Awards & Bursaries

Since 2014 the BCIT Faculty & Staff Association have partnered with BCIT and the BCIT Alumni Association for the Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) by honouring a BCIT alumnus who returned to the Institute as an FSA member. In January we put a call out for nominations from the membership. The FSA board deliberated over the nominees and we are thrilled to officially announce our selection for 2019.

FSA members work every day to advance public, post-secondary education in the areas of teaching, student services, and research. FSA members contribute not only to BCIT, BC, and beyond but also to their association – the FSA. We are consistently impressed by our members’ participation in this association to make it stronger for all members and Jamie does just that.

Jamie Finley – Research Assistant in the Natural Health and Food Products Research Group (NRG) in BCIT’s Applied Research – was nominated for his contributions to BCIT and to the broader community, which are rooted not only in his commitment to BCIT’s applied model but also in his experience as a student and staff person who is Deaf. His approach to sharing information, educating those he works with, and ensuring a better environment for anyone who experiences a difference that BCIT is not always set up for makes all of us better at what we do. His contributions are in many areas – as a researcher, as a team member, as an FSA member, and as an advocate.

Jamie was also nominated for his participation in the FSA as a Tech Rep, Equity Caucus member, participation in CAUT activities, and his collaboration with the FSA staff and Board for advancing our practices. Jamie is also one of NRG’s specialists in fermentation, identification of micro-organisms, and microbial load criteria for agricultural products. Jamie’s overall goal at the NRG is to advance the state of practice for characterization and quality control of commercial and research-based natural health products.

Jamie’s work is embedded in the principle of ongoing learning – always seeking to learn something new every day. This is exactly the kind of learning that BCIT delivers, promotes, and advances. His work in the NRG influences the direction of industry through the relationships with stakeholders and providing expertise in ensuring quality products.

His nominator, Teresa Place, had this to say about Jamie:

As a past Tech Rep, active member, and member of the FSA Equity Caucus, Jamie has made the most of these roles by responding to requests for information from the FSA office, sharing issues of interest with his colleagues, bringing concerns about FSA decisions to our attention, and bringing colleagues to the office when the FSA could help them. He’s also brought forward useful suggestions for the FSA Board of Directors, FSA events, and for Tech Rep meetings that have been incorporated into our work. The FSA is a member-driven organization and Jamie demonstrates this with each of these actions.

Jamie continuously encourages the FSA to be even better. He is generous with his knowledge, information, and known practices. He is able to map his experiences – as a BCIT student and a staff – with the areas in which improvements can be made.

Jamie is also the co-lead for an upcoming event with the Diversity Circles team on Allyship & Audism, spoke at the April 2018 FSA general meeting on ‘Equity in a Nutshell’, and shared his experiences attending the CAUT Equity Conference on the FSA blog.

As FSA president it is my honour to shine a spotlight on all our members and it is a great honour to join the FSA board in honouring Jamie for his accomplishments, his commitment to the FSA, and his generosity in sharing his experience and knowledge. We look forward to presenting the award to Jamie in October at the BCIT DAA event.

We encourage members to watch for an opportunity to nominate their co-members next year for the 2020 BCITFSA Distinguished Alumni Award.