People
KUDOS FOR PLAYWRIGHT
Prof. Judith Thompson, English and Theatre Studies, has won the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her political play Palace of the End. The two-time Governor General's Literary Award winner is the first Canadian to receive the $20,000 award, which was recently presented in Texas. Established in 1978, the prize is given annually to a woman who deserves recognition for writing work of outstanding quality for the theatre.
TRACK TEAMS ARE TOPS
U of G not only won its first Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) track-and-field title at McGill University this month but also captured top spots in both the men's and women's teams. This is only the sixth time in CIS's 27-year history that one institution has swept both the men's and women's titles in the same season. Individually, Michelle Moody captured gold in the high jump, Lindsay Carson won the 3,000-metre and Steph Jackson came first in the shot put. Gryphon coach Dave Scott-Thomas earned both the men's and women's coach-of-the-year awards.
OLA HONOURS KATZ
Bernard Katz, a retired division head in the U of G Library, recently received the Ontario Library Association's (OLA) Les Fowlie Intellectual Freedom Award in recognition of his ethics, integrity and passion in the defence of intellectual freedom over the last two decades as a member of the OLA.
ENGINEERING DESIGNS NAMED MOST SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS
Four U of G engineering students won the Social Awareness Award at the Canadian Engineering Competition held this month at the University of Waterloo. Second-year students Kathryn Loog, Krista Read, Laura Robertson and Randi Phinney placed fourth out of the eight teams in their junior category but won the award for having the most socially conscious design in the competition.
SCIENCE LIBRARIAN SPEAKS
Academic liaison librarian Peggy Pritchard recently gave an invited lecture to graduate women engineers at the University of California, Berkeley. Her talk, “Mental Toughness: Strategies for Enhancing Resilience,” was based on her recently published book, Success Strategies for Women in Science: A Portable Mentor.
RESEARCH ON THE RADIO
U of G students are taking to Ontario airwaves with news about research. Led by Owen Roberts, director of research communications and an agricultural communications instructor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, students are creating weekly features for Wingham-based CKNX radio. The broadcasts air on 920 AM Thursday at 12:10 and 5:10 p.m. and online at www.am920.ca. The initiative received funding for technical equipment from the Learning Enhancement Fund.