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Elisabeth Clarke-Gilman, chief administrative officer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, has been a community leader at the University for many years. A member of several advisory committees and a United Way volunteer, she was also a mentor for employees looking for advancement within the University. However, it is the Run and Walk for Lunch — as its instigator and driving force — that Clarke-Gilman is best known. Over the five years that it was held, the University event successfully raised more than $100,000 for the Student Meal Bursary, which helped students in financial need obtain regular and nutritious meals.
Clarke-Gilman is also very active in her local community. “She began annual street barbecues that now attract large numbers of families and friends to mark the end of the summer,” says her neighbour Victor Rabinovitch, who is also president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. “She encourages younger people to reach out and give a hand to older residents. She is often the first to meet new residents.”
Marcel Leblanc is dedicated to communicating science to students and the public. Over the past 30 years, Leblanc has brought his unique demonstrations of physical phenomena to more than 100,000 students, parents, teachers and the public on more than 400 occasions in the National Capital Region, to various parts of Quebec and Ontario, and even as far away as Iqaluit.
“He and his assistant travel to an event in a truck crammed with equipment for the demonstrations,” says Christian Detellier, dean of the Faculty of Science.
Leblanc’s bilingual presentations have wowed audiences by making physics fun and easy to understand for people of all ages, including as part of the University’s widely popular Christmas science lectures. The show, also known as “Cryogenic Cabaret,” was featured at the 2004 American Physical Meeting attended by 7,000 participants.
Honoured in 1999 with the McNeil Medal by the Royal Society of Canada for his work, Leblanc’s mandatory retirement in 1994 hasn’t slowed him down: 214 of his presentations have taken place since his so-called retirement. Twelve more are planned for the 2005-2006 academic year.
The Hubert Reiter Award was created in December 2004 to recognize outstanding commitment to volunteerism by support or teaching staff.
