Dr. Robert and Norma Ferguson Outstanding Service Award
Throughout her long and distinguished career, Verda Petry MEd’89 has served as an educator, volunteer, and community advocate. She has been an embodiment of her strongly held values through her active volunteerism, along with service on a variety of boards and committees.
Verda served as an educator for many years with Regina Public Schools and was recognized for her excellence in teaching with several awards including an Honorary Lifetime Membership from the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and a Master Teacher Award for outstanding service to mathematics education from the Saskatchewan Mathematics Teachers Society.
Verda served as an educator for many years with Regina Public Schools and was recognized for her excellence in teaching with several awards including an Honorary Lifetime Membership from the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and a Master Teacher Award for outstanding service to mathematics education from the Saskatchewan Mathematics Teachers Society.
Verda served as an educator for many years with Regina Public Schools and was recognized for her excellence in teaching with several awards including an Honorary Lifetime Membership from the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and a Master Teacher Award for outstanding service to mathematics education from the Saskatchewan Mathematics Teachers Society.
She served two terms as Chancellor of the University of Regina and is a member of Senate; she participated in several U of R committees including the Research Ethics Board and the Seniors University Group.
As a committed volunteer, Verda has dedicated time to many organizations including the Regina Public Schools Teacher Association, the Regina Public School Board, Sherwood Credit Union (now Conexus), the Health Council of Canada, the Eden Care Society, and the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism. Verda is also a recipient of the 125th Confederation of Canada Medal for volunteer service in the community.
Presented by URAA (University of Regina Alumni Association)
Dr. Matina Kalcounis-Rueppell BSc'93 MSc'96 is an internationally recognized scientist whose research focuses on the biology of acoustic communication in wild bats and mice - two large, fascinating, and biodiverse groups of mammals that communicate using ultrasound.
Her research has been funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the US National Science Foundation as well as other government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry.
Her research has been funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the US National Science Foundation as well as other government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry.
She has led two scientific societies including the North American Society for Bat
Research. As an educator and professor, Matina served as Head of the Biology Department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and was the first female Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta.
She is currently the Dean and Vice Provost of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Alberta. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Telus World of Science Edmonton, and is a Director on the Board of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute.
Presented by URAA (University of Regina Alumni Association)
Leah Lawrence BASc'94 was inspired to work on climate change and sustainable development while studying engineering at the University of Regina. Her professional journey first took her to Calgary, where she worked on climate strategy and energy technology investment, before becoming an entrepreneur and starting her own company.
Leah's focus on climate, technology and entrepreneurship eventually took her to Ottawa, where she is the president and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). In her time at SDTC, Leah has transformed the organization, making it a champion for young companies and their potential to change the world.
In her eight years at the helm, SDTC has made more than $1 billion available to aspiring entrepreneurs to test, scale up, and commercialize their ideas. Leah is known for her commitment to organizational excellence and governance for startups and organizations in transition.
She was instrumental in the formation of the Innovation Asset Collective, Canada's first patent collective, and currently serves as its vice chair. She is also a past director and chair of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) who honoured her with the Centennial Leadership Award, APEGA's highest distinction for a member.
Leah is also a fellow of Engineers Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Presented by URAA (University of Regina Alumni Association)
