Member of the Order of Canada
Awarded on: 2014-11-20
Invested on: 2015-09-23
For her contributions to research and policy on refugee rights and for fostering collaboration among scholars in her field.
A leading advocate for marginalized people, Susan McGrath has ardently defended human dignity for over four decades. Her early training as a social worker prompted what would become a lifelong concern for displaced persons abroad. As a professor at York University, she directed its Centre for Refugee Studies and led its transformation into one of the world’s premier locations for forced migration studies. Notable for forging links between the policy and research communities, she has always sought to use her academic work to bring about tangible improvements in the lives of those in need.