Psychology professor wins graduate supervisor award

By Chris Putnam

Dr. Ron Borowsky (PhD) said it is “truly a career highlight” to receive the 2020 University of Saskatchewan (USask) Distinguished Graduate Supervisor Award.

Borowsky, a faculty member in the College of Arts and Science’s Department of Psychology and university NSERC leader in the Office of the Vice-President Research, was presented with the award by the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies on Feb. 4.

The professor of cognitive neuroscience was nominated by his current and former students, who called him the “quintessential student-focused professor.”

“I am honoured to have been nominated for this award by my graduate and post-doc students, and I am so grateful for all of their kind words,” Borowsky said.

The Distinguished Graduate Supervisor Award is presented each year to one USask faculty member. The $1,000 award recognizes supervisors who provide a stimulating learning environment and motivate graduate students to achieve success in their scholarship and careers.

A leader in brain research, Borowsky and his students examine connections between the mind and the brain through such processes as language, attention and memory. His work has drawn international attention since he arrived at USask in 1995.

Borowsky’s graduate students described him as a caring, supportive and dedicated mentor who places a high value on accessibility and collaboration. He designed his office to be located in the middle of his laboratory, where he and students spend hours each day interacting, working on research and finding ways to contribute to one another’s projects.

Borowsky also mentors students in the broader skills needed for an academic career, including teaching and service.

“Good researchers should be good teachers, and good teachers should be good researchers, and being a ‘professor’ is not about being only one or the other,” Borowsky wrote in a statement of his teaching philosophy.

Borowsky’s students have been highly successful at obtaining scholarships, publishing research and securing academic positions after graduation.

“Each day with them is a new adventure, and I just love that. We are like a family, so it is also very rewarding to see them go on to successful careers,” Borowsky said.

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