A McGill team of four BCom students (Philippe Charette, Monika Dygut, Kate Malcolm and Imran Siddiqui) finished first overall at the Annual Scotiabank International Case Competition, held at the Ivey School of Business from March 16-19. Last semester, they participated in the Case Analysis and Presentation course, and were chosen to represent McGill. The recent competition concerns the challenges and perspectives of a global marketplace, and attracted students from 10 countries.
Dr. Brenda Milner, recognized as a founder of cognitive neuroscience, was named a 2005 winner of the prestigious Gairdner Award for her pioneering research in memory. Milner, the Dorothy J. Killam Professor at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill, is among the six prominent scientists honoured with the award this year. Since the award's inception in 1959, 274 scientists have received the award and 64 of those have gone on to win a Nobel prize.
The Colin Krivy Memorial Award for the McGill Drama Festival's best playwright will go to fourth-year History student Jeremy Morris for his play Some Other People's Lives. The award was established in memory of Colin Krivy by his parents. An award-winning playwright himself during his McGill student years with the Players' Theatre, Krivy was killed in a traffic accident last July at age 37 while on a 10-week cross-Canada bike tour. It was presented for the first time by Ms. Anna Drblik (BA '92), a friend of Krivy's.
Professor Yvan Lamonde from the Department of French Language and Literature won Le Prix de la Présidence de l'Assemblée nationale, for his book Histoire sociale des idées au Québec 1896-1929. This prize rewards a non-fiction work of high quality and orginality that focuses on Quebec politics. Lamonde was one of three authors to be awarded a prize at the third annual Journée du livre politique au Québec.
Gil Troy, professor of history at McGill, has dug deep and gone beyond the oversimplified stereotypes to illustrate the how and why of Reagan's cultural and political influence. His new book, called Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s, was launched at the McGill Bookstore, April 6.
To the surprise of those who dismissed the 40th president of the United States as an ignorant and dangerous lightweight, he is now venerated as one of the best leaders of the past century by a substantial portion of the American populace. Whether you love him or hate him, there can be no denying the former B movie actor was a crucial force in defining the world we live in today.
McGill faculty, staff and students reached new heights for Centraide in 2004. The pledges have just been tallied and the McGill community raised $292,570 for Centraide -- surpassing the $275,000 goal.
McGill also had over 50 leaders -- people whose personal donations were of $1000 or more -- who helped rank the university amongst the 20 largest donors of the latest Centraide campaign in the Greater Montreal area.
McGill has collected $1.25 million over the past five years for the non-profit Centraide, which funds 325 community agencies.
The 2004 campaign's co-chairs Judy Dear, Janet Arts (incoming), Kate Maguire (outgoing) and Dean of Law Nicholas Kasirer are delighted with the results. "It's not how much the McGill community gave in total that matters," said Dear; "rather it's that we cared enough to give."
Kasirer was wowed by the dedication and generosity of volunteers and donors, and the extraordinary show from the administrative staff. "After many years at McGill, my experience on the Centraide Campaign has reminded me that our university has an unlimited power to amaze."
Centraide representative Yvon Bellefeuille said he was amazed at how professionally McGill managed the campaign. "The smooth transition of the rotating co-chairs, the orderliness of the message that is sent out to solicit donations campus-wide and the team enthusiasm shared by its committee members is unique to McGill and is found at no other university," he said.