Program Overview

Established in 1999, the Chancellor’s Leadership Award recognizes exceptional contributions by administrative staff and librarians. The Chancellor’s Leadership Award complements the President’s Excellence Award.

Recipients of the Chancellor’s Leadership Award demonstrate outstanding leadership and significantly advance the University’s mission to foster an academic community in which the learning and scholarship of every member may flourish.

There are three categories of the award:

• Influential Leader,
• Distinguished Leader, and
• Emerging Leader

The Chancellor’s Leadership Awards are aligned with the University’s broader Awards of Excellence (AWEX) program – U of T’s most distinguished awards program.

2026 Recipients

Influential Leader

 

Gwen Burrows is an exceptional and transformative leader whose work has significantly shaped the University of Toronto’s international engagement, reputation, and global partnerships. Gwen exemplifies principled, values-driven leadership grounded in collaboration, reciprocity, and inclusive excellence.

Since 2017, Gwen has played a central role in the design and execution of the University’s International Strategic Plan. Her rare ability to pair strategic precision with agility has enabled U of T to navigate rapidly changing global contexts while remaining firmly anchored in its core values. She consistently engages colleagues across Faculties, campuses, and portfolios, ensuring that internationalization is a truly university-wide endeavour. A trusted advisor across vice presidential portfolios, Gwen is also a generous mentor who develops future leaders and a collegial partner whose warmth, humour, and respect foster confidence and unity.

Through her leadership, Gwen has strengthened U of T’s global reputation and advanced a coherent “Team U of T” presence in priority markets. These efforts have enhanced research collaboration, international recruitment, philanthropic partnerships, and alumni engagement, delivering lasting institutional value.

Gwen’s leadership is distinguished by her mastery of collaboration as a disciplined practice. She builds alignment across complex systems, removes barriers, and creates conditions for shared success. Her stewardship of major multi-partner initiatives—most notably the Africa Health Collaborative supported by the Mastercard Foundation—has established governance models now emulated internationally. She has also been a transformative force within the U7+ Alliance of Global Universities, where her organizational excellence, cultural fluency, and ethical leadership elevated U of T’s standing and helped shape a focused, values-based global coalition.

Gwen Burrows was nominated by Joseph Wong, Vice President, International.

Distinguished Leader

 

Kerri Bailey has provided expert administrative oversight for the Department of Medicine, one of the largest in North America and among the highest-ranked Departments of Medicine internationally. Kerri has enhanced governance and financial operations through the development of leadership resources and a finance manual, as well as annual budget letters and quarterly financial reports to assist the four Departmental Vice-Chairs and leaders of the twenty divisions of the Department.

She has also led the development of Department-wide technology transition projects, including SharePoint migration, Faculty file consolidation, a new Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) residency application platform, Moneris payment portals for international training verifications, and feasibility testing for Science Research and Experimental Development (SRED) implementation.

Kerri has supported the impactful integration of principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the operations of the Department’s research, clinical, innovation, and educational efforts, and she has provided mentorship and guidance in the professional development of administrative staff and faculty leadership within the Department. She has helped to develop new avenues of revenue generation and communications for the Department and its members. Kerri’s solid sense of integrity, selflessness, and personal concern and commitment to all those who work with her are the foundation of her leadership within the Department.

Kerri Bailey was nominated by Arno Kumagai, Professor and Vice-Chair for Education, Department of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Emerging Leader

 

Paul Tonin’s exceptional leadership has positively shaped the diverse Medical Education Portfolio at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and beyond. His inclusive, collaborative, and forward-thinking approach is notable in his work across transformative initiatives over the past thirteen years. His strategic leadership was instrumental in uniting two separate learner support offices into a new, cohesive entity now known as the integrated Office of Learner Affairs (OLA) over a two-year process. This critical change streamlined operations to better serve and improve the well-being of medical education learners.

Paul has also played a pivotal role in the ongoing process of dismantling anti-Black racism in medical education and in the development of the inaugural Medical Education Strategic Plan at Temerty Medicine. His commitment to advancing the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout his work informed both the development of that plan and creation of a Black at Temerty Medicine: Addressing Anti-Black Racism at Temerty Medicine Accountability Report.

Paul has a collaborative leadership style which ensures diverse voices are reflected in decision-making throughout the portfolio. He is highly respected for his thoughtful and sage leadership as a mentor and role model to junior colleagues, and he actively nurtures connections and collaboration across the portfolio, and beyond, providing invaluable support and guidance to his colleagues. Paul champions the professional development of others and leads with an inclusive vision that focuses on the big-picture impact of initiatives that affect learners, faculty members, staff, and community members.

Paul Tonin was nominated by Patricia Houston, Professor, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, and Vice-Dean, Medical Education, Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Presentation Details

Recipients of a 2026 Chancellor’s Leadership Award will be invited to attend a luncheon hosted by Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture, and Sandy Welsh, Vice-Provost, Students, to be held in the spring.

Recipients will receive their framed AWEX certificate at the 2026 Pinnacle Awards Luncheon alongside the 2026 recipients of:

• the Jill Matus Award for Excellence in Student Services,
• the Joan E. Foley Quality of Student Experience Award,
• the Ludwik & Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize, and
• the President’s Excellence Award

Further Details

Complete details on the award are available on the AWEX website.

The complete list of past recipients is also available.

Please contact the Employee Recognition & Engagement Team for additional information about this year’s recipients or the award program.

Learn more about other staff recognition programs at U of T through our Recognition Scaffold.