IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
CANADIAN UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE ASSOCIATION
The Becky Dinwoodie Governance
Professional Impact Award
Sponsored by Strategic Governance Consulting Services Ltd.
In memory of Becky Dinwoodie
“People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, People will never forget how you made them feel”
— Maya Angelou
Becky served as Assistant University Secretary and then University Secretary at Ontario Tech University for seven years until she passed away suddenly and prematurely at the age of 48 in March 2022.
The role of a governance professional in a university is difficult. It’s hard to do the job with grace and a sense of humour but Becky did it. Becky made everyone around her feel special and accepted. Becky shone. She radiated kindness, warmth, fun and light. To all she encountered, Becky was supportive, hardworking, and enthusiastic. She had integrity.
Becky loved her people. And they loved her back. Becky was part of a close-knit team within the University Secretariat. It was a team that worked hard and shared a common set of values. Becky made everything fun – even governance. She inserted pop culture references into our governance scenarios – making people laugh and relax. She was the pop culture queen and the resident foodie. She was the go-to person for new show recommendations. Becky made the team ‘cooler’ as our social media lead. Becky had a gift of making new members of the board and academic council feel welcome.
University governance professionals across Canada are a close-knit group – in no small part because the role is challenging and they seek the support of colleagues. Becky had the same impact on these colleagues as she had on those within the university and people got to know her and love her quickly.
While Becky was fun and accepting, she also cared deeply. She was a feminist. She hated injustice. She was protective of and loyal to her friends and had no time for superficiality, insincerity, or unkindness. Becky knew how to be a good friend – she knew just when to sit with you and acknowledge that something “sucked” and just when to cheer you on and encourage you. She always tried to understand where people were coming from. Becky strived to be positive and handled her own struggles with humour.
Becky lived her life to music. A self-described “Hipaholic” and “Concert Junkie”, the Tragically Hip were a mainstay. She loved Blue Rodeo, The Arkells and so much more. One of our favourite memories is of us at a CUBA/CUGA conference in Kingston where a few of us ended up singing karaoke – butchering some of our favourite Blue Rodeo songs but having a blast.
It was a gift knowing Becky. It was a gift spending time with her. It is my honour to create and support this award in Becky’s honour and her name.
I hope that reading about Becky makes you smile, brings perspective, and reminds you that there is a group of supportive university governance professionals across the country.
Becky at a CUBA/CUGA conference in Kingston
About the Award
Goal of the Award
To raise the profile of Canadian university governance professionals and to reward and reinforce professional standards of practice and demonstrated commitment to governance professional colleagues.
Award Description
The award will be given annually to one Canadian university governance professional. It will include an award and a $500 professional development contribution (payable to the provider upon registration).
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the award, the university governance professional must fulfil the following criteria:
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Selection Process:
There will be a three-person selection committee composed of Cheryl Foy (chair), and two members of the CUGA Board nominated by the CUGA Board. All members will be voting.
Nomination process will open in October annually and end November 30. The process will be communicated by CUGA to its listserv. The form will be set up by SGCSL and accessible by a link. SGSCL will create a confidential process and repository. SGSCL will also advertise the award and nomination process.
SGSCL will notify CUGA of any conflicts of interest (i.e. we will not have committee members from the nominee’s universities) and solicit appointees to the committee. By November 30, CUGA will notify SGSCL of its nominees to the selection committee.
In December, the committee will meet to review and vet the nominees for fulfilment of the criteria choosing up to 5 finalists.
In January, SGSCL and CUGA will notify the finalist nominees of their nomination and will secure photos and bios as well as consent to publication.
In February, the successful nominees names, bios and photos will be published on the SGSCL and/or CUGA website. CUGA members will be invited to send confidential endorsements, personal stories about the individual, or messages of support for the successful nominees.
In April, the committee will meet to review any additional information on the top five nominees and select the top finalist to receive the award.
The Award will be delivered by CUGA at its annual meeting by the Chair of the CUGA board or a delegate, with Cheryl Foy invited to say a few words about the process, the finalists, and the successful nominee.
Selection Timeline
October-November
Nominations open, communicated via CUGA listserv