The names of two more students from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) will be added to the awards display wall in the Vari Hall Rotunda in celebration of the fifth annual Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award.

This year's award winners, including student Munisha Basiram, Robert Tiffin and Rhonda Lenton, President-Designate (from right)

From multiple Faculties at York, the ten York University students receiving the award were honoured at the reception for their outstanding achievements in leadership, dedication, integrity and enthusiasm . The students received a certificate at the reception and will have the award noted on their transcripts.

The award was created to recognize current undergraduate and graduate students whose leadership has contributed to the growth, development and vitality of York University.

Students were selected on the basis of their leadership and/or involvement, as well as outstanding academic achievement.

This year’s recipients from LA&PS included:

• Alamgir Khandwala, a fourth-year student in thecompleting a specialized honours bachelor of administrative studies degree, majoring in accounting

• Munisha Basiram, a fourth-year student completing a specialized honours bachelor of public administration degree, with a focus on management

Robert Tiffin, the award’s namesake, served as York University’s vice president, Students, for nine years before retiring in 2012. Tiffin was in attendance to hand out the awards to each of the winners and described the reception as “truly one of the biggest events of the year for me”.

This is the fifth year for the award, and Tiffin noted that he is honoured to have his name associated with the recipients.

“I am always impressed by the diversity of ways in which leadership occurs here at York and this was truly evident as I went through looking at the nomination packages,” he said. “There were several key themes I found that really embody the York Education – and this is mobilizing new ways of thinking, preparing engaged global citizens and building stronger communities.”

Rhonda Lenton, vice-president academic and provost, also shared a few words with recipients.

“This is one of the very important awards we have at York University,” she said. “The students in the room today … you are active, engaged members of the University and you are ambassadors for us.”

Story appears in Y-File