Loyola Alumni Association President Jim Donaldson (left) and Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Judith Woodsworth (right) bestow the prestigious Loyola Medal on Dr. Roberta Bondar at the Loyola High School in Montreal.
Concordia presents Loyola Medal to astronaut/neurologist, Dr. Roberta Bondar
In 1992, when Dr. Roberta Bondar, PhD, blasted off aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, she became Canada's first woman astronaut and the world's first neurologist in space.
On March 4, Concordia presented the prestigious Loyola Medal to Dr. Bondar for that achievement and her other, stellar accomplishments as a scientist, educator, environmentalist and nature photographer.
University President and Vice-Chancellor Judith Woodsworth and Loyola Alumni Association President Jim Donaldson, L BSc 52, bestowed the medal on Dr. Bondar at a ceremony at Loyola High School in Montreal.
After receiving the medal, Dr. Bondar told the audience of about 50 alumni, students, faculty members and guests how honoured and humbled she felt to join the esteemed list of previous Loyola Medal recipients.
Dr. Bondar, who was born and grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., lauded Concordia for recognizing Canadians' achievements and acknowledged the significance of alumni associations. "I believe that alumni associations keep the enthusiasm going for their schools. A university is only as good as we make it after we leave," Dr. Bondar pointed out.
Noting that previous Loyola Medal recipients included the late Quebec politician Thérèse F. Casgrain and opera star Maureen Forrester, she said that "finally, I now know what it's like to not be just the first woman."
Woodsworth said she felt privileged to assist in bestowing the award on a woman with multiple talents and numerous accomplishments--including 24 honorary doctorates from both Canadian and American universities--who tirelessly promotes the value of higher education.
She added that since 2003, Dr. Bondar has been chancellor of Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., and she's a skilled nature photographer, has worked with the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has consulted on corporate and social responsibility and is an environmental champion. "How she manages to juggle all these roles successfully is quite the achievement already! I wonder if there's anything this woman cannot do?" Woodsworth asked rhetorically.
The Loyola Medal, one of the highest honours awarded by Concordia University, was created in 1961 by the Loyola Alumni Association and the administrators of Loyola College, one of Concordia's two founding institutions, as a permanent tribute to outstanding Canadians. Previous recipients include Lieutenant-General (Ret.), the Honourable Roméo Dallaire, Senator, in 2006, the late Oscar Peterson in 1997 and the late Governor General Georges P. Vanier, L BA 06, in 1963.
Following the ceremony, Dr. Bondar delivered a colourful public lecture to an enthusiastic audience of about 300 in Loyola High School's Eric Maclean, S.J. Centre for the Performing Arts. Her presentation was called "Suspended above a Turquoise Bubble" because, she explained, from outside the atmosphere the Earth appeared to her as a "turquoise bubble" that is beautiful yet fragile. "You see the Earth in a way you've never seen it before. It's an extraordinary view of the bubble of life," she said. "It made me feel like I'm an insignificant speck."
Dr. Bondar emphasized that we must all do our parts to be ethically responsible in our continuing exploration and exploitation of resources on the Earth and beyond. "We shouldn't be ashamed of being a life form that explores, but we should be ashamed if we don't think of possible negative effects of that exploration," she said.
Throughout her presentation, Dr. Bondar displayed spectacular photos she took from Discovery, as well as from later air flights above the Himalayas, the Sahara Desert and the Canadian arctic. (These and other stunning shots can be found in her four photo-essay books, including Touching the Earth [Key Porter Books, 2004]). "I felt so much a part of the planet and I wanted to share the beauty of the land," she said, adding that society must foster--not dampen--curiosity to advance the understanding of our world. "As long as you're curious, you'll want to learn," she said.
