2018 UPEI Founders and AVC Green Hat Award winner honoured
The University of Prince Edward Island held its nineteenth annual Recognition of Founders ceremony on Friday, September 28, today in Don and Marion McDougall Hall to acknowledge those who have contributed to the University in a significant way.
Recognized as 2018 Founders during the ceremony were Daryl Guignion and Dr. Ian MacQuarrie, both retired faculty members from the UPEI Department of Biology. Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust, Professor Emeritus, was awarded the Atlantic Veterinary College’s 2018 Honourable Eugene F. Whelan Green Hat Award, which pays tribute to individuals who have made an exceptional impact on the College.
As the official party entered Schurman Market Square, students Taylor Donald, Melissa Lewis, Tara Llewellyn, and Alexandra Sorensen sang O Canada. Sister Sue Kidd, University Chaplain, delivered the invocation, and Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor, delivered welcome remarks. Will McGuigan, President of the UPEI Student Union, brought greetings from the organization. Biology student Kali Ross read the citations for Mr. Guignion and Dr. MacQuarrie, and retired wildlife pathologist Dr. Scott McBurney the one for Dr. Daoust. A reception was held immediately following the ceremony.
About the Founders:
Mr. Daryl Guignion and Dr. Ian MacQuarrie
Mr. Guignion and Dr. MacQuarrie have made impressive and significant impacts on ecological and wildlife conservation efforts in Prince Edward Island. They taught courses which instilled a conservation ethic, collaborated on land use and conservation initiatives, and raised public consciousness in these areas. As a result, their legacy is generations of students who went on to prominent positions helping to make changes towards sustainable use of natural resources. Both inspired generations of students to make land and water conservation their life’s work. They were also instrumental in the establishing of the Island Nature Trust and active in other conservation organizations.
A number of years ago, a scholarship was established by past students, colleagues, friends, and family to honour the work of Mr. Guignion and Dr. MacQuarrie. The Daryl Guignion and Ian MacQuarrie Graduate Scholarship in Science is granted to a first-year student in a Master of Science program at UPEI who will conduct a research program focused on the ecology and status of natural habitats and/or native wildlife.
Click here to read the citations for Mr. Guignion and Dr. MacQuarrie.
About the Honourable Eugene F. Whelan Green Hat Award winner:
A member of AVC’s founding faculty, Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust has worked diligently to enhance the reputation of AVC regionally, nationally, and internationally. Throughout his career, he has shared his knowledge and expertise in morphologic pathology, and his passion for wildlife health and animal welfare, with thousands of veterinary students and graduate students, and with people in Atlantic Canada, across the country including the North, and beyond. He has inspired many AVC students who have gone on to become leaders in wildlife health surveillance and management.
He was instrumental in establishing the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative and served as the first regional director of the organization’s Atlantic region node until he retired from AVC in 2017, positioning AVC as the major centre of wildlife health expertise in the region. His leadership in wildlife welfare, particularly in connection to marine and fur-bearing animals, has left a major mark on Canada.
Click here to read the complete citation for Dr. Daoust.
