Nomination deadline: Macdonald Campus Distinguished Alumni Awards
The Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize graduates who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in their professional and personal lives, and who have been an inspiration to fellow alumni, current students, and/or the community.
The Macdonald Distinguished Alumni Award (DAA) was created by the Macdonald Branch of the McGill Alumni Association to recognize distinguished graduates for their outstanding professional contributions, scholarly distinction and/or service to the community at large. The first awards were presented at Homecoming 2006 and are awarded at Homecoming every year.
In 2009, we were pleased to introduce the Macdonald Distinguished Young Alumni Award (DYAA), which recognizes the achievements and contributions of our younger alumni.
Nomination deadline: June 30, 2025
Eligibility
- Nominees must be in receipt of a degree or diploma from one of the programs offered at the Macdonald Campus.
- To be eligible for the Distinguished Young Alumni Award, nominees must have graduated from Macdonald within the last 10 years and be under 35 years of age.
- Current faculty and staff may be granted awards for exemplary contributions and commitment beyond the immediate scope of their work.
- Posthumous nominations will not be considered.
- For the DYAA Awards, self-nominations will be considered, as long as they are accompanied by a reference letter. For the DAA Awards self-nominations are not considered.
- Current members of the Distinguished Alumni Awards Committee will not be eligible for the awards.
Criteria
The DAA and DYAA Awards are given for accomplishments in one of the two following categories. The nominator is requested to select a nomination category, even if for some nominees both categories may be relevant.
Outstanding professional accomplishments, scholarly distinction, and/or service to the discipline or sector
Awardees would typically have leveraged the education received at Macdonald Campus to build an impactful career that has led to exceptional contributions in the discipline and/or impact on the sector. The nominee's professional accomplishments are expected to reflect positively on the educational institution.
Outstanding service to the Macdonald Campus Community
Awardees typically made exceptional contributions to the functioning of the institution, for example through leveraging their networks for the benefit of the institution, supporting fundraising or other initiatives, mentoring students, involvement in outreach, or other meaningful connections.
Process
- Nominations will be considered for the year in which they are submitted.
- Nominees that are not selected this year may be conserved for two years at the discretion of the DAA/DYAA Awards Committee.
- Nominations must satisfy the criteria for one of the award categories and be received by the deadline date published.
- Awards will be bestowed during Homecoming every year. They are not bestowed in absentia, save in exceptional circumstances.
2024 recipients
Distinguished Alumni Award: Dr. Allan Armitage, a visionary in horticulture | BScAgr’67
Dr. Allan Armitage is a celebrated leader in ornamental horticulture, having garnered numerous awards throughout his distinguished career. His journey began at Macdonald College, where he earned a BSc in Botany. He then worked at Aylmer/Del Monte Food Company in quality control and product development. However, his talent for communication led him to return to Macdonald College to earn a teaching certificate, after which he spent seven impactful years as a high school teacher at Beaconsfield High School in Quebec.
Eager to deepen his knowledge and contribute to plant science, Dr. Armitage pursued an MS in Horticultural Science at the University of Guelph and a PhD from Michigan State University. His academic career blossomed at the University of Georgia, where he served for 35 years, receiving numerous accolades for his ground-breaking research, engaging teaching, and significant service to the horticultural industry.
Dr. Armitage has authored 17 books, many used as key texts in horticulture programs, and published over 70 peer-reviewed papers alongside more than 500 industry articles. His expertise has taken him to lecture across Europe, New Zealand, Australia, China, and North America, making him a global figure in horticultural education.
Beyond academia, he founded the National Association of Specialty Cut Flowers and established the renowned Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia, benefiting ornamental plant breeders worldwide. He has also bred numerous popular ornamental plant cultivars and continues to consult with leading nurseries and greenhouses.
In addition, he launched Garden Vistas, a travel company that organized tours of the world’s most beautiful gardens, and developed Armitage’s Great Garden Plants, a widely-used app for plant enthusiasts.
His two daughters reside in Georgia and his son in Oakville, Ontario. Dr. Armitage and his wife Susan live in Athens, Georgia and make regular visits to friends and family in Canada.
Distinguished Young Alumni Award: Ophelia Sarakinis, FMT’19
Raised in Montreal suburbs, Ophelia Sarakinis' backyard was filled with chickens and a blooming vegetable garden, sparking her deep-rooted love for ag. She went from volunteering at her nearest organic farm in high school to eventually studying conventional agriculture at McGill.
After graduating, Ophelia realized the urgent need to create more sustainable farming methods, so she set up her own little indoor farm in her parents’ attic. Tired of hard, tasteless strawberries and concerned about their consistent rank at the top of the dirty dozen list (due to high levels of synthetic pesticides), she knew exactly where to start. Through trial and error (and little help from neighbouring bumblebees and ladybugs) she discovered that farming vertically in urban spaces is a viable solution towards a sustainable future.
GUSH officially started running their vertical farm in 2020, setting out to grow the best strawberries.