2017 CUFU BC Academic of the Year Award to Kelli Stajduhar

The Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) represents approximately 5,400 faculty members, lecturers, and professional librarians at British Columbia’s five research universities. 

Congratulations to Kelli Stajduhar as the recipient of the CUFA BC - Ehor Boyanowsky Academic of the Year Award. Named after the president who created the Distinguished Academics Awards during his term, this award recognizes a specific and recent outstanding contribution to the community beyond the academy through research or other scholarly activity by an individual or group at any stage of their career.

Kelli Stajduhar is Professor in the School of Nursing and Centre on Aging. She has worked in oncology, palliative care, and gerontology for over 25 years as a practicing nurse, educator, and researcher. Her clinical work and research has focused on health service needs for those at the end-of-life and their families and on the needs of marginalized and vulnerable populations. She is currently the academic lead investigator on the iPANEL research project in British Columbia, which brings together nursing researchers, practitioners and administrators to integrate a palliative approach into the health care system. She also currently leads an international research collaborative on family care giving and a Victoria-based study on access to end-of-life care for structurally vulnerable populations. Kelli also received the 2016 Award for Excellence in Nursing Research from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.

In addition to her internationally recognized work as a researcher, practitioner, and teacher, Kelli is a fierce and effective advocate for palliative care for the most marginalized and vulnerable populations in Canada. She has fused her scholarly work with a passion to change how we think about the ways in which those facing chronic poverty, substance abuse, and mental health challenges are marginalized by the heath care system. Her academic and advocacy work were  also instrumental in expanding the definition of family in the Compassionate Care  provision under Employment Insurance.  Kelli’s nominators offered this elegant summery of her impact:

“She is a living ambassador for the very real difference that scientific knowledge brings to revolutionizing health care toward meeting the very real needs of the people our systems were intended to serve…. She is a model to researchers, educators and clinicians alike, exemplifying a commitment to impacts beyond the academy through advancing quality end of life care for all members of our population. “

Retrieved from CUFA website http://www.cufa.bc.ca/awards/