(Photo by Diana Tyszko)
Marie-Josée Fortin receives 2021 JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Award
Published: July 8, 2021
Marie-Josée Fortin, a University Professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology, has been recognized with a 2021 JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Award.
The awards are presented by the School of Graduate Studies to a faculty member who, over a minimum 15-year period, has demonstrated graduate supervision excellence at the University of Toronto.
Fortin investigates the role space plays in ecological processes, biodiversity and ecosystems. Known for saying “my success is in my students’ achievements,” Fortin has been inspiring graduate students for more than 25 years, advising or co-advising 60 doctoral students whose work has resulted in more than 90 research publications and almost 200 talks delivered in scientific meetings and symposia.
Fortin has been especially active in mentoring women in the biological sciences. Her doctoral students have gone onto careers in academia as well as NGOs and the private sector – and she is known for supporting her students long after they leave her lab.
“Although I had graduated from her lab several years previously, Marie-Josée was very involved in helping me prepare for my first academic job interview,” says one student. “She spent time with me ensuring that my job talk effectively highlighted my skills and achievements while tailoring my presentation to the expectations and needs of the hiring institution.”
