Telfer celebrates research and innovation with 12 prestigious honours
Excellence in research and innovation continues to define the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, thanks to major philanthropic support. We are pleased to announce that seven new endowed chairs and professorships have been awarded in 2024, along with the renewal of four fellowships and one professorship. These honours recognize and support Telfer’s research and pedagogical innovators.
“Endowed chairs, professorships and fellowships are supported by forward-thinking donors who believe in Telfer’s exceptional quality of faculty talent and knowledge creation,” says Stéphane Brutus, Dean of the Telfer School of Management.
As one of the most distinguished honours a faculty member can receive, endowed chairs and professorships amplify Telfer’s research impact on the national and global stage. These investments allow researchers who are widely recognized in their disciplines to continue making exceptional contributions to business or management research, which in turn has an impact on policy and practice.
“The incumbents to these roles are pushing research conversations in new directions, and their innovations can attract some of the brightest students and researchers from across the globe,” adds Dean Brutus.
Producing quality research is equally critical to Telfer’s educational mission and the learning that comes from academic inquiry.
“Bolstering the school’s already strong teaching profile, donor-supported research gives academics a competitive edge in their fields and an opportunity to engage hundreds of Telfer students in rigorous learning within and beyond the classroom,” says Darlene Himick, Vice-Dean, Faculty Affairs.
This occasion marks a record-breaking number of fellowships, professorships and chairs awarded by the school in a single year.
“We are grateful to our donors for putting their trust in research excellence at Telfer,” says Silvia Bonaccio, Vice-Dean, Research, and Ian Telfer Professor of Workplace Psychology. “The impressive research portfolio of our faculty members continues to draw attention in academic and industry circles, and we are excited to see the impact of their work in the years to come.”
Congratulations to all of the 2024 recipients!
New awards
Jennifer Dimoff - Kathryn Tremblay Professorship in Workplace Mental Health and Wellness Leadership
Professor Dimoff’s research focuses on the intersections between leadership, mental health, and human resource practices. She has partnered with dozens of organizations worldwide and co-developed one of the only manager-focused mental health training programs to result in positive long-term change for leaders and employees. She is also a co-founder of the Triple I Lab, one of the first and largest behavioural research labs in Canada.
Timothy Hannigan - Father Edgar Thivierge Chair in Canadian Business
Professor Hannigan is building an innovative research program around an interpretive view of technology and organizing. The goal is to help leaders chart plausible – and desirable – futures that have the potential to materialize beyond projection and hype. His most recent work focuses on emergence, legitimacy, and institutional trust, including how organizations can maintain integrity in their use of generative AI.
Mirou Jaana - RBC Financial Group Professorship in Health Care Systems
Professor Jaana's research streams sit at the intersection of health informatics and health care management. From examining IT innovations and their impacts in healthcare organizations to investigating the adoption and use of technology by older adults, her work focuses on the integration of technology in healthcare. Her research contributes to the improvement of healthcare systems as well as patients’ care and wellbeing.
Peter Jaskiewicz - Patricia Saputo Distinguished Chair in Family Enterprise
Professor Jaskiewicz’s research examines family dynamics, governance, and succession practices within family enterprises, as well as the differences between family and non-family enterprises. As founder and director of the Family Enterprise Legacy Institute (FELI), Professor Jaskiewicz uses his expertise to research best practices for enterprising families, engage with the family enterprise community, and develop tailored programs for the next generation of responsible family owners. As the inaugural holder of this chair, he will undertake long-term research projects to develop new best practices for family enterprises and members of the next generation.
Wadid Lamine - Camille Villeneuve Professorship in Francophone Entrepreneurship
Professor Lamine’s research interests include entrepreneurship in science and technology, aerospace ecosystem, incubation support mechanisms and francophone entrepreneurship. He recently co-edited a handbook on the rapidly evolving world of digital economy providing practical strategies and insights for managers, academics, and professionals. His expertise in both digital and education entrepreneurship will support entrepreneurs in the francophone community.
Jonathan Li - RBC Financial Group Professorship in Financial Risk Analytics
Professor Li's research focuses on developing more intelligent risk management solutions through cutting-edge methodologies in machine learning, optimization, and financial econometrics. His work aims to equip decision-makers with AI-driven tools that enable them to navigate uncertainty and manage risks more effectively across various sectors. These include the management of market, credit, operational, and emerging risks, covering industries such as financial management, healthcare, supply chains, and climate impact mitigation.
Syrine Sassi - Power Corporation of Canada - Paul Desmarais Professorship in Finance
Professor Sassi’s research focuses on corporate social responsibility. Her work explores complex issues in corporate financial management and governance, with a particular focus on the impact of regulatory environments and product market competition on financial decisions and environmental sustainability.
Renewed awards
Walid Ben-Amar - Ian Telfer Research Fellowship
Professor Ben Amar's research interests include corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability disclosure strategies. His current projects focus on the economic consequences of firm-level climate risks.
Mark Freel - RBC Financial Group Professorship in Entrepreneurship
Professor Freel’s research focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship as well as how firms and regions both create and capture value. During his career, he has undertaken different research projects on behalf of European regional, national, and supra-national government bodies, demonstrating the global impact of his work.
Agnes Grudniewicz - Ian Telfer Research Fellowship
Professor Grudniewicz is a health services researcher focused on primary and community care. Using qualitative and mixed methods research, she studies primary care challenges to inform policy and improve Canadian healthcare systems.
Miwako Nitani - Ian Telfer Teaching Fellowship
Professor Nitani’s work examines the obstacles faced by companies in need of capital; to support business creation and growth, her findings provide expert advice on evaluating and informing public policies. She is currently working as a co-director of the Telfer Capital Markets Program which will enable students to better integrate theory and practice from their courses into concrete, transferable skills valued by employers.
Umar Ruhi - Ian Telfer Teaching Fellowship
Professor Ruhi’s applied pedagogical research pertains to exploring the role and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. His previous work has focused on the application of learning analytics to improve teaching practices and student learning experiences. His current work explores the meaningful integration of AI tools in teaching and learning, with the goal of enabling students to use AI tools mindfully and ethically while developing skills useful in both academic and workplace settings.
Learn more about Telfer’s Fellowships, Professorships and Chairs