his family, friends and colleagues. In 2002, the Government of Canada endowed the Foundation with a donation of $125 million following a unanimous vote in the House of Commons. In addition, the Foundation benefits from private sector donations in support of specific initiatives. Through its Scholarship, Fellowship, Mentorship and Public Interaction programs, the Foundation supports outstanding individuals who make meaningful contributions to critical public issues. For more information, visit: www.trudeaufoundation.ca.
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York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Media Contact:
Wallace Pidgeon, Director, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100 ext. 22091, wpidgeon@yorku.ca
