Walinga receives Sarah Shorten Award
The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) named Jennifer Walinga, professor in the School of Communication and Culture, the 2025 recipient of the prestigious Sarah Shorten Award. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in the promotion of the advancement of women in Canadian universities and colleges.
Walinga’s award marks the first time a professor from Royal Roads has been honoured with the Sarah Shorten Award, which was established in 1990 to honour Sarah Shorten who served two terms as CAUT president and is awarded annually to an individual whose efforts have benefitted women (faculty, students and staff) in the post-secondary community.
“I am so grateful for the support of my students and colleagues in nominating me for this award and recognizing the work I have done to advance women’s leadership in a variety of sectors. I always say we are most effecting at realizing a world that embraces diversity and shared power when we link arms; I have a wide circle of advocates of all genders working alongside me in this pursuit.”
Since joining RRU in 2010, Walinga’s work to advance women in academia spans a wide variety of initiatives at the university. She has held a range of leadership roles, including her current role as President of the Royal Roads University Faculty Association. Throughout her time at RRU, Walinga has shown leadership in bringing together her colleagues through the establishment of a Community of Practice to support female academics, including raising each others’ voices in group settings. Further, she has been tireless in her commitment to examining gender disparities including in salaries and promotion timelines.
Throughout her community building and advocacy work, Walinga is adept at engaging faculty and advancing collegial governance. Her nomination group, comprised of fifteen of Walinga’s faculty members describes her as “an efficacious communicator who calls people in rather than out as a natural response to troubling times and finding our way together.” They go on say, “As a natural and tireless leader, Jennifer models a kind of patience and perseverance that is resilient, responsive, and regenerative.”