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COFO Distinguished Awards

The recognition program is intended to identify and encourage individual excellence in the administration of higher education in Ontario, to identify role models for the profession, and to contribute towards a positive perception of the profession. There are three COFO Distinguished Awards:

Distinguished Leadership Award
Dr. Pierre Piché Distinguished COFO Service Award
Meritorious Honour Award

Each year, the COFO Distinguished Awards Nominating Committee issues a call for nominations and considers the resulting submissions. Nominations are called in the later summer-early fall of each year. The number awarded is subject to the discretion of the Nominating Committee.

The awards are presented at the annual COFO Fall Conference. See below for further information on the awards and previous winners.

Granted to those persons who have demonstrated effective leadership and have made a contribution to COFO and the management of higher education.

Nominees should generally satisfy all the following criteria:

The person has demonstrated leadership qualities as a senior administrator for a specific project or over a sustained period of time to the COFO group.
The person has been an active participant in Annual Conferences, meetings and on Standing Committees of the Executive of COFO.
The person is well recognized, at a minimum, at the institutional and regional levels, and at times at the national level.

Recipient receives a framed certificate or plaque. A letter will also be forwarded by the COFO Executive Committee to the Executive Head of the recipient’s home institution informing them of the basis of the award.

COFO Distinguished Leadership Award List of Recipients by Year

2004 Lucie Mercier-Gauthier (University of Ottawa)
2005 Glenda Kaye (Queen’s) and Pierre Piché (Toronto)
2006 Carter Scott (Western)
2007 Linda Lam (Queen’s)
2008 Trudy Pound-Curtis (York)
2009 Program Committee
2010 Janice Winton (Toronto Metropolitan)
2011 Joanne McKee (Brock)
2012 Anthony Lennie (Victoria)
2013 Rita Blais (Lakehead)
2014 Arla Peters (Windsor)
2015 Heather Woermke (Queen’s) and Angela Zeno (York)
2016 Lynn Logan (Western)
2017 Pierre Piché (Toronto)
2018 Dee Henne (McMaster)
2019 Joanne McKee (Toronto Metropolitan)
2020 Aldo DiMarcantonio (York)
2021 Peter Fraser (OCADU)
2022 Lisa Krawiec (COU)
2023 Joshua Tonnos (Brock) and Sarah Hadley (Waterloo)
2024 Cheryl Turk (Trent)
2025 Heather Woermke (Queen’s)

Granted to an individual award to recognize exemplary service and contributions to a university and/or the Ontario higher education sector.

Nominees should generally satisfy all the following criteria:

Length of service to their university, and within higher education.
Provided considerable time and effort to the success of the COFO group and colleagues.
Demonstrated influence, integrity and contributions above their particular position.
Demonstrated a breadth of contributions to the university and/or Ontario higher education sector.
A minimum of three (3) letters of support from university colleagues and/or colleagues at other universities in Ontario that highlight specific contributions to the sector or their university beyond their job descriptions.

Recipient receives a framed certificate or plaque. The Distinguished Awards Nominating Committee Chair will also notify the recipient’s Supervisor, Executive Head and CSAO member (where applicable) informing them of the basis of the award.

Dr. Pierre Piché Distinguished COFO Service Award List of Recipients by Year

2020 Karen McGlynn (McMaster)
2021 Sanish Samuel (York)
2022 André Whissell (Laurentian)
2023 Rita Blais (Lakehead)
2024 Saad Khan (McMaster)
2025 Peter Fraser (OCADU)

New award granted to those persons who have demonstrated an outstanding achievement that contributed to their university or the higher education sector in a meaningful way. The Award can be issued to multiple recipients and will be presented at the COFO Fall Conference but may also be presented at other times during the year given particular circumstances.

Nominees would have demonstrated outstanding contributions in one or more of the following criteria:

Service in support of a multiple or singular occurrence (e.g., published paper, recognition of an activity or presentation at a conference).
Lead or participated in transformative innovation or creativity (e.g., process or technology as a first adopter) and shared and transferred that for the benefit of others.
Contributed as an influencer or representative to regulatory, oversight or advocacy committee or body (e.g., Chartered Professional Accountants [CPA] Canada, Canadian Association of University Business Officers [CAUBO], federal or provincial) that informed policy developed for the sector.
Any recognizable achievement that positively and significantly contributed to demonstrating amazing effort to or enhancing the sector in a meaningful way.

Recipient(s) receives a framed certificate or plaque. Acknowledgement notifications will also be forwarded by the COFO Chair, as appropriate, to the supervisor and others at the recipient’s institution informing them of the basis of the award.

Meritorious Honor Award List of Recipients by Year

2023 Normand Lavallée (Laurentian) and Dee Henne (Lead)
2024 Peter Viveiros (Queen’s)
2025 Financial Sustainability Metrics Working Group (Lynn Logan, Tariq Al-Adrissi, Martha Hook McGregor, Joanne McKee, Trevor Rodgers)

COFO Distinguished Awards

COFO Distinguished Leadership Award List of Recipients by Year

Dr. Pierre Piché Distinguished COFO Service Award List of Recipients by Year

Meritorious Honor Award List of Recipients by Year

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COFO Distinguished Awards

Distinguished Leadership Award

COFO Distinguished Leadership Award List of Recipients by Year

Dr. Pierre Piché Distinguished COFO Service Award

Dr. Pierre Piché Distinguished COFO Service Award List of Recipients by Year

Meritorious Honour Award

Meritorious Honor Award List of Recipients by Year