Kudos

	Crystal Procyshen, MA Political Science

This September, Crystal Procyshen will join nine other students and professionals from ten nations as a 2003-2005 Rotary World Peace Scholar -- and the only Canadian -- at the International Christian University Peace Institute in Tokyo, Japan. This scholarship is awarded annually to 70 individuals worldwide and funds master's degrees in peace research at seven renowned institutes.

Originally from Wetaskiwin, Alberta, the twenty-four year old is a recent McGill graduate with a Dean's Honours List MA Political Science. In addition to being a published specialist on the Middle East, a speaker of Arabic, French, Spanish, and reader of Cyrillic and Greek, Crystal has been a competitive and professional ballet and jazz dancer for 19 years. Her academic, linguistic, and artistic interests have taken her to the Palestinian Territories, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, England, Central America, and the Caribbean, where she has done everything from teaching English and dance, to working with peace dialogue groups and refugee camps, developing policy papers, to producing and performing in dance productions, to shoveling compost in indigenous villages. She has just concluded two years as a fellow at the Center for Developing Area Studies and Inter-university Consortium for Arab Studies in Montreal, and a teaching and research assistant. As well, she is the founder of The Adventure Project -- a new non-profit organization that brings global adventures and learning home to Canadian students.

Procyshen will continue her research on the Middle East, applying alternative sociological approaches to water/resource development, conservation, and related dispute mediation techniques developed in Asia. She plans to travel in Egypt in the summer of 2004 to study the art of desert communities.

The National Academy of Sciences presented the Gilbert Morgan Smith medal to Sarah P. Gibbs, biology (retired), and a prize of $20,000. Awarded every three years for excellence in published research on marine or freshwater algae, Gibbs was chosen for her revolutionary concepts and evidence that constitute the foundation for the current theory of chloroplast evolution and the phylogenetic relationships of algae and plants. The award was established by a bequest of Helen P. Smith and has been presented since 1979.

Professor Zhaomin Wang, Deptartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, was awarded the Hidaka Scientific Paper Award 2003 by the Oceanographic Society of Japan, for his paper "Ice sheet-thermohaline circulation interactions in a climate model of intermediate complexity."

The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards gala was held April 23. Geraldine Dubrule (retired) won in the category of Sports and Well-Being and Dr. Rhoda Blostein (Department of Medicine) won in the category of Science and Technology. Other McGill nominees were Jill Barker (Assistant Manager, Recreation and Fitness, Athletics), Alexandra Conliffe (Engineering student and founder of the McGill chapter of Engineers Without Borders), Dr. Celeste Johnston (School of Nursing), Mary Dean Lee (Faculty of Management) and Jodi Tuck (a nursing student who worked in Mexico).

Ms. Rose Marie Stano, Administrative Assistant Anthro-pology, was honoured with the Award for Excellence in Service to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The award will be presented to Ms. Stano at the May Faculty meeting.

Professor Ting Chang, Art History and Communication Studies, received a prestigious Getty Fellowship.

Professor Bronwen Wilson, Art History and Communication Studies, has won the Harvard's Villa I Tatti Award for Italian Renaissance Studies, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Italian renaissance studies.

Kim St. Pierre, 24-year-old Kinesiology senior has won the Athlete of the Year Award in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. St. Pierre was presented with the BLG Award (formerly known as the Howard-Mackie Award), and has now received top athletic awards at the university, national, Olympic and world levels.

CCAE PRIX D'EXCELLENCE AWARDS is the annual awards program of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, which recognizes outstanding achievement in alumni affairs, public affairs, development, student recruitment and overall institutional Advancement. This year's competition was particularly intense with a record 420 entrants. McGill's winners are:

Best Alumni or Volunteer Recognition

Gold: The Bookplate Program for Loyal Donors

Submitted by Vivian Lewin of Communications and Joan Butterworth from Donor Relations. Joan and Vivian extend their thanks to DAR and library staff who took part in the program.

Best Brochure Category

Gold: McGill Facts Brochure

Submitted by URO director Kate Williams, project managed by Maeve Haldane, designed by Teena Aujla and print production by Chad Ronalds.

Best Community Outreach Program

Gold: McGill Mini-Med School

Organized by Kappy Flanders, Dr. Yvonne Steinert and Dr. Melvin Schloss. Coordinated by Ibby Shuster and Sandy Eisen.

Silver: McGill Science Award

Submitted by URO Director Kate Williams. Additional credits to Robin Geller, Morton Mendelson and Lisa Kisiel.

Best Institutional Homepage on the World Wide Web

Bronze: McGill Gateway

Credits go to WCG Manager Karl Jarosiewicz and the WCG team.

Best Writing - English Language

Bronze: The McGill News for the article "Passing the Torch" Editor Diana Grier Ayton, written by Daniel McCabe.