Women of Distinction Awards Honour U of G Members
May 06, 2011 - News Release
University of Guelph students, faculty and alumni made up more than half of the 29 nominees for the 2011 YMCA-YWCA of Guelph’s Women of Distinction Awards. The winners were announced at the River Run Centre May 5 during a gala fundraiser for the Teenage Parents Program.
Julia Christensen Hughes, dean of the College of Management and Economics, received the award in the Education and Training category. A faculty member since 1987, Christensen Hughes has chaired the Department of Business.
Accepting the award in her absence (Christensen Hughes was attending a teaching conference), her daughter Sarah Hughes said her mother was “extremely honoured to be nominated” and praised her “wonderful colleagues and students.”
The Science, Technology and Research award honoured Martha Gay-Scroggins for her work with the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming, which helps children and adults learn about their food and where it comes from. Scroggins teaches a sustainable agriculture course for the Office of Open Learning.
“Guelph is in a position to lead a food movement, and I’m really proud to be a part of that,” she said.
Prof. Patricia Shewen, Pathobiology, was recognized for lifetime achievement in the Science, Technology and Research category. She began teaching at the University of Guelph in the 1970s and joined the faculty of the Ontario Veterinary College in 1982. She became assistant dean of research in 1995 and served as founding chair of the new Department of Pathobiology from 1997 to 2002. Along with research partner Bruce Wilkie, now professor emeritus, she developed a vaccine for bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis.
Yvonne Su, a fourth-year international development student, won the Young Woman of Distinction award for her academic achievements and community work. Along with U of G student Gracen Johnson, she sparked the “vote mob” frenzy that swept campuses across Canada before this spring’s federal election. A member of the dean’s list, Su has received the Lincoln Alexander Chancellor’s Scholarship, the Canadian Millennium National Excellence Award and Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 Award.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, lhunt@uoguelph.ca, or Deirdre Healey, Ext. 56982, dhealey@uoguelph.ca.
