Ricci's book was awarded the 鈥� given to the best book in the field every two years 鈥� for its new approach to women鈥檚 and gender history and its findings that have the potential to shape future research and advocacy.

Countercurrents was also shortlisted for the prize, an annual book prize awarded by the Canadian Historical Association to a non-fiction work of Canadian history believed to have made the most significant contribution to an understanding of the Canadian past.

In recognition of its focus on Quebec, the book was also named a finalist for the , a literary contest celebrating authors of published works relating to the province's political landscape.

Countercurrents looks to write a new history of feminism that incorporates parallel social movements into the overarching narrative of the women鈥檚 movement. Case studies compare and reflect on the histories of the Quebec Native Women鈥檚 Association, the Congress of Black Women, the Front de lib茅ration des femmes du Qu茅bec, various Haitian women鈥檚 organizations and the Collectif des femmes immigrantes du Qu茅bec 鈥� and the political work they did.

鈥淎manda Ricci's history of diverse Montreal feminist groups gives us a new perspective on contemporary feminist activism," wrote reviewer Denyse Baillargeon from the Universit茅 de Montr茅al. "Clear and complex, Countercurrents shows that the roots to this vast social movement run deeper than we thought, and that its aspirations and struggles go well beyond the borders of Quebec.鈥�

Bringing to light previously overlooked archival and oral sources, Ricci introduces a new cast of characters to the history of feminism in Quebec. The book presents a portrait of the resurgence of feminist activism, demonstrating its deep roots in Indigenous and Black communities, its transnational scope, and its wide-ranging inspirations and preoccupations.

For more information about the book and where to purchase it, visit the .

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Spring Convocation for 91亚色鈥檚 Class of 2024 ran from June 7 to 21, and featured ceremonies at both the Keele and Glendon campuses.

This year鈥檚 Spring Convocation began on June 7 with a ceremony at 91亚色鈥檚 Glendon Campus, and continued with a dozen more in the following weeks at the Keele Campus. More than 7,000 graduands received their degrees during ceremonies overseen by the 14th chancellor of 91亚色, Kathleen Taylor.

View photos from the Class of 2024 ceremonies below:

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Three undergraduate students at 91亚色 have been awarded the Governor General鈥檚 Silver Medal, which recognizes the outstanding scholastic achievements of undergraduate students in Canada.

The Governor General's Academic Medals are considered the highest honour that can be earned by exemplary Canadian scholars throughout every level of academia. This year鈥檚 recipients are:

Vo Dinh Huy Nguyen

Nguyen is graduating from the Bachelor of Business Administration program at 91亚色's Schulich School of Business, specializing in accounting, with the highest grade point average among his cohort.

His time at the University has been distinguished by winning several University and national business competitions and being actively involved within the Schulich community. He served as executive for a wide range of clubs 鈥� notably as president of the Schulich Accounting Society 鈥� and as a mentor for hundreds of lower-year students.

He credits his academic success and the Governor General鈥檚 Silver Medal, in part, to his Vietnamese parents for their support across a notable geographical distance. He also welcomes the award as a testament to the sometimes challenging journey of an international student living alone in Canada.

鈥淏alancing school, work, and extracurricular activities while navigating life independently has often been overwhelming and, at times, daunting. However, this award validates that every effort and sacrifice has been worth it. It serves as a powerful reminder that, together with the right mindset, perseverance, commitment and gratitude can lead to remarkable achievements,鈥� Nguyen says. 鈥淚t is my immense honour to be recognized as part of the legacy of excellence by the governor general of Canada.鈥�

Nguyen is currently enrolled in the Master of Accounting program at Schulich, with the goal of obtaining his chartered professional accountant designation, and is starting a full-time job at Deloitte Toronto in September.  

Parker Grant

Grant is graduating from the Faculty of Health with a bachelor of science (specialized honours) in psychology.

During her time at 91亚色 U, she says she fell in love with conducting research 鈥� notably, examining inequities in health and well-being, with a particular focus on substance misuse. She credits professors Kerry Kawakami, Heather Prime and Jeffrey Wardell for the mentorship that helped kindle that passion.

鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly proud to be receiving the Governor General's Silver Medal," she says. "This award represents all of the hard work and late nights I鈥檝e dedicated to my degree and serves as an inspiration to continue pursuing my studies.鈥�

Grant will next pursue her research interests at the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, where her master鈥檚 thesis will examine sex and gender differences in response to an extended period of cannabis abstinence in individuals with major depressive disorder and cannabis use disorder. She will also continue research and advocacy work with the Queer & Trans Health Collective as a research assistant for the National 2S/LGBTQIA+ Substance Use Study.

Michele Bars

Bars is graduating from Glendon College with a specialized bachelor's degree in French Studies, which allowed her to pursue an interest in a wide range of topics relating to French literature, language and linguistics, as well as culture and history in French-speaking countries.

鈥淩eceiving the Governor General's Silver Medal is an honour and is very special to me," she says. "It not only reflects my hard work and progress in my chosen field of study but also represents my overall student experience at Glendon and the wonderful professors from whom I learned so much over the years.鈥�

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During the June 7 convocation for 91亚色's Glendon College, award-winning researcher and social scientist Barbara Neis received an honorary degree and shared stories from her studies, career and life.

