UVic’s celebration of excellence

The Legacy Awards, UVic’s annual gala celebration of outstanding members of the university community, will be presented on Oct. 13 at the Victoria Conference Centre. This year’s awards recognize a distinguished alumnus, lifetime achievements in research, and a key architect of the Vikes athletics program. An award for teaching will be presented in 2010.

“On this very special occasion, we will honour four Legacy Award recipients whose energy and dedication have contributed significantly to the quality and reputation of the University of Victoria,” says President David Turpin. “Equally important—and in the deepest sense of the word ‘legacy’—the achievements of these recipients make them role models for our current students.”

The Legacy Awards welcome a new presenting sponsor this year, Uniglobe Geo Travel, and they’ll be hosted by ‘A’ Vancouver Island weatherman and community relations manager Bruce Williams.

 

Legacy Award for Alumni

Don Drummond, BA ’76 (economics)

Victoria’s Don Drummond is a leading national expert on matters related to the performance of the Canadian economy, from GDP to the labour market.

His career has been divided between the public and private sectors. He spent 22 years with the federal finance department, rising through the ranks to become associate deputy minister.

In 2000, Drummond was appointed senior vice-president and chief economist of the TD Financial Group’s economic analysis and forecasting group. One of Canada’s most trusted economic analysts, he frequently contributes his insights on the economic issues of the day through his commentary in the news media. Drummond is also active in the application of economics to public policy development on issues of the environment, social welfare, housing and immigration.

 

Legacy awards for research

Dr. Sadik Dost (mechanical engineering)

Cell phones, computers and solar panels: they, and most other advanced electronics, depend on semiconductors, and semiconductors depend on crystals. Dr. Sadik Dost has become an international leader in the processes used to produce high-quality semiconducting crystals.

Originally from Turkey, Dost joined the University of Victoria in 1989, not long after the Department of Mechanical Engineering was established.

As the founding director of the Centre for Advanced Materials and Related Technology and the Canada Research Chair in Semiconductor Crystal Growth, he studies the challenges associated with growing reproducible, high-quality bulk semiconducting crystals.

Over the years, the discoveries Dost has made—often in collaboration with industrial partners—have led to practical applications in a variety of fields, including medical imaging, solar energy conversion and security devices.

Dr. Patrick Grant (English)

Born near Belfast during World War II, Dr. Patrick Grant was in his teens when he happened across a biography of Vincent Van Gogh who, apart from his painting, was also an informed, intensely dedicated thinker.

It was a discovery that would ignite Grant’s life-long passion for literature. He embraced the ideas of the world’s leading minds and the ability of great books to hold a mirror to the complexities of human nature.

Over the course of his 38-year career at UVic, Grant researched and wrote 14 books. His focus has primarily been on literature and ideas, especially the interplay between literature and theology. His research examines the secular critique, in which the worth of a religion is measured by how morally it acts, particularly in cases of conflict between religious groups.

 

Legacy Award for Sport

Ian Stewart, QC

Through 12 years as a member and chair of the university’s Board of Governors, Ian Stewart helped to set the course for the Vikes recreation and athletics program, which is now regarded as one of the finest in the country.

The Vikes’ commitment to excellence has produced 46 Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships.

The university’s main recreation centre is named in his honour as a tribute to his vision and commitment to the ability of athletics to “give a person the opportunity to go ahead in life.”

A talented football and rugby player in his own right, Stewart played for the BC Lions for parts of two seasons. He completed his law degree at UBC and moved to Victoria in the early 1960s to practice. His efforts on behalf of students will have a lasting influence on campus life.