Dr. Fallon Mitchell will receive the Governor General's Gold Medal in Graduate Studies at Fall 2026 convocation (FILE/University of Windsor)
By Kate Hargreaves
Going to the gym plays a major role in Dr. Fallon Mitchell's (PhD Kinesiology, '26) mental and physical health.
However, gyms are not always accessible or welcoming places for everyone, including people with a disability.
Mitchell will receive the Governor General's Gold Medal at the University of Windsor's Fall 2026 Convocation in recognition of doctoral work that aims to reduce barriers to fitness spaces and create more welcoming facilities for all.
"Gyms often have a reputation of being unfriendly, intimidating and exclusionary spaces," Dr. Mitchell says. "This creates a massive barrier to entry for many people."
Combining her own passion for fitness with a scholarly interest in disability and adapted physical activity, Mitchell explored how gym environments could be made more welcoming and accessible for people with diverse physical, mental and cognitive abilities.
Her interest in accessibility began during her undergraduate degree in kinesiology when she took a class on adapted physical activity with Dr. Paula van Wyk.
van Wyk later became Mitchell's doctoral supervisor and describes Mitchell's academic trajectory as extraordinary.
During her doctoral studies, Mitchell became the first Human Kinetics student at UWindsor to receive the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship while maintaining averages above 96 per cent in her master's and doctoral studies.
"Fallon exemplifies the highest standard of scholarly excellence," says van Wyk. "Her achievements showcase the calibre of world-class, high-impact research coming directly out of our department."
Mitchell's doctoral dissertation culminated in the creation of the Accessible by Design guide, a publicly available document aimed at helping gyms take practical steps toward becoming more inclusive.
"I've received messages from academics, disability advocates, industry professionals and organizations describing it as a valuable resource that they are glad to have access to," says Mitchell.
"I hope it continues to inspire discussion and is used as a practical tool for identifying ways to better support people with a disability in fitness centres."
van Wyk says Mitchell's research is already having an impact beyond the university: "By co-designing practical resources to make fitness facilities genuinely accessible and inclusive for people with a disability, her research is already transforming industry practices across Canada through partners like The Steadward Centre and the Rick Hansen Foundation," she says.
When Mitchell learned she would receive the Governor General's Gold Medal, awarded to top-achieving graduate students, she was already well into her postdoctoral work at the University of Alberta, where she is exploring the relationship between physical activity, perinatal health and disability.
With support from CIHR, an Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Women and Children’s Health Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship, Mitchell is engaging people with mental health conditions and physical disabilities, as well as neurodivergent people, to better understand their physical activity and health during pregnancy and postpartum.
"My doctoral work fostered my interest in collaborative research that promotes the importance of physical activity and health for all people and informs inclusive policies and practices," Mitchell says.
"My postdoctoral research builds upon these interests by involving women with lived experience as collaborators and addressing gaps in physical activity guidance for pregnant women with a disability."
Mitchell says she was honoured to receive the Governor General's Gold Medal. Looking back at her time at UWindsor, she says what stands out most is the guidance and mentorship she received from faculty members, including van Wyk.
"They were critical to my growth as a researcher and continue to support me as a postdoctoral scholar," Mitchell says. "Beyond their academic guidance, it is the personal and professional relationships I built with these mentors that I value most."
van Wyk says Mitchell’s work stands out for its practical impact beyond academia.
"What sets Fallon apart is her unwavering commitment to equity and community-engaged research," she says.
"Whether developing nationwide guides for inclusive fitness centres or securing funding for local accessibility, her work directly improves lives and bridges the gap between scientific research and tangible community action."
Anyone interested in participating in Mitchell's current postdoctoral research, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Margie Davenport in the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health at the University of Alberta, can email pregnant@ualberta.ca.
