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2025 Award for Excellence in Leadership: Julie Jones

As Research Commons Librarian, Julie Jones is recognized for her visionary leadership, inclusive programming, and unwavering commitment to graduate student success. Her work is synonymous with innovation, care, and community-building, and she has made a profound and lasting impact on the graduate student experience at SFU.

Jones’ leadership is rooted in a “whole person” approach to graduate support. She designs and delivers programming that meets students where they are—academically, emotionally, and professionally. From the widely respected Thesis Writing Retreat (TWR) to the Thesis Planning Sprint and All in a Day: Research & Writing for Graduate Students, Julie has transformed the landscape of graduate student development at SFU. Under her guidance, TWR evolved from a traditional boot camp into an inclusive, community-focused retreat that supports students across disciplines in overcoming challenges in their graduate work and making meaningful progress.

Writing Services Coordinator and Education PhD candidate Nia Pazoki reflects on Julie’s leadership.

Says Pazoki, “Julie leads with a quiet strength. Her approach is rooted in care, thoughtfulness, and a deep understanding of what graduate students are navigating. She creates spaces where students feel supported and inspired. At our last writing retreat, she created a sensory-friendly space to support students who needed a calmer environment to focus or take a mindful break—that kind of attention to accessibility is rare and deeply appreciated by students who often feel left out of traditional academic spaces. Julie listens with intention and treats student feedback as a vital part of her process. Her work is responsive, creative, and deeply inclusive.”

Julie’s leadership extends beyond programming. She is a trusted and approachable figure in the graduate student support community, often serving as a resource, navigator, and knowledge broker. She ensures students are connected to the right supports—whether through the Library, the SFU Ombudsperson, the Office of Research Ethics, the Faculty of Graduate Studies, or the Graduate Student Society (GSS). Her collaborative approach ensures students can address questions or concerns that may be holding them back in their academic journey.

Harjap Grewal, Advocate and Policy Advisor with the GSS, says, “Julie’s work at the Research Commons has been visibly critical to making it an accessible, innovative, and positive learning environment. Her thoughtful planning and interactions with graduate students have built a great deal of trust. Her leadership and care are truly immeasurable.”

Julie also leads the Library’s Graduate Peer Program, cultivating interdisciplinary learning and researcher development among graduate student instructors. She has built a robust onboarding and mentoring structure, providing training in pedagogy, communication, and conflict de-escalation—skills often missing from graduate curricula. Her work has increased the Library’s capacity to support advanced research tools such as R, NVivo, and GIS.

Julie’s impact is also felt in cross-disciplinary initiatives like the Indigenous Research Methods in Action Speaker Series, which she co-developed with Research Commons colleagues and SFU's Indigenous Initiatives Librarians. The series created a platform for graduate students and faculty to share applied examples of Indigenous methodologies, aligning with SFU’s priorities around equity, reconciliation, and decolonization.

Her leadership in research communication was also evident in her instructional support for the Resilience of the Aging Brain Open House Event, co-organized by PhD students Stephanie U and Aina Roenningen.

U and Roenningen share, “Julie played a crucial role in creating and leading a poster development and science communication workshop tailored to our event. She hosted one-on-one office hours for presenters, offering personalized feedback that improved the clarity and quality of their work. Her commitment to our success and her enthusiasm for learning made a lasting impact. Diversity and inclusivity are always at the forefront in Julie’s workshops—we’ve always felt welcomed and supported for our uniqueness.”

Julie’s influence also reaches into academic service. She serves on the Library’s working group for information literacy and instruction, the open scholarship group, and the SFU accessibility committee. In each role, she advocates for graduate student needs, ensuring that institutional policies and practices reflect and support the realities of graduate education.

We congratulate Julie Jones on receiving the Dean of Graduate Studies Award for Excellence in Leadership. Her dedication to inclusive programming, collaborative engagement, and student-centered innovation continues to shape a more supportive and equitable graduate experience at SFU.

The 2026 Graduate Studies Awards for Excellence are opening soon for nominations. Nominations will be accepted from November 1, 2025 until 11:59 PM on Sunday, May 17, 2026.