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YMCA-YWCA awards recognize women's achievements
Six members of the U of G community have been named recipients of the YMCA-YWCA's 2006 Women of Distinction Awards.
Forty-six women were nominated for their achievements in eight categories: arts and culture; business, labour, the professions and entrepreneurs; education, training and development; public service; science, technology and research; voluntary community service; wellness and health; and young woman of distinction. In addition, four women were honoured for lifetime achievement.
Virginia Gray, director of the Office of Open Learning, received a lifetime achievement award in education and training. Gray's career in education spans more than 35 years, and under her leadership, Open Learning's offerings have grown from 55 to 208 degree courses, and enrolment in distance courses has surpassed 17,000, with students from more than 50 countries.
Another lifetime achievement award went to Dr. Margo Mountjoy, a sports medicine physician who works with U of G's Health and Performance Centre (HPC). She was recognized for her voluntary community service and for being a local, national and international advocate for sports and fitness.
HPC director Cyndy McLean received the award for voluntary community service. She is a national ambassador for the Rick Hansen Foundation and was instrumental in bringing the annual Wheels in Motion fundraising event to Guelph. A former elite-level athlete who became paraplegic in 2003 after falling off a cliff, McLean also volunteers to help families who have loved ones with disabilities and is an outspoken advocate of the need for education, research and improved accessibility.
The science and technology award went to Prof. Moira Ferguson, chair of the Department of Integrative Biology. Ferguson, who is also a U of G graduate, is the first woman to chair a department in the College of Biological Science. She was recognized for her contributions as a scientist studying genetics and evolution, as an educator and for her service to the broader scientific community.
Two U of G graduates were also honoured. Cathy MacMillan, a 1991 BA graduate who is owner and chief operating officer of MacMillan Marketing Group, received the award for business, labour, the professions and entrepreneurs. Public school teacher Philomena Bonis, a 1986 B.Sc. graduate, was recognized in the education and training category.
