Louise Dawe and Azim Essaji named recipients of Laurier’s Faculty Award for Service Excellence and Community Engagement

April 3, 2025

Louise Dawe, associate professor in the Faculty of Science, and Azim Essaji, associate professor in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, are the 2025 recipients of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty Award for Service Excellence and Community Engagement.   

This award recognizes full-time faculty and librarians who provide exceptional service leadership and community engagement in addition to their exemplary teaching and scholarship. Dawe and Essaji will receive their awards during June convocation ceremonies. 

“Our two winners have made outstanding and sustained contributions to the Laurier community and their academic communities,” says Heidi Northwood, provost and vice-president: academic and selection committee chair. “Their excellence in academic leadership will have enduring positive impacts on the Laurier community and they set the bar for us all.”  

Louise Dawe 

Louise Dawe joined the Faculty of Science at Laurier in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2013. She has received the Faculty of Science Award for Teaching Excellence in the Early Career and Established Career categories and the Laurier Residence Academic Partner Award for her work with the Faculty of Science residence learning community.

Outside of the classroom, Dawe chairs the Canadian National Committee for Crystallography and the Canadian division of the American Crystallographic Association. She is a member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant evaluation group for chemistry and serves as the secretary for the Inorganic Division of the Canadian Society for Chemistry, where she also co-organizes the annual “ChemiSTEAM: Putting the A(rt) in STEM” competition. 

“I am absolutely delighted that Louise’s commitment to service has been recognized and acknowledged in this way,” says Anthony Clarke, dean of the Faculty of Science. “Louise is heavily engaged in service to our students, our faculty and staff colleagues, and to her external professional societies, all the while maintaining a successful and productive research program and teaching excellence with a full course load. As with everything she does, Louise is committed and dedicated to her service contributions to her department, faculty, Laurier at large, and well beyond. She truly stands tall as a model academic scholar and colleague.” 

Dawe holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Memorial University, a Master of Science degree from the University of Utah, and a doctoral degree in Chemistry, also from Memorial University. In 2023, she completed a master's certificate in Leadership from York University. Dawe currently serves as the acting associate dean: academic and the undergraduate academic officer in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.   

“I am very grateful for this award,” says Dawe. “I want to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who cares about something, but isn’t sure how to get involved, to take that first step: send an email, attend an event or approach someone in the association or organization. So many groups need committed volunteers. My commitment comes from a sincere belief that students and early career researchers are our future. Serving them builds community and supports success. That’s what I’m here for.”  

Azim Essaji  

Azim Essaji joined the Department of Economics in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Laurier in in 2005. Since then, Essaji has served the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) as a member of the executive committee and chief contract negotiator during collective bargaining in 2017, 2020 and 2023. He contributed to Laurier’s conversion to the University Pension Plan and led negotiations for the Inclusive Excellence hiring initiative in 2020. Essaji spearheaded the recognition of non-traditional scholarship, including Indigenous forms of learning and community-based scholarship, for full-time faculty and professional librarians in the collective agreements between WLUFA and Laurier in 2017, 2020 and 2023.

He has also strengthened language in the collective agreement regarding student-faculty ratios and the minimum faculty complement. Essaji currently serves as a WLUFA grievance officer. 

“It is wonderful to see Azim recognized for his exceptional record of service at Laurier and within the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics,” says Kyle Murray, dean of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. “He has made contributions to our community that will shape the university for years to come – including his steadfast work as the chief negotiator for the full-time collective agreement in the last three rounds of bargaining and for playing a key role in Laurier’s adoption of the University Pension Plan. His many service roles within Laurier, the Lazaridis School and the Department of Economics are defined by empathy, collaboration, respect and a deep commitment to our community.” 

Essaji is an active member of Senate and serves on several committees including the Senate academic planning committee, the pension committee of the Board of Governors, and the WLUFA governance committee, in addition to supporting three senior administrative searches. In 2016, Essaji received the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics Award for Outstanding Teaching. 

Essaji holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree and a Master of Arts degree from McMaster University in addition to a Juris Doctor degree and doctoral degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.   

"I am deeply honoured to receive this award, which recognizes my contributions to management-union relations and participation in university governance,” says Essaji. “Faculty members enjoy considerable privilege and with that privilege comes a responsibility to give back — to the students they teach, the public at large and the institution that they serve. I hope that my efforts have contributed to the better functioning of Laurier and have facilitated an environment where faculty and their students can thrive."