November 29, 2024, TORONTO: The Roger W. Smith Memorial Prize was established in 2023 in memory of the longtime Academic Chair of the Zoryan Institute and GHRUP Program Director, Prof. Roger W. Smith, who passed away in late 2022. Prof. Smith was a deeply humane, charismatic, and committed individual, with a very strong moral compass. His dedication to comparative genocide studies continues to be unmatched, and his passion for the Institute’s work with the Genocide and Human Rights University Program was undeniable. Roger often referred to the GHRUP as a “utopia”, where committed, like-minded people could come together and work through some of the world’s hardest subjects imaginable with the goal of preventing future pain and suffering. Each year, he earned not only the respect, but also the affection of a new cadre of budding genocide scholars.

The Roger W. Smith Memorial Prize is a US $1,000 cash award to be used towards furthering the selected candidates education and work in the field of Genocide Studies and is awarded annually to one deserving graduate of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program. The recipient of the prize is selected by a committee of Zoryan Institute executives and GHRUP faculty, based on their classroom participation in the program, their oral presentation, and an op-ed that is submitted on a topic of their choice.

The Institute is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2024 Roger Smith Prize is Isabella Sella Voll, a doctoral candidate at Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ontario. Isabella graduated from the Genocide and Human Rights University Program in 2024 where she displayed her devotion to the field of genocide and human rights studies.

On receiving the Roger Smith Prize, Isabella commented on the importance of community stating that:

It is a great honour to have been selected for the 2024 Roger Smith Prize. Participating in the Genocide and Human Rights University Program was an intense and inspiring experience. To have had the opportunity to spend two weeks engaged in difficult and stimulating discussion with some of the top genocide scholars, alongside a cohort of deeply thoughtful and engaged students, was incredibly enriching and motivating. 

Dr. Alex Alvarez, a Professor in the Criminology Department at Northern Arizona University and Course Director of the 2024 commented that:

Roger W. Smith was one of the pioneers of genocide studies and his impact on the field was profound. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Genocide and Human Rights University Program for the Zoryan Institute of which he was a long time Course Director and faculty member.

Isabella’s winning submitted Op-Ed can be read on the Zoryan Institute website here.