When University Secretariat Pascal Robichaud introduced Neis, she noted that the social scientist is 鈥渙ne of Glendon College鈥檚 most inspired and inspiring early graduates,鈥� and can count herself as a member of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Once Neis began addressing graduands, however, she recounted that before she was any of those things, she was a young student from a family farm in northern Ontario, arriving at Glendon College and experiencing urban and academic life for the first time.

As she pursued a joint undergraduate degree in sociology and psychology, Neis was introduced to disciplines and streams of thought she didn鈥檛 even know existed. The researcher admitted to graduands in her address that she was initially overwhelmed by the breadth of thinking she was exposed to, and how exactly to integrate any of into her life, career and academic pursuits. She worried about becoming a jack of all trades and master of none. 鈥淚 was struggling with whether I could acquire even minimum expertise in philosophy, the humanities, sociology, psychology,鈥� she said.

In time, however, an approach became clear to her. 鈥淚 learned that I did not need to be an expert in everything," she said. "It was enough to be able to read and respectfully engage with researchers in other disciplines who had a shared interest in answering relevant and important questions that could not be answered by drawing on the resources of a single discipline.鈥�

That realization became the interdisciplinary bedrock of her career as a researcher and social scientist who has participated in research projects that total at least $150 million and whose work has been published in more than 120 books, book chapters, journal articles and working papers. It led to work promoting a greater understanding of the interactions between work environment, health and communities 鈥� especially within marine and coastal contexts.

Neis focused on the latter, especially while speaking to the graduands, recalling how that work began somewhat unexpectedly with a kitchen conversation in a home on the East Coast that she was visiting. There, she was told about trawlermen who were being severely injured as they tried to fish in ice in vessels not designed for that purpose. Neis wanted to know why, and in the process of getting answers developed an approach that would serve her well in understanding the roots of circumstances she wanted to research.

鈥淭he best way I've found to understand these forces is by starting with their lived experience and then using the resources available to researchers to work backwards to disentangle the various threads [that cause them],鈥� she said.

In the case of the trawlermen, the source of the challenges they faced became clear. 鈥淚 soon realized that for fishermen and others, the forces that threaten their lives, livelihoods and communities frequently come from the ways environmental, institutional, policy and other processes intersect to affect what they do and how they do it,鈥� she said.

It became important to Neis then 鈥� and moving forward 鈥� to keep the people in mind while conducting her research. 鈥淚t led me to begin designing my research, assessing the findings and developing related recommendations for change in collaboration with those who must, in the end, live with the results.鈥�

She would go on to approach her other work with that same type of thinking 鈥� notably, her research around the collapse of the Atlantic cod stocks in the 1990s. As Robichaud noted in his introduction, that work 鈥渕ade [Neis鈥檚] reputation as a research activist 鈥� [and] 鈥� led to significant social change.鈥�

Neis credits the success of that project to remembering the personal, and listening to lived experiences when doing research. 鈥淚 was privileged to work with a team of social and natural scientists, interviewing Trinity Bay fishermen about their intimate knowledge of life under and on the water,鈥� she said. 鈥淭heir collective observations, from headland to the bottom of the bay and across generations, helped us document the insights underlying their prescient questioning of the overly optimistic scientific assessments that contributed to the collapse.鈥�

That experience 鈥� which she noted proudly was some of the earliest research globally on commercial fisheries, ecological knowledge and science 鈥� gave her the tools to 鈥渓ead interdisciplinary programs of research that sought to explore key knowledge gaps at the boundaries not only between the social sciences but also between the social, natural and health sciences.鈥�

Neis shared that her interest in the interdisciplinary also extends beyond the academic. She recalled that after moving on from an early love of creative pursuits, when she later in life moved to Newfoundland, she had access to a vibrant artistic community that was both socially and politically engaged. There, she began collaborating with that community to create projects that address climate change in the coastal regions. 鈥淭hese effects are already part of the lived experience of those living on islands and along coasts 鈥� including, particularly, in the Arctic. Our objective ... is to explore how to use the arts to emotionally engage new audiences and empower essential movements for social change,鈥� she said.

It is perhaps no surprise, given her career built on being open to unexpected sources of direction, that Neis shared a critical piece of advice drawn from her experiences 鈥� many of which she had never anticipated. 鈥淭his reminds us how important it is to look for opportunities and to embrace change that takes us outside of our comfort zone,鈥� she told the graduands, summing up both her own life and inspiring the ones ahead for those graduating.  

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91亚色 community members gathered at both the Glendon and Keele campuses in April for the annual tradition of planting trees in celebration of Earth Month.

Each year the event is organized to help drive positive change by creating a greener campus with restored ecosystems to help mitigate climate change.

Past events have seen hundreds of trees, of a variety of native species, planted. This year, over 100 participants planted a mini orchard with 18 larger fruit trees 鈥� including apple, pear, pawpaw and more 鈥� and over 100 shrubs to enhance and grow an edible opportunity for an edible campus.

Some of the plantings were targeted to particular locations as well, with the fruit-bearing trees finding their way into the Keele Campus Arboretum, and greenery being placed along the Glendon Campus ravine to help restore erosion around the riverbank.

The event was held in partnership with  and 91亚色鈥檚 Property Management Grounds, Facilities Services, with grant funding provided by the City of Toronto.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the perfect opportunity to come together to take action on our campus and in our everyday lives, as we continue to work on system-level change,鈥� Mike Layton, 91亚色鈥檚 chief sustainability officer, has said of the occasion.

View a photo gallery of the tree planting events below.

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