Christine Daigle

The Office of Research Services has announced the recipients of two internal awards that recognize outstanding research at Brock.

Christine Daigle, associate professor in Philosophy and director of the Women’s Studies program, has been named the 2010 Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence.

Dorothy Griffiths, associate dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, and professor, Child and Youth Studies, has been named the recipient of the 2010 Brock University Award for Distinguished Research and Creative Activity.

The Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence recognizes active scholars who demonstrate excellence and will continue to contribute significantly to the advancement of their field of scholarship and creative activity. With the award, recipients undertake a specific three-year program of research, and must present one public lecture on this research.

Daigle’s research will contribute to the field of study on French feminist Simone de Beauvoir by clarifying the philosophical foundations of existentialist ethics and politics. Her project, entitled “Beauvoir’s phenomenology as a ground for an ethics and politics of difference,” will investigate how it is possible to articulate and conceive sexual difference from the point of view of lived experience and from the point of view of its ethical and political meanings.

Dorothy Griffiths

Daigle, who also studies German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, came to Brock in 2003.

The Distinguished Research and Creative Activity award recognizes individuals who show outstanding research achievements, contributions toward the training of future researchers, and consistency in scholarly or creative performance. The one-year award is not attached to a specific research activity or proposal, but the recipient is required to give one lecture to the Brock community.

According to the supporting letter from fellow Brock colleagues, Griffiths “has devoted her life to developing and researching evidence-based therapeutic interventions and support systems for persons with intellectual disabilities who experience serious mental health challenges in Ontario, across Canada and internationally.”

Her accomplishments in teaching, research, awards and publications have been developed during a career that includes 17 years at Brock.

Daigle will receive formal recognition for the Chancellor’s Chair at the time of her lecture, while Griffiths will receive recognition at Fall Convocation.