Governor General's Academic Medal
The Governor General's Academic Medal is awarded to the student graduating with the highest grade point average from a Canadian high school, college or university program. They are presented by the educational institution on behalf of the Governor General. These medals are not part of the Canadian Honours System. Since 2020, none of the medals have been created, and a placeholder has been located on the Governor General's website stating that the medals will be delivered sometime in the future.[1] While consistently noting how Governor General Mary Simon holds the program in "high regard," as of December 2021, the Governor General's office said the medals would be sent in "summer 2022;" as of April 2022, the office said "fall 2022;" and, as of December 2022, the office said "in the months to come."[2] It is unclear if the medals will ever be issued again.
History
The medals were created by Lord Dufferin, Canada's third Governor General after Confederation in 1873.
Criteria
To maintain a spirit of universality across the country, the medals are awarded on academic marks only, regardless of the less tangible aspects of the student's life,[3] such as good citizenship, moral behaviour and, volunteer and community work. The Chancellery of Honours administers the Governor General's Academic Medal. Canadian citizenship is not a prerequisite for the award.
Famous recipients
Famous recipients include:
- Robert Bourassa – Premier of Quebec and Quebec Liberal leader
- Andrée-Anne Dupuis-Bourret – French-Canadian artist
- Jean-Claude Bradley – chemist who coined the term Open Notebook Science
- Kim Campbell – federal Progressive Conservative Leader and Prime Minister
- Robert F. Christy – Canadian-American theoretical physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project
- Adrienne Clarkson – journalist and Governor General of Canada
- Tommy Douglas – Premier of Saskatchewan, leader of the CCF and federal NDP
- Sylvia Fedoruk - Physicist, medical physicist, curler and the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
- Sylvia Hahn – Canadian artist and head of the art department at the Royal Ontario Museum
- W. G. Hardy – Canadian Classics professor, writer, International Ice Hockey Federation president[4]
- Mabel Gweneth Humphreys – 20th-century Canadian-American mathematician[5]
- Rachel Marsden – journalist, Fox News host, and internationally syndicated columnist[6]
- Gabrielle Roy – French-Canadian author, three-time winner
- Duane Rousselle – Canadian Sociologist and Psychoanalyst
- Robert Stanfield – federal Progressive Conservative Leader and Leader of the Opposition
- Pierre Trudeau – Prime Minister of Canada and federal Liberal Party leader
- Jesse Thistle - Author and Assistant Professor
- Paul Vermeersch – Canadian poet
Categories
Governor General's Academic Medals are awarded at four levels.
- Bronze – secondary school level
- Collegiate Bronze – post-secondary, diploma level
- Silver – undergraduate level
- Gold – graduate level
There is no monetary award associated with the Medal.
External links
References
- https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/governor-generals-awards/governor-generals-academic-medal
- https://web.archive.org/web/20211223044042/https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/governor-generals-awards/governor-generals-academic-medal
- "The Governor General of Canada".
- Trimmer, Bob (September 21, 1963). "Prof. George Hardy: Author-Educationist". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. p. 5.
- Green, Judy; Laduke, Jeanne (15 January 2016). "Supplementary Material for Pioneering Women in American Mathematics: The Pre-1940 PhD's" (PDF). American Mathematical Society. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- "Recipients". 11 June 2018.
| Awards of valour | |
|---|---|
| National orders | |
| Dynastic orders | |
| Provincial orders | |
| Territorial orders | |
| Other decorations and medals | |
| Canadian honours lists | |
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