annual dinner recognizes alumni achievements
(may 29, 2008 --thunder bay, on) 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
's alumni association is pleased to hold another much-anticipated annual alumni awards dinner. this event recognizes the achievements of talented and noteworthy alumni who maintain a connection with the university and bring it prestige and honour.
each year, the association celebrates the young alumni award and the alumni honour award. for the first time this year, four recipients will be awarded. these recipients are catherine j. bird, bed 1994; dr. elizabeth murray, bsc 1988; duncan weller, ba 1989; and glenn a. miller, bsc 1969.
"i am looking forward to attending this event for the first time in my new role as vice-president, university advancement," says john singer. "the alumni awards dinner is a great opportunity for the university and the community to recognize the achievements of these four very accomplished lakehead graduates."
this year's event starts at 6:00 p.m. in 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
's faculty lounge on thursday, may 29. approximately 100 guests will be in attendance.
about the awardees
catherine bird, adult education entrepreneur
catherine (kate) bird's interest in teaching led her to the faculty of education at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
, where she earned her b.ed. in 1994. she worked as a physical education teacher for a few years, but found a better fit when she turned to teaching adult education in the private sector. when the company she worked for folded, kate decided to start her own adult education business, which she called career essentials inc. in 1998, she opened her fi rst three career essentials schools in toronto, woodbridge, and scarborough. through career essentials, kate helps adult learners learn new skills and prepare for the job market. some of her 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
have disabilities, and many have been injured on the job. the programs she offers include literacy skills, academic upgrading, english as a second language, computer training, job search skills, customer service training, and ged (general educational development) test preparation. each student receives a thorough assessment and an individualized program. kate's goal is always to help people get back into the workforce as quickly and smoothly as possible. career essentials also works with private companies to upgrade the skills of their existing employees, including literacy in the workplace, customer service training and computer skills. after ten years, kate has 34 career essentials locations across ontario (including thunder bay) and is expanding into nova scotia. already, her company has trained about 6000 adults. she prides herself on providing quality service: small classes, dedicated teachers, and a supportive atmosphere. kate and her business have won numerous honours. in 2000 kate received profit magazine's young entrepreneur of the year award. in 2001 and 2002, profit named career essentials one of canada's hottest start-ups. in 2002 the joseph l. rotman school of management at the university of toronto awarded kate the prestigious start-up award, which is one of the rotman canadian woman entrepreneur of the year awards. in each of the past fi ve years, profit has ranked kate as one of canada's top 100 women business owners. while kate's career path has been different from that of most b.ed. graduates, she shares every teacher's enthusiasm for seeing 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
succeed. from this foundation, she has built a booming business in adult education. she lives in ajax with her husband, shaun young, and their daughters aged three and five.
elizabeth murray, life scientist
dr. elizabeth (liz) murray is an accomplished researcher in life sciences. she graduated from 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
with a b.sc. (1986) and h.b.sc. (1988) in biology, with dr. john ryder as her thesis supervisor. she went on to earn her m.sc. (1989) and ph.d. (1994) in pathology at queen's university, focusing her research on the genetic causes of von willebrand's disease, a bleeding disorder. in post-doctoral research at the university of calgary, she studied how hormones and growth factors communicate with cells, and how the disruption of these processes can play a role in the development of cancer. liz has received numerous academic awards, including the r. samuel mclaughlin fellowship from queen's university; a health research personnel development program fellowship from the ontario ministry of health; post-doctoral fellowships from the alberta cancer board and the alberta heritage foundation for medical research; and the prestigious national fellowship from the medical research council of canada (now the cihr). in 1999 liz joined sembiosys genetics, a new biotechnology company in calgary. sembiosys makes protein-based pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products, using genetic engineering and an internationally known technology platform. for the first few years, liz helped formulate dermasphere®, a compound that has come to market in a variety of personal care and topical pharmaceuticals. since 2005 she has been the company's group leader of efficacy and pharmacology, where she oversees the testing of all new products. these include plant-produced insulin, designed to help meet the burgeoning demand for insulin; apolipoprotein ai (apo ai), a cardiovascular therapy; and immunosphere, a feed additive for shrimp farming. throughout her career, liz has earned a reputation as a highly skilled and innovative scientist. she has contributed to 11 peer-reviewed research papers and has presented her work at numerous national and international scientific conferences. outside work, she serves as president of st. andrew's heights community association in calgary and is the community representative for the foothills hospital community working group. she was a community representative appointed to the city of calgary low-density land use bylaw committee, which wrote the low-density residential portion of new development bylaws for the city of calgary. liz murray's dedication and leadership skills have served her well both in university settings and in industry. she has become an outstanding contributor to the biotechnology boom.
