The annual OAC Outstanding Staff Recognition Awards were presented at the OAC Welcome Back BBQ held on September 20, 2022. These staff awards recognize excellent work performance, willingness to help others, contributions toward the betterment of workplace operations, and efforts in making OAC a better place to work overall. The recipients of these awards are nominated by their colleagues. Congratulations to all recipients!
It is with sympathy that we share the passing of Freeman McEwen on September 16, 2022. Freeman was Dean of the Ontario Agricultural College from 1983 to 1990. He also served as head of the Department of Entomology from 1968 to 1971 and then as the first head of the Department of Environmental Biology from 1971 to 1983.
It is with deep sympathy we share the passing of Dr. Gopinadhan Paliyath, a professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture, on September 11, 2022.
Funding is available to support OAC students in the completion of self-directed communication projects focused on agriculture or food extension. Successful applicants will receive $1,350 to complete their project, as well as coaching and mentorship from the OAC Dean’s Office communications staff. Projects must be focused on knowledge extension in the areas of food and/or agriculture and be connected to the research/teaching activities of the Ontario Agricultural College. The projects will be student-driven under the guidance of the OAC Dean’s Office communications staff.
Growing crops more efficiently to ensure food security while keeping soils healthy are key goals of a new faculty chair funded this year at the University of Guelph.
The Martin and Denise Pick Family Chair in Sustainable Cropping Systems will be supported by a $2-million gift to the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), along with funding from OAC and an anonymous bequest.
It is with deep sympathy we share the passing of Ben McFadyen, a Master of Science (Plant Agriculture) student, on August 29, 2022. A celebration of life for Ben will take place at McIntyre & Wilkie Funeral Home in Guelph on Thursday, Sept. 8 starting at 10 a.m. Campus flags will be lowered to half-mast Sept. 8 in Ben’s honour.
What goes up must come down. That rings true for physics and for a batch of barley seeds University of Guelph scientists sent to space last year. Now that the seeds provided by The Glenlivet have returned to Earth, Dr. Mike Dixon, a professor in the School of Environmental Sciences and director of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility, is overseeing their germination.
It’s common practice for farmers to apply insecticides to their crops, but one University of Guelph research team wants to know if the substances they’re using are pollinator friendly.
It is with deep sympathy we share the passing of Luke MacDonald, a student entering his third year in environmental sciences, on August 10, 2022. A celebration of life will take place in Toronto on Thursday, Aug. 18. Campus flags will be lowered to half-mast on that day in Luke’s honour.
Sneha recently graduated with her BScAgr as part of the OAC Class of 2022. She came to Guelph in 2018 as an international student from Mauritius, and despite studying abroad at a particularly challenging time, she excelled. Sneha attributes part of her success to the OAC scholarships she received and the encouragement they inspired in her, including the Rosemont Scholarship in Food Sustainability and Class of '51 O.A.C. Leadership Prize she received at convocation.