Staff recognized for citizenship, leadership, innovation and contributions to the student experience
Eleven outstanding staff members at U of T Engineering have been recognized by the faculty with Administrative Staff Awards. These awards acknowledge exceptional staff for their citizenship, leadership, innovation and contributions to the student experience.
“Our administrative staff members provide vital support and leadership in advancing our faculty’s mission and I’m grateful for the opportunity to recognize their achievements,” says U of T Engineering Dean Christopher Yip.
“Congratulations to the awardees, and my heartfelt thanks to all our staff members for their incredible contributions.”
The Administrative Staff Award recipients are:
Salvatore Boccia (MSE)Quality of Student Experience Award for Behind-the-Scenes Staff
Recognizing staff members who have made significant contributions to the quality of student experience in the faculty through the creation or improvement of programs or services.
An engineering technologist in MSE since 1994, Boccia has been leading the electron microscopy operation at the Open Center for the Characterization of Advanced Materials (OCCAM) since its inauguration in 2015. In this role, he provides individual support to students using the OCCAM microscopy lab as well as overseeing the facility. Boccia’s behind-the-scenes contributions have meaningfully improved the student experience by enhancing access to equipment, strengthening student skills, and fostering a safe, positive and inclusive research environment.
Boccia works hard to create a welcoming and non-intimidating atmosphere in the OCCAM lab, which is especially valuable for students who are new to research. His patience and willingness to explain every aspect of the work help students feel confident, supported and capable of engaging meaningfully with advanced research tools. Equally important is Boccia’s unwavering commitment to laboratory safety and his proactive approach to facility management — troubleshooting equipment failures even on weekends and holidays — ensuring minimal interruption to student research. His support, mentoring, and dedication to providing an excellent research experience have positively influenced generations of students.
Jessica Chow (Student Recruitment and Outreach Office)
Harpreet Dhariwal Emerging Leader Award
Recognizing a staff member who leads by example in their dedication to the faculty’s mission and demonstrates potential to assume a more senior leadership role.
Since joining what is now the Engineering Student Recruitment & Outreach Office in 2017, Chow has taken on progressively senior roles in quick succession, from recruitment officer, events and engagement, to senior recruitment officer, and now manager, student recruitment. The duties in all these roles are considerable, from executing large-scale events to building a comprehensive virtual student recruitment plan, to leading scheduling for travel for recruitment events. Nevertheless, she has consistently taken on responsibilities above and beyond her role whenever needed.
Since assuming the manager, student recruitment role in 2022, Chow has continuously improved the office’s business processes and strengthened relationships with faculty partners such as Admissions, Alumni Relations, and the departments. She also leads by example in her commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Chow has considerably grown outreach programs focused on women in engineering and dramatically improved services for Indigenous applicants. Her leadership is evident in the many relationships she has built across U of T that support her work building an inclusive and diverse student community.
Shayni Curtis Clarke (CivMin)
Agnes Kaneko Citizenship Award
Recognizing a staff member who has served with distinction and made contributions to the faculty’s mission above and beyond their job description over a long period of time.
Curtis Clarke joined U of T Engineering as a graduate assistant in 2005 and advanced through multiple positions in CivMin before taking on the role of undergraduate academic advisor in 2013.
Throughout this time, she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to student success and to the broader faculty community. Curtis Clarke’s contributions extend well beyond her advising responsibilities. She is a trusted mentor to both academic and administrative staff, generously offering guidance and perspective to colleagues at all stages of their careers. Her collegiality and collaborative spirit contribute to a positive, inclusive and supportive working environment for staff and faculty alike.
Curtis Clarke has served as a key resource on both the FASE Scholarships Committee and the FASE Undergraduate Assessment Committee for approximately 15 years. In those roles, her thoughtful and principled contributions have helped ensure fairness, clarity and continuity in faculty-level decision-making. She has also served on the Joint Task Force on Academic Advising & Mental Health, where her insights have supported our commitment to student well-being. Curtis Clarke received the Barbara McCann Quality of Student Experience Award for Frontline Staff in 2020.
Michelle Deeton (CivMin)
Catherine Gagne Sustained Excellence in Leadership Award
Recognizing a staff member who has demonstrated leadership in supporting the faculty’s mission over a sustained period.
Deeton has demonstrated exceptional leadership in supporting and advancing the faculty’s education and research missions for more than a decade. Since joining U of T Engineering in 2015, she has taken on roles of increasing responsibility, from acting director, office of the Dean to her current position as director, finance & administration in CivMin. Across these roles, Deeton has continuously improved administrative systems, financial oversight and operational processes that directly enable the success of our students, faculty and staff. She also mentors and supports her team with a deep commitment to excellence, integrity and inclusion.
Deeton ensures staff feel valued and empowered to develop their own skills and careers, and her leadership fosters trust and confidence across CivMin and the faculty. Deeton’s contributions extend well beyond her job requirements — she is a committed citizen of the faculty, offering her expertise, mentorship and support to colleagues across U of T Engineering. Her dedication and professionalism make her an invaluable member of our community. On receiving this recognition, Deeton commented that she considers it a great privilege to work in U of T Engineering and CivMin alongside her colleagues.
Amy Hsueh, Elvis Ibrahimovic, Dharsha Sundarampillai, Marie Wee, and Kary Wong (ECE)
Barbara McCann Quality of Student Experience Award for Frontline Staff
Recognizing staff members who have made significant contributions to the quality of student experience in the faculty through their outstanding frontline service.
This team, which makes up the ECE Graduate Office, has navigated an extraordinary period of growth and transformation, as the ECE MEng program has doubled in the past few years. In addition to adapting to the impact of these changes, the team has expanded its portfolio to include recruitment and the development of new administrative infrastructure. Throughout it all, they have not simply managed growth, they have improved and elevated the graduate student experience in ECE. In a period defined by expansion, funding reform and post-pandemic rebuilding, they have strengthened community — particularly for MEng. Students — enhanced academic progression, improved administrative transparency and elevated recruitment outcomes.
Drawing on daily frontline experience, the team helped translate recurring student questions and procedural bottlenecks into practical system improvements, most notably contributing to the development of the new graduate student portal — a centralized platform designed to streamline processes, improve transparency and enhance access to information. The portal represents not just a technical tool, but a structural improvement to the student experience. It is being scaled for broader faculty adoption.
Colleen Kelly and Fannie Yu (CivMin)
Innovation Award
Recognizing a staff member or team of staff members who has shown innovation in developing a new method, technology or system, or improving an existing system, to the benefit of the faculty.
Kelly and Yu are being recognized for the creation of a dashboard that allows CivMin faculty members to monitor their departmental contributions to funding allocation for student fellowships and to track all payments made to their students and research associates over the course of the academic year. The dashboard provides faculty with a comprehensive, real-time view of all active payees under their supervision. While built on a familiar tool — Excel worksheets — the system represents a significant leap forward in administrative efficiency, transparency and collaboration.
Prior to this innovation, the department relied on a fragmented system that separated business office records from student services oversight. Faculty had limited access to their own payroll activity, and staff had no shared platform for verifying payments. This created inefficiencies and increased the risk of students being underpaid. The new system allows faculty to easily view their spending and ensure they remain on track to meet their funding commitments to students. It also allows staff to share real-time data on payments to students and research associates. It has fundamentally transformed how the department supports students and manages the student funding package.