duncan weller, artist and writer
duncan weller is an energetic and multi-talented artist. born in lennoxville, quebec, he moved to thunder bay as a young child when his father, geoffrey weller, became a political science professor at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
. after graduating from sir winston churchill high school, duncan enrolled in fine arts at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
. in his second year, he switched his major to english, where his love for children's stories was rekindled in dr. james gellert's children's literature course. while at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
, duncan contributed photography, cover art, and cartoons to the student newspaper, the argus. when he completed his b.a. in 1989, duncan moved to british columbia, where he worked at various jobs to support himself as he completed manuscripts and illustrations for several children's books. he also spent some time in toronto and montreal, but returned to thunder bay in 2005. three of duncan's children's books, which he both writes and illustrates, have been published by simply read books: space snake (2004), night wall (2005), and the boy from the sun (2007). the boy from the sun was awarded the 2007 governor-general's literary award for children's literature - illustration. the governor-general's awards are the oldest and most prestigious awards for canadian literature. duncan weller's the boy from the sun, with its striking mix of techniques, lures the unsuspecting reader away from a dark, gloomy and featureless industrial-urban milieu into a brilliantly coloured alternative world of light, colour and hope, which, in a twist in a pictorial narration, turns out to be the real world they were living in all along. this charming, fresh and joyful book perfectly melds story and image, to both deliver its message and form a thoroughly satisfying whole. duncan also has an interest in fi lm. in 2007 he created a seven-minute animated short for the thunder bay police department, which is part of a package given to victims of break-and-enter crimes. with the help of his brother, eric weller, he made an animated, high-defi nition dvd version of night wall, which premiered at the bay st. film festival in september, 2007. currently, he is working on a script for a fi lm to be made in collaboration with rodney dwira. his fi rst major art show, with over 70 works for children and adults, was presented at thunder bay art gallery from april 4 to may 18, 2008. he teaches in local schools as part of the learning through the arts program and is currently seeking a publisher for several more children's books, a young adult novel, and a book of poetry. in all his work--visual art, writing, and fi lms--duncan weller observes the world in a fresh, insightful way that delights and inspires both children and adults.
glenn a. miller, real estate developer
glenn miller is chairman of penequity, a leading real estate development and management company. he received his b.sc. (1967) and graduate diploma in business (1968) at 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
and his m.b.a. (1971) at the ivey school of business at the university of western ontario. after a number of years in the financial sector, glenn founded penequity management corporation in 1984. penequity is a private canadian company that provides asset management to pension funds and institutional investors. it specializes in large-scale retail and entertainment projects, as well as traditional retail, commercial, and residential development. penequity's retail and entertainment development projects across canada total more than 4.2 million square feet. a current penequity project is toronto life square, a retail, office, and entertainment complex on the northeast corner of yonge and dundas streets in toronto. when complete, it will have 500,000 square feet of floor space, filled with restaurants, stores, and 24 movie theatres. the outside of the building features 20,000 square feet of outdoor signage, including canada's largest high-definition video display, measuring 30 by 52 feet. glenn is passionate about the olympic movement and has attended the games in sydney, salt lake city, and athens. through penequity and toros entertainment inc. (a related company), glenn headed up the development of the olympic spirit visitor centre in toronto. the centre, which operated from 2004 to 2006, combined interactive sports simulators, multimedia presentations, and olympic artifacts to give visitors--especially children--a taste of the olympic experience. at a gala held at disneyland, this project won the themed entertainment association's 2005 thea award for outstanding achievement in the branded visitor center category. an avid athlete in his own right, glenn has skied the "haute route" over the french and swiss alps and also enjoys snowboarding and golf. glenn and his wife linda are extensive and enthusiastic travellers. they have completed multiple treks in the kumbu/everest area of nepal and regard the late sir edmund hillary as a hero. for ten years, glenn served as a director and major fundraiser for the sir edmund hillary foundation, which builds schools and hospitals in nepal. glenn and linda have also reached the summits of mt. kilimanjaro and mt. sinai. as head of penequity, glenn is committed to seeking new investment opportunities for his clients and creating innovative retail landscapes. however, he believes that true success is found not on a balance sheet, but in creating a balance between work and family life. the greatest satisfaction for glenn and linda comes in time spent with their sons, neil (barbara) and ian (sophie), and grandchildren, melissa and austin.
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media: john singer is available for
media interview. elizabeth murray, duncan
weller, and glenn miller will also be available for media interview prior to this
evening's event start time. for more information or to arrange interview times, please contact heather scott, communications officer, 807-343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca;
or eleanor abaya, director of communications, 807-343-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca.
about lakehead
lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for
innovative programs and cutting-edge research. with a main campus located in
thunder bay, ontario and a campus in orillia, ontario, lakehead has over 7,500 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
and 2,000 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the northern
ontario school of medicine. in 2006, research infosource inc. named