University of Regina President receives national award for work in educational psychology

News Release Release Date: May 30, 2012 3:00 p.m.

University of Regina President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Vianne Timmons has been honoured with a national award recognizing her career in the field of educational psychology.

The Carol Crealock Memorial Award was presented to Timmons by the Canadian Association for Educational Psychology at the annual Canadian Society for the Study of Education conference in Waterloo, Ontario. The award is reserved for a scholar who:

• has a strong sense of justice and passion for equity;
• is collegial, supportive, and a mentor for new scholars;
• engages in collaborative work that links with the academy and community (e.g., academics, practitioners, and possibly parents);
• conducts research that is recognized as transformational in that it can be readily understood and acted upon; and
• has initiated collaborative research projects that have had a positive impact on both the academy and the wider community.

In the nomination that was submitted by a longtime colleague – and at the presentation ceremony itself – Timmons was commended for her national and international research in the area of inclusive education. This research has included a study of the relationship between the health of Canadian students with intellectual disabilities and their inclusion in regular classrooms, as well as an eight-year project in India to develop a curriculum to educate students with intellectual disabilities in classrooms with their age-appropriate peers.

Paul McLellan, Chair, Board of Governors commended Timmons on her accomplishment.

"President Timmons continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to research to this field as her lifelong passion," said McLellan. "The board is proud of her accomplishments while balancing the priorities of her presidential role.”

Timmons has spent much of her life – personally, academically, and administratively – working to enhance the educational opportunities available to young people with intellectual disabilities.

 “It is a great honour to receive this award from my colleagues, and I am proud to be continuing this work as President of the University of Regina,” Timmons said.

She is currently Education Team Lead on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Community-University Research Alliance project to examine and provide recommendations on disability policy across Canada. In addition, she is President-Elect of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities (IASSID), in which capacity she is conference chair for the July 2012 IASSID World Congress in Halifax.