Spring Convocation: Medal Winners And the Class Of 2011
The University of Victoria will confer 3,208 degrees, diplomas and certificates during spring convocation ceremonies to be held twice daily (at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) from June 14 – 17 in the University Centre Farquhar Auditorium. The ceremonies will be webcast at www.uvic.ca/resources/convocation.
Here are medal winners (with hometowns) for outstanding academic achievement:
Governor General’s Gold Medal
(top PhD)
David Cecchetto (Guelph, ON)
Faculty of Graduate Studies (Cultural, Social and Political Thought)
Governor General’s Silver Medal
(top undergraduate)
Craig Bakker (Winfield, BC) Mechanical Engineering
Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal
(top master’s thesis)
Elizabeth Manning (Victoria)
Social Work
Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal
(top master’s, other than thesis)
Kayla Melchior (Victoria)
Social Work
Jubilee Medal for Humanities
Nichelle Soetaert (Victoria)
French and Hispanic Studies
Jubilee Medal for Science
Lincoln Foerster (Victoria)
Microbiology
Jubilee Medal for Social Sciences
Darren Boss (Victoria)
Geography/Computer Science
Maxwell A. Cameron
Memorial Award
Misha Gibson (Victoria)
Elementary Teacher Education
Jennifer Kolumbus (Victoria)
Secondary Teacher Education
Canadian Society for Mechanical
Engineering Medal
Craig Bakker (Winfield, BC) Mechanical Engineering
Department of Computer Science
Graduation Medal
Francesco Marass (Trieste, Italy) Computer Science
IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal
in Computer Engineering
David Daobing Gong (Burnaby)
Computer Engineering
IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal
in Electrical Engineering
Colter McQuay, (Kamloops)
Electrical Engineering
IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal
in Software Engineering
Jeffrey Proctor (Nanaimo) Software Engineering
Law Society Gold Medal and Prize
Lauren Witten (Vancouver), Law
Victoria Medal in Fine Arts
Kyeren Regehr (Victoria) Writing
Certificate of Outstanding Academic Distinction in Human and Social Development
Suzanne MacLeod (Victoria)
Social Work
In addition, several members of the graduating class are available to talk about their UVic experiences, including:
Robina Thomas (Qwul’sih’yah’maht) is the first Coast Salish woman to graduate with a PhD in Indigenous governance.
Robin Tunnicliffe returned to school to do her master’s thesis entitled, “How do (or can) farmers make it work on the Saanich Peninsula?”
Michael Nell is a former Olympic ski jumper and co-designer of an award-winning project in mechanical engineering.
Luke Hughson conducted exceptional cancer tumour research while keeping active in volunteering, a passion that started during his major junior hockey career.
Four honorary degrees, previously announced on May 30 (http://bit.ly/luPVID), will be presented.
Note: Media members are welcome to attend all UVic Convocation Ceremonies. An audio feed is available. Please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the ceremony.
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Media contacts
Mike McNeney (Alumni Communications) at 250-721-7642 or mmcneney@uvic.ca
St. Kerra John (Ceremonies and Events) at 250-721-7632 or kstjohn@uvic.ca