Brenda Cossman receives 2023 JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Award

Brenda Cossman, a professor in the Faculty of Law, was named a recipient of the 2023 JJ Berry Smith Award for Doctoral Supervision.

The award, given annually by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), aims to recognize outstanding performance in the multiple roles associated with graduate supervision. Candidates must be active faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in supervision at U of T over a period of at least 15 years.

Two awards are offered every year: one for the humanities/social sciences and one for the physical/life sciences. Each winner receives a conference or travel grant to award to a student, a framed certificate of recognition and has their name inscribed on a plaque at SGS.

“As a supervisor, I am so honoured to be given this award,” Cossman says. “Knowing that my students saw fit to support my nomination – that to me is worth its weight in gold.”

Cossman has supervised eight master's students and 14 doctoral students since 2003 – a high number for the Faculty of Law, which typically admits fewer than 50 graduate students per year.

University Professor Arthur Ripstein and University Professor Emeritus Michael J. Trebilcock are faculty colleagues previously recognized with this distinction.