Mary Lou Dietz Equity Leadership Award Recipients 2023

Dr. Tricia Carmichael, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and retired Faculty member Dr. Barbara Thomas, Department of Nursing, have been named the 2023 Mary Lou Dietz Equity Leadership Award recipients.

Join us as we celebrate Dr. Carmichael and Dr. Thomas's outstanding commitment, contributions, and accomplishments to diversity and equity in Assumption University's Freed-Orman Centre on May 10, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. RSVP by email: wufa@uwindsor.ca by May 5, 2023.

Dr. Tricia Carmichael is recognized as a leader within her male-dominated field of materials chemistry and an inspiring role model for women in STEM. This makes her EDI contributions for underrepresented groups and those struggling with mental health in science even more exceptional. Dr. Carmichael spearheaded the Faculty of Science move on the EDI front through the launch of their EDI Task Force in 2020 and was appointed the Chair. Dr. Carmichael secured funding for a research-based approach to identifying barriers to EDI to help develop an action plan for the Faculty of Science. Dr. Carmichael has done inspirational work to improve the visibility of the LGBTQ2S+ community in STEM that has been recognized and celebrated at the national level. Dr. Carmichael co-founded and co-chaired the first LGBTQ+ in STEM conference in Canada in 2019 and conducted several research projects that explored the academic climate for members of the community. Dr. Carmichael is also a strong proponent for the important and growing issue of mental health amongst academia. By bravely sharing the story of her own personal journey, she is actively advocating and seeking support for mental health and work-life balance in academia.

Professor Emerita, Dr. Barbara Thomas, a “trailblazer” for women’s equity and health-related issues, began her advocacy work in the 1970s when little was being done in this regard. Dr. Thomas was a founding member of the Faculty Association Status of Women Committee in 1972 and served on the committee for several years. During this time, Dr. Thomas made many significant contributions to equity for faculty women; these include being part of a study on salary discrepancies between men and women that led to the creation of an Anomalies Fund. Appointed as the Associate Vice-President (Academic) in 1991, Dr. Thomas played a leadership role in the creation of our system of equity assessors that has endured to this day. Dr. Thomas was also the organizer and administrative leader in the creation of the President’s Committee on Employment Equity (PCEE) in the 1990s. Dr. Thomas’s contributions to women’s health and health education through teaching and research are also noteworthy. She designed and introduced a course on women and health when health care education was mostly focussed on the male model. Dr. Thomas also co-led a multi-disciplinary, community focussed collaborative project promoting women’s breast health education and awareness through visual art; and throughout her career she was an outstanding role model and mentor for younger women faculty members in Nursing and other fields.