Five Alumni Leaders Honoured at 2010 Alumni Awards Celebration at Trent University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Distinguished Alumni, Spirit of Trent, and Young Leader Awards Presented at June 12 Event

Monday, June 14, 2010, Peterborough

Trent University celebrated the accomplishments of five distinguished alumni at the 2010 Alumni Awards held at the University on Saturday.

"The theme of this year's Alumni Awards event was 'Colouring Our World', which is precisely what the five honoured recipients have done through their careers and community service,” said Tony Storey, director of Alumni Affairs at Trent. “Their talent, compassion, achievement and commitment to making a difference in the world colours our world with benefits and best practices. They bring great honour to the reputation of the University, and it was a privilege to have all of these outstanding alumni back on our campus."

Five alumni, ranging from Trent’s earliest graduates to some of the more recent, were recognized at the event, which featured a reception and special 100-mile dinner in the Great Hall of Champlain College on the University’s Symons campus. The alumni were honoured in three award categories: the Distinguished Alumni Award; the Spirit of Trent Award; and the Young Leader Award.

The 2010 Alumni Awards recipients are:

Distinguished Alumni Award
Presented based on a person's achievement and leadership in their field. Recipients show leadership in business, industry, a profession or in public life.

Paul Crookall ‘65
After graduating from Trent, Paul Crookall spent nearly three decades working with Correctional Service Canada, as a former prison warden, hospital CEO, and senior advisor to the commissioner of Corrections. He has received the Exemplary Service Award from the Governor General of Canada and the American Correctional Associations Award of Excellence. Paul is a co-author of the best-selling book Three Pillars of Public Management and founder of Navatar Press, which publishes Canadian Government Executive Magazine and Vanguard Magazine. In 2009, Paul has also been very involved in the Trent Alumni Association and was a member on the University’s Board of Governors from 1999-2003. He graduated from Trent with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

James Richardson ‘64
Originally from Keene, Ontario, James Richardson is currently a professor of Pathology and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center in Dallas. A member of Trent’s first class, James graduated in 1967 with a joint Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry, after which he obtained a doctorate in veterinary medicine before returning to Peterborough to serve the farming community as a large-animal veterinarian. James left Peterborough again in 1978 to complete a Ph.D. in Veterinary Pathology at Purdue University in Indiana, and became an assistant professor of Pathology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida. James has been recognized and honoured with several awards, including Teacher of the Year at the University of Florida, and the Outstanding Teacher at UTSW, an honour he has received ten times over. In 2008, he was named a Piper Professor, a prestigious award acknowledging Texan professors who have had a special and lasting impact on both their students and their community. James also serves as chair-elect of the Joint Admission Medial Program (JAMP), a state-wide program in Texas that mentors economically disadvantaged university students intent on becoming physicians.

Spirit of Trent Award
Presented to an alum who has made a difference, through contributions to the University, the alumni association or the community.

John Butcher ‘67
John Butcher graduated from Trent with a degree in History in 1971 and has since maintained a close connection with the University – dedicating more than 35 years of volunteer service to Trent and the Alumni Association. In 1989, John set up his own business as an independent process facilitator, working with groups that are conducting organizational planning or addressing other issues of concern to them. In addition, John is also very involved in his community. He has been active as a referee and now as a referee supervisor in Junior hockey for almost 40 years and a part of various committees for the Parkdale United Church and the United Church of Canada. John has also been a director and member of the conference planning team with the Couchiching Institute of Public Affairs.

Karen Sisson ‘78
Since graduating from Trent in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and History, Karen Sisson has remained a dedicated volunteer to the University and the Department of Athletics. She has served as an alumni representative on the Athletics Advisory Committee and on the Senate and was a member of the Athletics Search Committee. Karen also presents the annual Ken and Lois Sisson Award, created in honour of her parents and presented to the most outstanding Trent Athletics Complex student staff member. In 2010, Karen received the 15 year Ontario Government Recognition Award for Volunteers in the Community for her contributions to Trent Athletics. In addition to her professional career as a lawyer in a local firm she created with her husband, Bruce Fitzpatrick, Karen is an avid volunteer in the Peterborough community. She is very involved with and participated in the Peterborough Regional Health Centre gift planning committee and on the Ontario Parent Council as well as a parent volunteer for St. Catherine’s School council and Chemong Public School. 

Young Leader Award
Recognizes young alumni who have shown outstanding leadership throughout their first ten years of alumni status either in their professional career and/or community, public or humanitarian service and are 35 years of age or younger.

Jessica Wolff ‘99
Following in the footsteps of her parents, both Trent University grads, Jessica Wolff graduated from Trent in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. After completing Teacher’s College, Jessica took a position with Pickering College, an independent school in Newmarket. Today, she is a teacher and assistant to the head of the Junior School at Pickering College and is highly involved in curriculum development, specifically designing a grade 7 and 8 English as a Second Language curriculum. In 2009, she won the title of Canadian Adult Masters Women’s Class 1 Figure Skating Champion and went on to take gold at the International Skating Union Adult Masters Ladies Class 1 figure skating competition, the most competitive and difficult category of the women’s events. During her time at Trent, Jessica left her legacy on Trent Athletics founding both the Trent University Figure Skating Club which was sanctioned by Skate Canada and the Trent University Varsity Figure Skating Team, sanctioned by the Ontario University Athletics Association.

The 2010 Alumni Awards event was generously sponsored by Wellington West Clearsight Investment Program and TD Insurance Meloche Monnex.

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For more information, please contact:
Tony Storey, Director of Alumni Affairs, Trent University, at 705-748-1599 or tstorey@trentu.ca