Ontario’s Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn visited Western on June 25 to honour higher education leaders across the province.
A ceremony to recognize recipients of the Minister’s Awards of Excellence, including Western postdoctoral scholar Olivia Ghosh-Swaby, was held in the Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
“The Awards of Excellence allow us to recognize the remarkable work taking place on campuses across all of Ontario. It’s work that’s shaping the future of our workforce, our communities and our economy,” Quinn said. “These awards honour individuals who go above and beyond for our students, driving positive change in the classroom, on campus and in communities.”
There were 170 nominations and six winners of the Minister’s Awards of Excellence this year, including professors, researchers and post-secondary leaders.
Minister Nolan Quinn visited Western to honour recipients of the Minister’s Awards of Excellence. (L to R) Galina Scolnic, University of Windsor; Satinder Kaur Brar, York University; Olivia Ghosh-Swaby, Western; Minister Quinn; Anna Pearson, Nipissing University; Sterling Crowe, Humber Polytechnic and Olivia Baudet, College Boreal. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
Western President Alan Shepard said the recipients illustrate the importance of higher education and the hard work of staff, researchers and faculty who contribute to the sector.
“Ontario’s post-secondary institutions play a critical role in the province’s economy, its health and its wellbeing. They’re responsible for innovation, discovery, creativity. They train future generations of leaders. It’s incredibly important work that makes a difference for all Ontarians,” Shepard said during his remarks at the event.
An everyday hero
Ghosh-Swaby, BMSc’18, PhD’25, was honoured in the “Everyday Heroes” category, which acknowledges a faculty or staff member who has gone above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of students, colleagues or the community.
A postdoctoral researcher in Western’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Ghosh-Swaby graduated this spring with a PhD in neuroscience from Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. She said she was shocked but pleased to receive the Minister’s Award of Excellence.
Western President Alan Shepard and Olivia Ghosh-Swaby. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
“It’s refreshing. It’s nice to be re-motivated to do the work I’m doing every day,” she said.
As a member of the Exercise, Mobility and Brain Health Lab in the School of Kinesiology, led by professor Lindsay Nagamatsu, Ghosh-Swaby studies the role of exercise and drug therapies in improving brain health.
“Working in exercise and seeing the benefits on my own mental health on a daily basis, it’s really important to me to be able to apply it in an academic sense as well, with individuals who are more at risk for dementia or cognitive decline.”
A pillar in the student athletics community, Ghosh-Swaby is a former quarterback and captain of Western’s flag football club. She founded the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Football Association in 2017, creating space for women to compete in flag football, and now works with Football Canada as the manager of flag football development for Ontario, overseeing all levels and encouraging young women to get involved in the sport.
“It was really cool seeing that pipeline, as the young girls that I’ve helped support through their own football journey come to Western,” she said.
Ghosh-Swaby has also been at the forefront of championing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives within football and academia. She sits on Football Canada’s diversity and inclusion committee, aiming to promote the sport amongst women and athletes from diverse backgrounds.
At Western, she created a comprehensive EDI survey and equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization training module for incoming graduate students. During her PhD, she was a graduate representative for BrainsCAN’s EDI committee.
Ghosh-Swaby’s academic achievements and advocacy have earned her widespread recognition. In 2021, she was awarded the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for her research on the impact of exercise and anti-diabetic drugs on neural stem cells, memory and mood in the context of obesity. Two years later, she was honoured with a Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada Award.
Two provincial Ministers visit Western
Quinn said selecting Ghosh-Swaby and the other award recipients “was not an easy task.”
“That speaks volumes about the talent and dedication that exists across Ontario’s world-class post-secondary institutions,” he said. “From educators who support students with personal challenges, to leaders preparing the next generation of teachers changing the world, your work continues to inspire us all.”
In addition to Quinn, Ontario’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response Jill Dunlop was also on campus on June 25. She toured the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Research Institute (known as WindEEE), a wind dome that recreates weather systems like hurricanes and tornadoes to test buildings and build stronger cities.
Dunlop also visited the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory, a cutting-edge facility for wind tunnel testing, alongside Western’s vice-president (research) Penny Pexman.
It was Quinn’s second visit to Western in a matter of months. In March, he visited Surface Science Western, the new Schmeichel Building and the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory during a tour of campus.
