Dr. Kim Sawchuk is an outstanding graduate student mentor. A Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University since 1993, she has supervised to completion 35 Master’s students, 3 MFA’s, and 20 PhD students, many of which have moved on to hold faculty positions at universities across Canada.
Dr. Sawchuk has a well-established record of placing student life and mentorship at the forefront of key administrative positions she has taken on during her career. She has developed and taught numerous graduate-level courses, and has held leadership roles in graduate student administration and programming. A Graduate Program Director for several degree programs at Concordia, and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Arts and Science, Dr. Sawchuk streamlined bureaucratic processes, created student manuals, and secured additional financial support for graduate students.
A respected leader in the field of communication studies, Dr. Sawchuk is committed to helping her students foster networks with scholars from across the world, often through scholarships and travel grants drawn from her own sources of external funding. “She is a truly interdisciplinary thinker and applied technology researcher,” reflects a former PhD student. “She encouraged me to be ambitious, to have fun, and to chart my own path creatively, intellectually, and professionally.”
According to her current and former graduate students, what makes Dr. Sawchuk stand out as a mentor is her ability to encourage, support, and inspire students to reach their full potential. “Her decades-long career has been defined by an all-in approach to mentoring graduate students and junior colleagues,” writes a former PhD student. “It is no exaggeration to say that her efforts have shaped multiple generations of leaders in communication and cultural studies in Canada and beyond.”
