Carleton law professor Melanie Adrian was appointed to the Order of Ontario Jan. 1, the province’s most distinguished award that recognizes Ontarians whose work has lasting impacts in the province.
In addition to serving as Carleton’s chair in teaching innovation, Adrian is the executive director for Be the Choice, a non-profit which supports those diagnosed with breast cancer with navigating treatment options.
She has also sat on the National Steering Committee for the Canadian section of the Scholars at Risk (SAR) network, which advocates globally for academic freedom and human rights.
“I was not expecting [being appointed] at all, largely because the nomination has been put in so long ago,” Adrian said.
She said she hadn’t thought about the award for more than a year because of COVID-19, but that it was a “humbling and wonderful” moment
Penny Collenette, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, nominated Adrian for the award.
“When I first met her, I liked her immediately,” she said. “But it was when she started talking about her work that her compassion, empathy and willingness to try out new ways of teaching really struck me.”
Before becoming the chair in teaching innovation at Carleton, Adrian taught as an associate law professor at Carleton for 10 years and specialized in religious freedom and human rights.
Professor Brettel Dawson, Adrian’s colleague in Carleton’s law and legal studies department, said Adrian strives to make knowledge more accessible. “She brings an enormous amount to Carleton and to the community of Ottawa and Ontario,” Dawson said.
In her role with SAR—a network that protects scholars in places where academic freedom is restricted—Adrian helped expand the network in Canada. When she first joined, there were only a handful of Canadian universities affiliated with SAR. Today, there are over 20.
Nandini Ramanujam, a McGill University law professor who worked with Adrian on the Canadian SAR steering committee, said the committee unanimously appointed Adrian as chair from 2018 to 2020.
“She is an internationally-minded scholar, and I can clearly see her being recognized for her leadership,” Ramanujam said.
In addition to her work with SAR, Adrian co-founded the non-profit Be the Choice in September 2012 with Robin Beasley. Both Adrian and Beasley have had breast cancer.
Adrian said she met Beasley after Adrian’s diagnosis and found they faced similar problems with understanding their options and receiving treatment. They noticed that many women diagnosed with breast cancer also found health-care systems confusing and opaque, Adrian said.
“This organization was founded to solve a problem,” Adrian said. “Breast cancer patients, particularly newly diagnosed ones, struggle to find reliable information that they can understand, that knits together different treatment options they may have to undergo.”
To address the issue, Be the Choice created “Decision Trees,” a free online tool that outlines different treatment options at each stage of breast cancer and the steps that follow.
Dawson has also used this tool. She said that the Decision Trees make information on treatment readily available, so patients can learn more about their treatment.
To build Be the Choice, Beasley said Adrian reached out to a network of people, including her students, and involved them in volunteering. Adrian’s network helped establish Be the Choice through partners and sponsors, Beasley said.
“It was amazing to watch her use her skills and resources,” she said.
Working full time as a professor and volunteering for SAR and Be the Choice means working late nights and spending time away from family, Adrian said.
“But for me, it’s worth it,” she said. “That’s the life I lead.”
Collenette said she nominated Adrian for the Order of Ontario because of her commitment to teaching, her work both internationally and within Canada, and her ability to thrive even while facing her breast cancer diagnosis.
Adrian said she is grateful for the people who have supported her in her endeavours, especially the women who dedicate themselves to uplifting others.
“The only thing that I hope to do with this is to raise awareness for the organizations I am involved with,” Adrian said. “I hope to inspire others to recognize others for the work they do.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the year Be the Choice was founded. It was founded in 2012, not 2020.
