Progress on elevating "Our Legacy and Reputation"

Fall 2021 & Winter 2022

• The OAC research and graduate studies team released findings from a new project, Doctoral Destinations: PhDs with Impact, which highlights PhD career pathways. It is the first under the umbrella of OAC’s Graduate Destinations Project.

Winter & Summer 2021

• The Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics released a special edition of the FARE Share newsletter to celebrate Dr. Glenn Fox, who recently retired from the department. 
• The Ridgetown Campus shifted its recruitment events to an online format. They hosted several Virtual Open House events for potential students
• The Business Development Centre of Ridgetown Campus pivoted the in-person SouthWest Agricultural Conference (SWAC) to the virtual Ontario Agricultural Conference (OAgC), a partnership between SWAC, Golden Horseshoe & Heartland Soil and Crop Improvement Associations and the Eastern Ontario Crop Conference. The event had over 1,570 registrants and 86 conference speakers.
• In partnership with Ridgetown Campus staff, OMAFRA and various grower organization, Soils At Guelph lead the virtual Midwest Cover Crops Council annual conference, held in Ontario for the first time in eight years. The three-day event included MCCC's annual meeting, two days of cover crop-related sessions and two keynote presentations. 
• In conjunction with the Midwest Cover Crops Council Conference and Soils At Guelph, OAC hosted the inaugural Future Thinkers event in partnership with OAC’59 and the OAC Alumni Foundation. Roger Martin discussed his book, “When More is Not Better” and its relevance to agriculture. It was followed by a panel that featured several alumni and a faculty member from OAC.

Summer & Fall 2020

• The Arboretum partnered with OAC Liaison and Upper Grand District and Wellington Catholic school boards to distribute tree identification sheets and learning resources to all grade 6 students in the region.
• The Department of Animal Biosciences produced the second issue of their newsletter, Animal Tracks, which is distributed digitally and in print to internal and external stakeholders and showcases departmental initiatives and successes. 
• The U of G BrewLab in the Department of Food Sciences collaborated with Escarpment Labs and Royal City Brewing Company to develop the Experimental Farm Ale using yeast from a squash flower from the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming, and part of the proceeds are being donated to a local charity. 
• The Business Development Centre of Ridgetown Campus is working with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to develop a new online Ontario Agriculture Worker Safety and Awareness Certificate. 
• The OAC Dean’s Office and Alumni Affairs and Development team hosted an online panel forum for alumni and donors, which provided an outlet for questions and updates on OAC activities and happenings of 2020.
• Many annual events were pivoted to online formats including the wheat and bean breeding open houses in the Department of Plant Agriculture, events hosted by the OAC Alumni Association and OAC Alumni Foundation, and the Educator’s Symposium hosted by the OAC Liaison Program at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.  
• Founded fifty years ago in the OAC, the Arboretum began celebrating its golden anniversary. Events and activities look back at how its grown and celebrate opportunities for future impact.  

Winter 2020

• The University of Guelph Canadian Agri-Marketing Association student team placed first in their preliminary group for their Executive Summary submission to the NAMA 2020 Student Marketing Competition. Although the rest of the annual competition won’t be moving forward, this is a terrific accomplishment for the team. Their summary was awarded 184 out of a potential 200 points. 
• Fourth year Bachelor of Landscape Architecture students Jack Mosquite and Emil Kovacevic won the Brains and Brawn Design Challenge hosted by The Concussion Legacy Foundation of Canada and iBoost Zone. The design challenge was a 24-hour event with the goal of producing and presenting a concept and prototype of a solution for minimizing and avoiding physical contact in youth sports.
• The second edition of the LIBRANNI alumni magazine was sent to 27,800 alumni households. 
• The rural planning and development (RPD) program of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development published their first annual report to celebrate and share the accomplishments of their faculty and students. 

Fall 2019

• The Dean’s Office created a new annual magazine for OAC alumni “LIBRANNI”. The new publication was sent to over 27,000 alumni across the world in January 2019 to encourage a sense of community with our broad alumni base. The inaugural issue was honoured with a 2019 Best of CAMA award by the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association. 
• The Dean’s Office staff team provided leadership in the development and implementation of the University of Guelph’s celebrated presence at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair held in Toronto each November. A number of important individuals visited the exhibit, including Premier Doug Ford, Minister Ernie Hardeman and various other industry leaders and alumni. 
• The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development secured a back cover full page colour ad in the 100th Anniversary Celebration issue of PLAN Canada, the official publication of the Canadian Institute of Planners.
• The President’s Dinner is an annual event for the University’s most generous donors. Prof. Mike Dixon of the School of Environmental Sciences was selected as the keynote speaker for this important event with influential attendees. He spoke on his research that seeks to grow plants in space. 
• The Department of Food Science began offering two new short courses. The new chocolate course, which has been offered once, was aimed at industry professionals looking to upgrade their technical skills. The beer course, which has been offered twice, was formatted as a more open artisan format and has been extremely popular with beer enthusiasts and at-home brewers. 
• The Department of Animal Biosciences partnered with the Beef Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to offer a one-day industry workshop called Carcass 101. They also offered a Smart Calf Rearing Conference for researchers, industry and producers. Both were offered in late 2019. 
• In 2019 OAC faculty across the college took leadership roles in hosting important scientific conferences such as International Union of Soil Sciences – Pedometrics Conference, the International Society for Equitation Science Annual Conference, and the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society Annual Meeting. 
• Four alumni class projects have been initiated since the Summer of 2019. The OAC Classes of ’71,’72, ’73, ’78, and ’79 are fundraising for various projects that focus on scholarships, awards, research infrastructure and building renovations. 

Updated March 20, 2023.