MONTREAL/October 13, 2006—
Concordia University's Loyola Alumni Association is proud to award to Senator Lieutenant-General Romèo Dallaire, OC, CMM, GOQ, LL.D (ret.), the prestigious Loyola Medal, one of the University's highest honours. The Loyola Medal is awarded to outstanding citizens as evidenced by their character and life philosophy, who have made a significant contribution to the Canadian or world community. Recipients shall embody the ideals and spirit which characterized Loyola College.
ìWhat an honour it is for us that this year, the 100th anniversary of the Loyola Alumni Association, we are able to award the medal to such a deserving Canadian,î said Jim Donaldson, Loyola Alumni Association President. This recognition comes just one month after Senator Dallaire was awarded a Senior Fellowship at Concordia's Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS), a research centre based at the university's Faculty of Arts & Science. Senator Dallaire will present Concordia public lectures and workshops among his contributions to the work of MIGS, the first of which will take place immediately following the award ceremony.
Senator Dallaire is recognized as an advocate of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding in the world's most war-torn regions. For the public at large, nationally and internationally, it is following General Dallaire's appointment as Commander of the United Nations Observer Mission- Uganda and Rwanda (UNOMUR) and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) on 1 July 1993 that the name Dallaire has been synonymous with courage.
Senator Dallaire is an Officer of the Order of Canada, Grand Officer of the National Order of Quèbec and has been awarded the United States Legion of Merit. He is also the first recipient of the Aegis Award on Genocide Prevention, the United Nations Association of Canada's Pearson Peace Medal. His recently published account of the 1994 Rwandan genocide Shake Hands with the Devil ñ the Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, has earned international recognition as well as the 2004 Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction and the ìShaughnessy Cohen Prizeî for political writing awarded by the Writers' Trust of Canada.
In 1961, the Loyola Alumni Association and the administration of Loyola College agreed to the creation of the Loyola Medal as a permanent tribute to the outstanding leadership and achievement on the Canadian scene. The first medal was awarded in 1963 to General Georges P. Vanier, former governor general of Canada and Loyola alumnus. Past recipients include Cardinal Paul-&hEllip;mile Lèger, Thèrëse Casgrain, Jean Bèliveau, Oscar Peterson, Richard Renaud and Dominic D'Allesandro.
About the Loyola Medal
Biography of Roméo Dallaire
Message from Concordia President Claude Lajeunesse
Message from Jim Donaldson
Past Loyola Medal recipients
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