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When Peter McAuslan, S BA 72, accepted his Alumnus of the Year award May 20 at the 2009 Concordia University Alumni Association Alumni Recognition Awards Banquet, he echoed a sentiment that was expressed by the other eight recipients. "It's the human value of their Concordia education. Without that humanity, the institution wouldn't be what it is," said McAuslan, president and CEO of Montreal-based McAuslan Brewing and a past Alumni Association president.
About 160 alumni, faculty and staff members, students and friends turned out at the Hyatt Regency Montreal to cheer on each recipient at a dinner hosted by the Concordia University Alumni Association.
The 2009 Alumni Recognition Awards recipients (from left): Nathalie Le Prohon, MBA Alumna of the Year; Stephanie Dotto, Outstanding Student Award; Associate Professor of Education Walcir Cardoso, Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching; Jim Donaldson, Benoît Pelland Distinguished Service Award; Sheelah O'Neill, Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award; Lois and Stan Tucker, Honorary Life Membership Award; Peter McAuslan, Alumnus of the Year; Bruce Mallen, Humberto Santos Award of Merit.
Sheelah O'Neill, L BA 74, assistant to the Chair in the Department of Communication Studies, earned the Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award for her 35 years of dedication to students, staff and faculty members. She talked about how privileged she feels to work alongside the department's talented individuals. "The Loyola Campus has been my second home and the members of the Communication Studies department my second family," she said.
Outstanding Student Award recipient Stephanie Dotto, who is now pursuing her BA in Human Relations at Concordia, began raising funds and awareness for needy children in Malawi, Africa, when she was still in high school. She challenged the audience to urge young people to pursue their dreams. "The adults who supported me changed my life. So when a young person comes to you with an ambitious idea, say 'yes,'" Dotto said.
Associate Professor of Education Walcir Cardoso, recipient of the Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, revealed that he lived with a severe case of stuttering for most of his childhood. He added that when he began teaching at age 19 in his native Brazil, he found that he didn't have a speech impediment in front of his students. "That's when I discovered that teaching for me was--and is--a moment of rediscovery, re-birth and, really, a form of catharsis," Cardoso said.
Jim Donaldson, L BSc 52, president of the Loyola Alumni Association, received the Benoît Pelland Distinguished Service Award. Donaldson retired after a distinguished career as an architect and said he has since dedicated himself to several volunteer causes, including Concordia's Loyola Refectory Reburbishment project.
Nathalie Le Prohon, MBA 99, the MBA Alumna of the Year, also stressed the value of volunteering. Le Prohon, who survived cancer four years ago, said she feels blessed because she has a strong support network in her family and close friends. Giving time to community causes "is my way of saying, 'Thank you to life, la vie est belle, life is beautiful,'" said Le Prohon, corporate director for Hydro-Québec and Bentall LP, who volunteers for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and the Vanguard Development Fund.
The Honorary Life Membership Award is granted to individuals who are not graduates of Concordia University, Sir George Williams University or Loyola College. This year's recipients are Stan and Lois Tucker. Mr. Tucker graduated from Queen's University in 1941 and he said he holds its liberal arts program in high esteem. That was why he and his wife, Lois, decided to support Concordia's Liberal Arts College. "We've had the pleasure to see many students graduate and go off to a wonderful life that they wouldn't have had otherwise," Mr. Tucker said.
Bruce Mallen, S BComm 58, S BA 64, LLD 04, received the Humberto Santos Award of Merit. The former, long-time Sir George Williams and Concordia professor was also a successful movie producer in Los Angeles and then dean of Florida Atlantic University's College of Business in Boca Raton. Mallen became sentimental when he recounted how Dean Henry Hall admitted him to Sir George Williams College 55 years ago after McGill University denied him entrance. "Concordia University has given so many people a second chance," Mallen said. "This is one of the greatest universities on earth."
Jo-Anna Downey, BA 91, ably--and comically--handled the MC duties. "They say I'm the master of ceremonies, but I'm actually the mistress of ceremonies," Downey quipped. She revealed that about 20 years ago she worked at several jobs at Concordia, including as a tour guide. "I wish I could give tours today--now that they have nice buildings," she joked.
Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Judith Woodsworth also addressed the audience and talked about how much she's enjoyed meeting alumni since returning to Concordia in August. "I'd like to express my gratitude to you, our alumni, because you are our best ambassadors in the community," Woodsworth said.
