Created in 1967 with the motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam (They desire a better country), the Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest civilian honours, recognizing outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Four of our alumni were recently recognized with this honour.
Elaine Carty (BN’66) of Vancouver, BC, has been recognized for her contributions to advancing women’s health care options, particularly for her instrumental role in establishing professional midwifery care in British Columbia. Carty is a nurse, midwife and one of Canada’s leading pioneers on several women’s health issues. She is founding director of the University of British Columbia’s midwifery program. (Photo credit: University of British Columbia)
Michael Ignatieff (DLitt’01) of Budapest, Hungary, and Toronto, ON, has been recognized for his contributions to the advancement of knowledge as a human rights scholar and reporter. Ignatieff is an author, academic and former politician, and is currently serving as president and rector of Central European University in Budapest. (Photo credit: University of Toronto)
Patricia Lang (BN’70, DLitt’09) of Thunder Bay, ON, has been recognized for her commitment to the growth and development of Ontario’s colleges as a long-time academic administrator. She served as former vice-president academic and student services at Georgian College, and as president of Confederation College. Lang is now an associate at Promeus where she provides her expertise and knowledge to executive searches for the college sector. (Photo credit: Confederation College)
Gerald ‘Gerry’ Pond (BA’66, DLitt’04) of Rothesay, NB, has been recognized for his contributions to information technology in Atlantic Canada and for his dedication to mentoring entrepreneurs. Pond is chairman and co-founder of Mariner Partners Inc. and has co-founded a number of successful ICT start-ups in Atlantic Canada, including iMagicTV, Q1 Labs, Brovada Technologies, Radian6, Shift Energy and Cirrus9. He is also the co-founder of Propel ICT, a start-up accelerator; and East Valley Ventures, an accelerator for Atlantic Canadian start-up companies with a mission of helping passionate entrepreneurs launch meaningful and enduring technology companies. (Photo credit: Mariner Partners)
