Challengers, defenders, visionaries and trailblazers do

The recipients of the 2015 annual University of Manitoba Distinguished Alumni Awards have been selected and the honorees encompass a wide range of achievement, success and community service.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize graduates who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in their professional and personal lives, and who have been an inspiration to other alumni, current students and the community, both close to home and around the globe.

“Graduates of the University of Manitoba have been instrumental in virtually every advancement in Manitoba,” says David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. “They are trailblazers, visionaries and challengers who create opportunities for others, promote mentorship, teamwork and respect, and create a positive change in the world through their actions. They don’t just talk about improving our world; they do. It is important that we celebrate their success and achievement.”

The 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are:

• Lifetime Achievement: Marion Meadmore, CM, LLB/77
• Professional Achievement: Nick Logan, BA/71, BComm(Hons)/73
• Community Service: Wayne Davies, BEd/91, PB DipEd/07
• Service to the University of Manitoba: Juliette (Archie) Cooper, BOT/79, MSc/82, PhD/87
• Outstanding Young Alumni: Tito Daodu, MD/13, BSc(Med)/13

Jeff Lieberman, President of the Alumni Association, notes: “As president of the Alumni Association board I am in awe of the contributions of our tens of thousands of alumni around the world. These five individuals represent the ‘best of the best.’ They are making an impact every day and they make us very proud.”

The awards will be presented at the Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration of Excellence on May 12, 2015. The exciting evening will feature stirring performances by students, alumni and faculty, followed by a gala reception. Tickets are $75 and are available at: umanitoba.ca/distinguishedalumni

“We celebrate our Distinguished Alumni for their individual achievements and their collective contributions. They have made real and tangible differences in the lives of others here in our community and around the world. They serve as role models and inspiration, and make us proud to be part of the University of Manitoba community,” says John Kearsey, Vice-President (External).

Past recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award include: outstanding business entrepreneur Israel Asper; Nobel Prize recipient Scott Cairns; celebrated Canadian artist Ivan Eyre; dedicated philanthropist Monty Hall; and Lieutenant-Governor-Designate Janice Filmon.

2015 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients’ Bios:

Lifetime Achievement
Marion Meadmore, CM, LLB/77

Marion Meadmore // Photo credit: Indspire

Marion Meadmore has spent a lifetime overcoming barriers to create greater opportunities for Indigenous people in Canada. After surviving a decade in the Indian Residential School system as a child, she defied the hatred and negativity of that experience by focusing her attention on education as a means to transform her world in a positive way. Meadmore graduated from Law at the University of Manitoba and became the first Indigenous woman in Canada to be called to the bar. Equipped with intelligence and a strong sense of justice, she dedicated herself to creating organizations that build community, equality and independence for Indigenous people across the country.

Professional Achievement
Nick Logan, BA/71, BComm(Hons)/73

Nick Logan, BA/71, BComm(Hons)/73

During his 40 years as president and CEO of National Leasing, Nick Logan blended innovative business ideas with a personal philosophy around corporate culture steeped in the values of mentorship, teamwork and respect. Logan helped build an environment at National Leasing’s Winnipeg headquarters that reflected his view of corporate culture. There, staff might be found playing ball hockey together in the parking lot or working out in an in-house gym. Logan’s influence and impact as a professional, a philanthropist and volunteer in the community speak volumes about his passion and ability to bring out the best in people.

Community Service
Wayne Davies, BEd/91, PB DipEd/07

Wayne Davies

Longtime educator Wayne Davies gave awesome opportunities to junior high students: building custom guitars; recruiting rock stars, professional athletes, even former U.S. presidents to autograph them; then auctioning them off to support local charities. In 2010, a group of teachers at the École Selkirk Junior High School in Selkirk, Man., helped then-principal Davies turn this rock ’n’ roll fantasy into reality with the founding of the Building on Students Success (B.O.S.S.) Guitar Works Program. Three short years later, in 2013, B.O.S.S. participants had built 325 fully playable guitars and raised more than $100,000 for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights as well as an additional $40,000 for various other charities.

Service to the University of Manitoba
Juliette (Archie) Cooper, BOT/79, MSc/82, PhD/87

Juliette (Archie) Cooper

The University of Manitoba is a better place because of Juliette (Archie) Cooper. Throughout her career as a researcher and professor in the School of Medical Rehabilitation (SMR)—now the College of Rehabilitation Sciences—Cooper has taught and mentored generations of students and distinguished herself as a leading thinker in the field of occupational therapy. Beyond her guidance of students, Cooper has enhanced the overall university community through her tireless volunteer efforts as a fundraiser and as key advisor to the secretary and the board of governors on strategic matters. A professor emerita since 2005, Cooper continues to work at the U of M a decade into her ‘retirement’, still enjoying teaching and contributing to the University.

Outstanding Young Alumni
Tito Daodu, MD/13, BSc(Med)/13

Tito Daodu

Though she had yet to reach a double-digit birthday, Tito Daodu had lived in four countries on three different continents, before settling in Winnipeg with her family. This early experience had a profound effect on the impressionable eight-year-old as she saw and experienced first-hand the inequality that exists around the world. Her resulting desire to create positive change in the world inspired her to pursue a medical degree at the University of Manitoba. She offered mentorship to inner city kids involved with the same outreach program that once encouraged her to dream big. When Daodu earned her MD in 2013, these same core-area neighbourhood children cheered her on at convocation.

We’d like to thank The Personal for their generous support of the Distinguished Alumni Awards