Assistant professor Florence Ashley receives national recognition

For their dedication to advancing 2SLGBTQI rights in Canada, Faculty of Law assistant professor Florence Ashley was a recipient of this year’s King Charles III Coronation Medal.

The award — whose creation was announced three days before the king’s coronation in 2023 — honours individuals who have made outstanding achievements in their fields, or made remarkable contributions to the country and communities within it. Egale, a leading Canadian 2SLGBTQI organization, recommended Ashley for the medal, which is administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall.

Ashley, who joined the University of Alberta in 2023, heard they would receive the award in early January. They say that they were happy for the recognition of their work.

“I think it’s less attributable to one moment and more a matter of persistence,” Ashley says of receiving the medal. “Human rights aren’t something won in a day, a month, or a year. It requires tireless work. It requires taking care of ourselves so we don’t burn out. It requires love and community, day in and day out.”

Ashley holds a doctorate from the University of Toronto faculty of law after graduating from McGill’s BCL/JD program. Additionally, they are an adjunct member of the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre, based at the U of A. They served as the first openly transfeminine clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada, working with U of A alumn Justice Sheilah Martin, ‘83 LLM.

As a researcher, Ashley’s work examines how to use law and medicine to better the lives of trans individuals and communities and, ideally, all marginalized groups. They are the author of two books, the most recent of which was published in 2024, and hope to publish their third in the next few years.

Going forward, Ashley is excited to continue educating the lawyers of tomorrow, while also showing trans people that they also belong in law. Additionally, they say, they look forward to doing research that improves the lives of members of the 2SLGBTQI community.

This will be particularly important heading into a difficult future for 2SLGBTQI people, and Ashely looks forward to and is grateful for their fellow faculty members’ continued support, they say.

“We need more people to be fighting for human rights,” they say. “The more we value it as a society, the more other people will [as well].”