I am pleased to announce that Dr. Stalin Boctor, P. Eng., is the inaugural recipient of the Errol Aspevig Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership. The award is given in honour of the former Provost and Vice President Academic Dr. Errol Aspevig, who personified academic leadership during his distinguished 36-year career at Ryerson. The Errol Aspevig Award is presented to a senior academic administrator who has advanced the mission of Ryerson University through outstanding academic leadership.
Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for the award, and to the members of the sub-committee of the Senate Awards and Ceremonials Committee for their work in making the selection.
Stalin Boctor has spent nearly four decades dedicated to the progress and success of Ryerson. He began his career at Ryerson in 1971 and quickly became Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department Council and later the founding Program Director of Photonics at the Centre for Advanced Technology Education. In 1986, Stalin became the Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, a position he held for 10 years. As Chair, he provided leadership to 35 faculty and over 600 undergraduate and graduate students. His interest in international initiatives led him to develop multi-disciplinary national and international collaborations and to become the Program Manager/Technical Advisor to the Canadian Universities Consortium Human Resource Development Project in Thailand.
In 1997, Stalin was appointed Associate Dean of the then Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. He also served as the founding Program Director of the Computer Networks graduate program.
In 2002, Stalin was appointed Dean of the Faculty and was reappointed for a second term in 2007. Under his watch, graduate programming, research, and curriculum development thrived; the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre was built; and, the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science grew.
Stalin played a key role in securing accreditation for Ryerson's Engineering programs and has been doing an outstanding job in leading the Faculty and in putting its case forward at every possible opportunity. His commitment to his Faculty is well known, and the overwhelming support of his faculty and staff for this award is notable.
Please join me in congratulating Stalin on his outstanding accomplishments and on receiving this well deserved award.
Alan Shepard,
Provost and Vice President Academic