Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
Campus Bulletin
June 23, 2003
U of G honours top graduates
The University of Guelph has awarded the 2003 Winegard Medal, its most prestigious undergraduate convocation honour, to a mathematics and statistics major in the College of Physical and Engineering Sciences.
Sally Murdock, who came to U of G as a President’s Scholar in 1999, received the award named for former Guelph president Bill Winegard. The medal recognizes academic achievement as well as contributions to university and community life. Each of the university’s six colleges is allowed to nominate one student for the award, and the winner is selected by the University’s Senate Committee on Awards.
Murdock also received the T.D. Newton Award in 2000 for the highest standing in Year 1 mathematics and was the top mathematics student in her year for each of the three following years. At the end of her second year, she was awarded an undergraduate research assistantship and produced research worthy of submission to a peer-reviewed mathematics journal. In 2003, she was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship, participated in a program for women in mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, and was awarded a post-graduate scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to continue her studies at the University of Waterloo.
During her years at Guelph, Murdock re-created and served as president of the Mathematics and Statistics Club and was a member of the Student Budget Advisory Group, the Bachelor of Environmental Science Review Committee and the Judicial Committee. She also acted in numerous student-written and -directed plays.
The University awarded the Forster Medal, the highest convocation award for graduate students, to philosophy major Giorgio Baruchello from the College of Arts. Named for the late Donald Forster, a former president of U of G, the medal recognizes academic achievement, motivation, leadership and citizenship.
Baruchello, a native of Italy, came to U of G for doctoral studies in 1999. He specializes in ethics, social and political philosophy and is the author of some 15 articles that have been published or accepted by peer-reviewed journals in English, Italian and Icelandic. He served as president of the Philosophy Graduate Student Association, was a lecturer at the Queen’s University International Study Centre at Herstmonceux Castle, England, and has been appointed an adjunct lecturer in the Faculty of Law and Social Science at the University of Akureyri, Iceland.
In addition, U of G also awarded three Governor General’s Medals. The gold medal recognizes outstanding academic achievement at the graduate level, the silver medal goes to the undergraduate student graduating with the highest marks, and the bronze medal is awarded to the student earning top marks in the Ontario Agricultural College’s associate diploma programs in agriculture and horticulture.
The 2003 gold medallist is William Miners of the College of Physical and Engineering Science. Andrew Perrin of the College of Biological Science, received the silver medal, and the bronze medal went to diploma student Joel Van Gurp.
