Susan Tanner Scholarship (OTSS)

Award created thanks to the generosity of Susan Tanner’s family

Award Overview

Value of the award:
Variable
Number of awards:
Variable
Award frequency:
Annual
Level or program of study:
Graduate
Application Type:
Online Scholarship and Bursaries portal, accessible via uoZone.
Application Deadline:
November 3
Renewable:
No

Purpose of this Award

To provide financial assistance to a graduate student whose activism in the domains of equality rights or environmental sustainability is making a difference.

Eligibility Criteria

The candidate must:

  1. be registered as a full-time student in a graduate program at the University of Ottawa
  2. be an Ontario resident, as per OSAP rules
  3. demonstrate financial need, as determined by the Financial Aid and Awards Service of the University of Ottawa
  4. demonstrate an active role in promoting advocacy in equality rights and environmental sustainability

How to Apply

Submitted in the Online Scholarship and Bursaries portal, accessible via uoZone, and must include:

  1. the Financial Questionnaire
  2. a brief statement (500 words) from the applicant describing his or her leadership and community involvement in equality rights or environmental sustainability

About this Award

Susan Tanner’s family established this scholarship to encourage graduate students who are making a difference to the future of women or our environment in Canada.

Susan Tanner is dedicated to defending basic Canadian values in her work, community and family. From her early days in Edmonton as an activist for Opportunities for Youth and pioneering the first legal aid clinic in Halton Hills, she has challenged the status quo in order to make a difference. 

She graduated with an L.L.B. and a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University both in 1976. She has gone on to use her legal skills and knowledge of effective environmental activism in a career where the right process and outcomes are always more important than bureaucratic advancement. 

Nevertheless, she has held senior positions both in the federal and in the Ontario provincial government and directed non-profit organizations that protect Canadian values of equality rights and environmental sustainability. In 1982, Susan Tanner was the founding chairperson of the Legal Education and Action Fund, to promote enforcement of the rights of women under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 1995, Friends of Earth Canada accepted the UN Environmental Prize for achievements under her leadership as executive director. 

Susan Tanner holds an LL.M. from the University of Ottawa for her combination of knowledge of human rights, trade and environmental protection.  Her thesis focused on how principles similar to feminist jurisprudence in the ¨Montreal Protocol¨ made the difference in reducing ¨Ozone Depletion¨ across the world. 

The donor thanks the Government of Ontario which helped create this fund through its generous matching contributions.