President Gary Kachanoski has announced the Memorial University’s outstanding educators, researchers and staff members for 2013.

The president’s awards recognize excellence in teaching, research, service and community service. The awards are announced annually and will be formally presented at a ceremony in December.

“Our accomplished recipients have helped students discover their true potential and have inspired their co-workers through their dedication to their work and to Memorial,” said Dr. Kachanoski. “I offer my congratulations to all of this year’s recipients.”

This year’s suite of president’s awards includes the inaugural John Lewis Paton Distinguished University Professorship. Named for the founding president of Memorial University College, the award recognizes those who distinguish themselves across the continuum of teaching and learning, research and public engagement. The first recipient of the new award is Dr. Patrick Parfrey, Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. Christopher Parrish, Department of Ocean Sciences, Faculty of Science, and Dr. Graham Bodwell, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, have been named University Research Professors.

University Research Professor is a designation above the rank of professor. The title is the most prestigious award the university gives for research, and goes to a faculty member who has demonstrated a consistently high level of scholarship and whose research is of a truly international stature. 

The President’s Award for Outstanding Research will be presented to Dr. John Sandlos, Department of History, Faculty of Arts, and Dr. Faisal Khan, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. The President's Award for Outstanding Research recognizes young researchers who have made significant contributions to their scholarly disciplines. 

The President’s Award for Exceptional Community Service will be presented to Patricia Bryant, Health Sciences Centre Library. This award is presented in recognition of employees (faculty or staff) who have demonstrated outstanding community service.

Dr. Lisa Rankin, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, will be honoured with the President's Award for Outstanding Graduate and Postgraduate Supervision which recognizes exemplary efforts to foster success in the research and scholarship of their graduate or postgraduate students and to advance students' success in their profession.

The President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, recognizing teaching excellence in the university community, will be presented to Dr. Eric Gill, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. 

Other teaching awards – for outstanding teaching -- recognize remarkable efforts in the classroom by a faculty members with five to 10 years of service to the university, and lecturers and instructional staff with a minimum of five course sections taught.

The President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching (Faculty) will be awarded to Dr. Tom Cooper, Faculty of Business Administration.

The President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching (Lecturers and Instructional Staff) will be presented to Sébastien Després, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts.

The President’s Awards for Exemplary Service will be awarded to five noteworthy Memorial community members. They are Gwen Hanson, senior staff accountant,

Financial and Administrative Services; Paul Kavanagh, custodian, Facilities Management; Bernadette Power, senior administrative officer, Faculty of Education; Wayne Rose, director, Finance and Operations, Student Affairs and Services; and Heather Wareham, archivist, Maritime History Archive.

The President's Award for Exemplary Service is presented to employees who have demonstrated outstanding service and/or who have made significant contributions to the university community beyond that normally expected for their positions.  

The president’s award ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 12, in Innovation Hall, Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation, St. John’s campus.