Congratulations to Trinity’s 2019 U of T Awards of Excellence Winners

Each year, the University of Toronto presents the UTAA Awards of Excellence to the university’s outstanding faculty, staff and student leaders.

Recipients of these prestigious awards exemplify a commitment to high achievements and to enhancing the university experience for their peers and for making the University, and often the world, a better place. We are proud to announce that included among this year’s U of T Awards of Excellence winners are five members of the Trinity community: three students, a staff member and a graduate of the College.

Faculty Winner: Trinity alum Prof. Andrea Sass-Kortsak, Vivek Goel Faculty Citizenship Award

Staff Winner: Dean of Students Kristen Moore, Jill Matus Award for Excellence in Student Services

Student Winners: Jillian Sprenger, John H. Moss Scholarship; Stefan Divic, UTAA Scholar (Moss Award finalist); and Darcy Taylor, UTAA Scholar (Moss Award finalist)

View all the winners of the 2019 UTAA Awards of Excellence

Andrea Sass-Kortsak (BSC 1977 TRIN, MHSc 1981): Vivek Goel Faculty Citizenship Award

Professor Andrea Sass-Kortsak effectively created an entire profession. As director of U of T’s Occupational/Industrial Hygiene master’s program, the first Canadian degree program in the field, she helped found a regulatory body, the Canadian Registration Board of Occupational Hygienists, which now sets national standards for professionals who prevent workplace hazards.

In recent decades, Sass-Kortsak has also reorganized graduate programs and curriculums for both the Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and has become a key member of the Governing Council, especially as chair of the Academic Board. Her tremendous service to the University and her profession is now recognized with the Vivek Goel Faculty Citizenship Award.

Dean of Students Kristen Moore (MEd 2014): Jill Matus Award for Excellence in Student Services

Kristen Moore brought something extra to her job interview for Dean of Students at Trinity College—a binder filled with ideas for improving student services. Once hired, she followed through with initiatives such as a residence acceptance system that prioritizes community engagement, a dedicated wellness space, and an administration-supported fundraising initiative for queer students.

Moore also created a staff position responsible for community wellness, a tremendously popular move with students. As a proactive thinker and a champion of holistic student support, Moore’s efforts have created a more inclusive and welcoming community at Trinity, results that are recognized by the Jill Matus Award for Excellence in Student Services.

Trinity student Jillian Sprenger: John H. Moss Scholarship

Hundreds of people around the world know who Jillian Sprenger is. That’s because the fourth-year Trinity College student has already conducted field interviews with them. Her undergraduate research on global health issues has taken her from countries from Pakistan to Taiwan, from Ethiopia to Ecuador. Her documentary film, Road to Colombo, brings the issue of climate refugees to vivid, wrenching life.

Sprenger is also a U of T National Scholar, a high-school mentor and a cross-country runner. The John H. Moss Scholarship will support her future research in graduate school, where she plans to study environmental disaster prevention and response.

Stefan Divic: UTAA Scholar

Stefan Divic shouldered heavy family responsibilities when his father passed away. Now, the fourth-year Trinity College physics major feels that responsibility in a larger way: for fostering a more equitable society—especially through the science he loves. He co-organized a global online conference to benefit immunologists and medical trainees who lack funds to travel to academic gatherings. He also spearheaded a program to distribute care packages to Toronto’s street population.

A U of T President’s Scholar of Excellence, Divic has already won NSERC research grants for his original research on skyrmion crystals—a class of magnetic materials with potential applications to quantum information processing. He plans to pursue graduate studies in condensed matter physics at UC Berkeley.

Darcy Taylor: UTAA Scholar

Where does your moral compass point? For Darcy Taylor, a fourth-year student at Trinity College, focusing on values is a fruitful way to look at international policy issues – and his profs agree, praising his “exceptionally original insights.” He’s already planning complex graduate research on legality of humanitarian interventions.

Taylor is both a Loran Scholar and a University of Toronto Scholar. He coaches tennis, teaches adult literacy, and volunteers with both youths and seniors in his native Newfoundland. His resume includes study and internships in Paris, Beijing, Ottawa and Washington D.C., where he worked for U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

View all the winners of the 2019 UTAA Awards of Excellence

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Categories: Arts & Science; Awards & Honours; University of Toronto News