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The Founding College of the University of Toronto

Past Recipients

2021

Photo of Dr. Daniel Nadler
BA 2005 UC

Dr. Daniel Nadler is the founder and CEO of Kensho, the leading provider of market analytics systems to Wall Street. Kensho’s clients include the largest global banks. In addition to Kensho, Dr. Nadler is the Director of Research for Financial Technology at Stanford University’s School of Engineering. He completed his PhD at Harvard University.

Dr. Carol Nash (photo credit Mike Young)
BA 1980 UC

Carol Nash is an internationally recognized academic whose research spans the philosophy of education and the history of medicine. Since 2012, Nash has served as Scholar-in-Residence as part of the History of Medicine program in the Department of Psychiatry at the U of T. She is also the founder and volunteer facilitator of the Health Narratives Research Group at U of T and a volunteer mentor in various on and off-campus programs.  A widely published philosopher of education, Nash is a compassionate facilitator and mentor who has devoted her career to inclusive education, developing many programs that encourage self-directed learning, including co-founding Alpha II Alternative School with the Toronto District School Board. Nash is a recipient of the Leaders & Legends Innovation Award from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the U of T (2020), the Arbor Award from the U of T (2015), and various mentorships awards.

Photo Credit Mike Young

Professor Peter Oliver
BA 1981 UC

A widely recognized expert in the area of constitutional law, Peter Oliver is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa (2007-present). He formerly held various governmental and academic positions around the world, including serving as Scholar in Residence with the Canadian Department of Justice (2005-06) and as a special advisor and senior advisor to the Privy Council of Canada (2006-12). Included amongst his many honours and awards are an appointment as Chair in Constitutional Law at King's College London (2005), an appointment as Scholar in Residence at Justice Canada (2005), a Christensen Visiting Fellowship from St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford (2015), the Outstanding Contributor Prize from the Ottawa Law Review (2019), and the Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship (2006).

Ruth Richardson
BA 1992 UC

Ruth Richardson is a global leader who tirelessly advocates for shifting food and agriculture systems towards greater sustainability, security, and equity. She is currently the executive director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, a strategic alliance of more than 25 international philanthropic foundations. Her former positions include being the inaugural director of the Unilever Canada Foundation, founding chair of the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network, and the first environment director at the Metcalf Foundation. Richardson also served as the lead consultant to establish The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Richardson sits on various advisory and steering committees and is the founder and past chair of Small Change Fund, an online vehicle for micro-philanthropy.

Donna Young
BSc 1987 UC

The founding dean of the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Ryerson University (2020-present), Donna Young has broken numerous race and gender barriers throughout her career. Young was formerly a long-time professor of law at Albany Law School and a joint faculty member at the University of Albany’s Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She was appointed as Albany Law School’s President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy (2018-20) before coming to Ryerson as only the second Black woman to be appointed dean of a Canadian law school. A highly sought after speaker at conferences and events, Young’s research and work has focused mainly on criminal and employment law, as well as gender and race studies. In 2021, she was selected as a Top 25 Women of Influence and won the Female Trailblazer Excellence Award from the Canadian Law Awards.

2020

Linda Bertoldi
BA 1971 UC

Linda Bertoldi is a leading lawyer in the power and infrastructure sectors, providing advice on changes in law and regulation, mergers and acquisitions, governance, business development, finance, and relations with Indigenous communities. The former chair of National Electricity Market Groups, she retired as senior partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in 2019. She received the inaugural Zenith Award for leading women lawyers (2009), was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women (2012) and was recognized with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s award for excellence in advocacy and philanthropy on behalf of those with dementia (2017), among other honours. In 2019, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award, Ontario Energy Association, for outstanding contribution to the power sector.

The Hon. Marvin Catzman
BA 1959 UC

The late Honourable Marvin Catzman served as a Justice on the Ontario Court of Appeal from 1988 until his death in 2007. One of his most notable judgments was a 1993 decision to grant bail to Guy Paul Morin, pending Morin’s appeal of a first-degree murder charge for which he claimed he was wrongfully convicted. This was at a time when both the public and the justice system we not convinced that wrongful convictions were even a possibility; Morin was later exonerated based on DNA evidence. Known for his integrity, humour, and wit, the Catzman Award for Professionalism & Civility was created in his honour and recognizes individuals who demonstrate knowledge of the law, fairness, civility, generosity of time and expertise, and dedication to the highest ideals of legal profession.

Frances Clark
BA 1969 UC

Frances Clark is one of Canada’s most committed philanthropists. She and her husband, former TD Bank CEO Ed Clark (BA 1969 UC), met while they were students at UC and have made substantial donations to a wide variety of charities in the hospital sector, mental health services, social services, the arts, and post-secondary education. They are major supporters of a number of organizations, including WoodGreen Community Services (to help alleviate homelessness); University Health Network; Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation; Habitat for Humanity; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; and a number of post-secondary institutions. They were lead donors to the University College revitalization project.

Bonnie Fuller
BA 1977 UC

Bonnie Fuller is the president and editor-in-chief of HollywoodLife.com and the former editor-in-chief of Us Weekly, Flare, YM, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour. She has been credited with inventing the modern celebrity newsweekly and was twice named Editor of the Year by Advertising Age. At Us Weekly, she reformulated and redesigned the title, increasing newsstand sales by over 200%. She created such signature sections as “Stars Are Just Like Us,” “The Buzzometer,” and “Who Wore It Best.” The influence of such sections was so strong that iterations can now be found in most celebrity and digital news outlets. Her book, The Joys of Much Too Much: Go for the Big Life—the Great Career, the Perfect Guy and Everything Else You’ve Ever Wanted, was published in 2006.

Peggy Gale
BA 1967 UC

Peggy Gale is an independent curator and art critic who has published extensively on time-based works by contemporary artists. Her collection of writings on artists' videos, Videotexts (1995), established artists' videos as a major art medium and her study, Artists Talk: 1969 – 1977 (2004) is a widely assigned course text that clearly and engagingly sets out the history and terms of conceptual art. She received the Toronto Arts Award (2000) and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (2006), the highest arts award in the nation.