DEM Awards and Recognition Committee

Terms of Reference

Purpose

The Awards and Recognition Committee fosters a culture of excellence and appreciation within the Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) by:   

• Promoting and facilitating nominations for internal, university-wide, national, and international awards. 
• Recognizing outstanding contributions in clinical care, research, education, leadership, administration, and service. 
• Ensuring that all recognition efforts reflect and uphold UBC’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

Responsibilities

• Identify and promote award opportunities relevant to DEM faculty, staff, and trainees.
• Encourage nominations from across all career stages, roles and across all geographic regions. 
• Support nominators and nominees in preparing strong, equitable nomination packages. 
• Maintain a calendar of award deadlines and proactive plan for submissions. 
• Celebrate award recipients through departmental communications and events. 
• Ensure EDI principles are embedded in all aspects of the committee’s work, including outreach, selection, and celebration.  

Composition

• Chair: Appointed by Department Head 
• Academic Faculty Representatives (2): include early-career and senior faculty 
• Clinical Faculty Representative: representing a balance of teaching, research, and clinical excellence 
  • Vancouver Representative (1) 
  • Fraser Representative (1) 
  • Vancouver Island Representative (1) 
  • Interior Representative (1) 
  • Northern Representative (1) 
• Pediatric Emergency Medicine Representative (1) 
• Emeriti Representative (1) 
• Research Coordinator or Representative (1) 
• Communications or Administrative Representative (1) 
• Trainee Representative (1): Resident or fellow 
• EDI Advisor (1) 
• Administrative Support: For record-keeping and logistics. 

Efforts will be made to ensure diverse representation across gender, race, geography, and career stage.  

Term of Appointment

Members serve a 2-year term, renewable once. Terms will be staggered to ensure continuity. 

Meetings

The committee will meet at least three times per year, or at the call of the Chair. Additional meetings may be scheduled around major award deadlines. Quorum: 50% + 1 of the members. 

Decision Making Process

• The committee is advisory and reports to the Departmental Head.  
• Agreement from the DEM awards committee will generally be by consensus. On issues where there is a lack of agreement, the chair may ask for a vote. The results will be reported to the Departmental Head but the final decision whether to act on the recommendations will be at the discretion of the Departmental Head.  

EDI Best Practices

• Use inclusive language and imagery in communications. 
• Proactively identify and support nominees from equity-deserving groups. 
• Avoid bias in nomination letters and adjudication (use language that highlights achievements, impact, and leadership, and avoid wording that may unintentionally downplay a candidate’s strengths). 
• Provide mentorship and support for nominators and nominees. 
• Review its own practices annually to ensure alignment with UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan and UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism Framework (StEAR). 
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Considerations for Nomination and Adjudication Committees.

Reporting

The Chair will report annually to the DEM Executive Committee and Department Head. Administrative support for the committee includes tracking nominations and awards to include in an annual report. 

Approvals and Revisions