A former dean, a drama professor emeritus, a leader in community arts, and a charitable entrepreneur are the four outstanding UWindsor supporters who will be recognized with a 2015 Clark Award during an evening in their honour on Tuesday, May 5, at 6 p.m. in the Ambassador Auditorium, CAW Student Centre.
Clark Awards have been presented annually since 1994 and are named in honour of the late Charles J. Clark, former Chancellor of the University of Windsor. The award recognizes outstanding personal service of alumni volunteers and friends of the University who have made significant commitments in time, energy and expertise by serving on University boards, committees or campaigns, or who have worked extensively to increase the profile and reputation of the University.
The 2015 recipients are:
Wilfred L. Innerd, a former dean of the UWindsor Faculty of Education, member of the University’s Board of Governors and its Senate. He has served on the Advisory Committee for AIDS Education, the Teacher Education Review Committee, the Ontario Association of Deans of Education, and the Ontario Association of Children’s Mental Health Centres. He chaired the St. Clair College Early Childhood Education Advisory Committee and was a director of Ontario Olympics of the Mind with the late Jerome Brown. Dr. Innerd served as chair of the Board of Canterbury College. He chaired the Board of Windsor Regional Hospital and serves on the Site Selection Sub-Committee for the new hospital.
Diana Mady Kelly O.Ont. (BA 1960), drama professor emeritus whose influence on generations of actors spans over three decades. As director of the School of Dramatic Art, she influenced such luminaries as Antoni Cimolino and Stephen Ouimette. Mady Kelly is a founding member of the Stratford Summer Academy for University courses, and the Changing the Odds program for youth. She is a recipient of a Lieutenant Governor’s Laurel Award, an OCUFA Excellence in Teaching Award and the International Outstanding Teacher of Theatre in Higher Education award. Mady Kelly is a member of the Order of Ontario and a recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. She served as president of the Council of Ontario University and College Theatre Programs.
Carolyne J. Rourke (BA 1963, BFA 1991), a visionary leader in arts and culture. She initiated, ”Art Among Us” to increase the visibility of art on the UWindsor campus, spearheaded the first campus and city sculpture competitions and chaired the successful Humanities Research Group events, “1900 Paris World’s Fare” and “Carnevale di Venezia.” She was integral in encouraging the generous donation by Louis Odette of numerous sculptures to the University and to what became the $4.5 million Windsor Sculpture Park. Rourke’s crowning achievement was in helping develop the Windsor Endowment for the Arts, which has invested more than $50,000 in community, literary, performing and visual arts.
Sheila E. Wisdom (BA 2001, LLD 2004), whose community impact began when she was a grants officer in the 1970s, supporting early funding for Hiatus House, a shelter for abused women. With her husband Jerry, she opened South Shore Books, which lured major Canadian authors to Windsor. Wisdom served on Windsor City Council and championed a fiscal fitness policy that cut tax increases substantially over 10 years, the preservation of the Capitol Theatre and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, and the conversion of a landfill into the Malden Road Park. Wisdom served as executive director of the United Way, and on the Advisory Committee for the University of Windsor’s Centre for Executive Education. She now manages the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.
Tickets for the May 5 dinner are $75, available by contacting Mary-Ann Rennie before April 20 at mrennie@uwindsor.ca or 519-973-7059.