(From the Carleton Newsroom, January 2, 2001)
Carleton Prof. Melanie Adrian has been appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour, for establishing the university as a global leader in protecting vulnerable scholars and founding an organization to help cancer patients navigate the medical system.
Adrian was among 47 people appointed on New Year’s Day by Ontario Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell covering 2019 and 2020. The order honours “individuals whose exceptional achievements have left a lasting legacy in the province, in Canada and beyond.”
“We’re thrilled to hear that the Order of Ontario will be adding a new member of the Carleton family to its distinguished ranks,” said President Benoit-Antoine Bacon.
“Prof. Adrian is a remarkable innovator whose transformative work benefits students, scholars and all of society.”
A celebrated leader and associate professor in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton, Adrian spearheaded a Canadian section of the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network in 2014 in collaboration with the University of Ottawa. The program supports academics who are at risk in their home countries and offers them a unique opportunity to teach and interact with colleagues and students in safe environments.
Adrian, a breast cancer survivor, also co-founded Be the Choice, a not-for-profit organization which empowers patients to understand diagnoses and navigate treatment options. An interactive, bilingual digital platform enables them to understand the labyrinth of clinical terms and pathways that accompany a diagnosis. The platform was launched in June of 2017 and has helped hundreds of patients.
Her teaching and research focus on rights of minorities in religiously, ethnically and culturally diverse societies. In 2018, she launched a new course called “Academia and Activism: Seminar in Advanced Human Rights Advocacy.” It marries theory with case studies to empower students to make a positive difference in the lives of real people.
Adrian has won numerous awards for her teaching excellence and is an inaugural Chair in Teaching Innovation at Carleton – a position awarded to educators who have demonstrated teaching excellence and innovation across their academic careers. It provides them with funds to develop a scholarly approach to teaching and learning across the university, with a particular emphasis on strategies to foster student success.
Read more about Adrian’s teaching innovations here: https://carleton.ca/ravenmag/story/melanie-adrian-remote-learning/