Honouring CAFA Award Recipient Dr. Janelle Baker

Earlier this fall, AU Associate Professor of Anthropology Dr. Janelle Baker took the stage at the eighteenth annual Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) awards ceremony. As winner of the 2024 CAFA Distinguished Academic Early Career Award, she delivered a talk outlining the groundbreaking work that she is doing in Indigenous food sovereignty and environmental monitoring. In collaboration with First Nations communities, including the Bigstone Cree Nation and Stoney Nakoda Nations, she has not only shed light on industrial activities’ impacts on traditional food systems but also proposed meaningful responses to protect Indigenous food sovereignty and the environment.

After serving as an academic expert for several years, Dr. Baker joined the faculty of Athabasca University in 2018. Having earned over $5 million in research funding, her work exemplifies the power that academia has to make a real difference in the lives of communities. Her research output spans both peer-reviewed publications and international lectures and has been featured on CBC and National Geographic, bringing widespread attention to these issues of environmental justice. She is also shaping policy as a lead author for the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook.

 The CAFA awards recognize excellence in teaching and research across all public institutions in Alberta. Other recipients were as follows:

  • Distinguished Academic Award – Dr. George Georgiou, professor of educational psychology at the University of Alberta

  • Distinguished Teaching Award – Dr. Robbin Gibb, professor of neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge

  • Distinguished Teaching Award for Precarious Faculty – Professor Kristine Nutting, theatre instructor at the University of Alberta's Augustana Campus

The work that all recipients are doing highlights the vital roles that Alberta’s postsecondary institutions play in the province. Their contributions make life better – and not only for the students who have the pleasure of learning from them. The talks celebrated standing-room-only community outreach programs, life-changing literacy initiatives, and transformative creative practices.

A strong postsecondary sector is essential to keeping Alberta a great place to live and work, and the CAFA awards celebrated individuals who exemplify the contributions faculty association members are making across the province.

Laura JurgensCAUT, CAFA, Awards