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Annual Alumni Award
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities Alumni Award is designed to recognize outstanding alumni who have made significant contributions to their field, community, or society, and who have demonstrated excellence in their profession, leadership, and service. The award is open to all alumni of Western University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
2026 Nominations
Nominate a graduate for the Arts & Humanities Alumni Award of Excellence. The recipient is selected by the Faculty of Arts & Humanities and the award will be presented at Western's Homecoming in September 2026.
Nominations for the 2026 Arts & Humanities Alumni Award of Excellence are due March 31, 2026.
2026 Recipient Jacqueline Ryan
BA’90
The Faculty of Arts at Western University is proud to honour Jacqueline Ryan, BA’90, with the Alumni Award of Excellence in recognition of her exceptional leadership, community impact, and contributions to Canadian sport, marketing, and philanthropy. A graduate of Western’s English and Film Studies program, Jacqueline has built a distinguished career grounded in the communication, storytelling, and strategic thinking skills fostered through an arts education.
As Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Olympic Foundation, Jacqueline leads national partnerships, digital engagement, brand strategy, and fundraising initiatives that support Team Canada athletes and inspire communities across the country. Under her leadership, the Canadian Olympic Committee has secured transformative partnerships with leading Canadian brands, launched innovative fan engagement initiatives, and generated significant new revenue in support of Canadian sport. Prior to joining the COC, Jacqueline held senior leadership roles at Scotiabank and RBC, where she led landmark initiatives including the historic Scotiabank Arena naming rights partnership and RBC’s celebrated activation of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Widely recognized for her visionary leadership, she was named the Canadian Marketing Association’s 2024 Marketer of the Year and has received numerous national honours celebrating her influence in sport business and marketing. Through her commitment to mentorship, philanthropy, and community-building, Jacqueline exemplifies the values of the Faculty of Arts and demonstrates the far-reaching impact of a humanities education. We are proud to celebrate her remarkable achievements and honour her as a distinguished Western alumna.
We look forward to celebrating with Jacqueline and her family at the 2026 Homecoming ceremony.
2024 Recipient Kadie Philp (nee Ward)
BA'05, MA'07
Kadie is a graduate of Philosophy and Media Studies (FIMS) at Western and is a seasoned executive whose career has been characterized by successful collaboration across public, private and non-government organizations to design and deliver inclusive economic growth strategies. She was named Commissioner and CAO of Ontario’s Pay Equity Commission in 2020 leading an agency serving Ontario’s entire labour force where she focuses on economic equality and justice in the labour market.
Outside of work Kadie leads a literary and artistic platform, Garden of Even, highlighting and celebrating women’s historical contributions that have previously been unrecognized. Through art and storytelling Kadie is reshaping and sharing women’s accomplishments.
Kadie has been involved at Western in numerous ways since her days as a student. She is a mentor to the next generation of leaders and is committed to building strong, inclusive communities.
We are Purple and Proud to call Kadie one of our own and enjoyed celebrating her accomplishments during a special event at Western’s 75th Homecoming!
2023 Recipient Michelle (Gill) Banik
BA’92
Michelle (Gill) Banik, BA’92, is an enthusiastic advocate for liberal arts education and with her successful career in human resources leadership, many companies have benefited greatly from her business savvy, valuable expertise and authenticity. As a current member of Western’s Board of Governors and through her involvement with the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Michelle has demonstrated aspirational commitment to her alma mater.
Michelle is proof that an arts degree offers versatility and can take graduates in unique career trajectories. After completing her undergraduate education at Western, Michelle discovered a passion for enabling employees to do their best work and pursued human resources credentials, as well as a Chartered Director designation from McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business.
Throughout her career, Michelle has effectively established systems and experiences for employees to be successful, ensuring their efforts are supported by positive and inclusive company cultures that value their contributions.
Michelle promotes equity and diversity in her work and her out-of-the-box thinking, and natural curiosity have enriched her role as a business leader with commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
Since 2016, Michelle has been an active member of the Advisory Council at Western’s School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities, where she mentors students and advocates for work-integrated learning opportunities. A regular guest speaker at Western, she is known for modeling the highest standards of professionalism for a new generation of students who benefit greatly from her insights.
Michelle is currently on the Board of Directors for Empire Company Limited, the parent company of grocery retail chain Sobey’s. She is also on the national Board of Directors for BGC Canada (formerly the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada). By working with these organizations at the executive level, Michelle continues to influence tangible changes within today’s workforce.
General Criteria and Selection
Anyone who knows a deserving Arts and Humanities alum and has information they can share is eligible to submit a nomination.
*Note that the awards committee does not notify people of their nomination prior to adjudicating the award.
We're interested in Arts and Humanities alumni who are making a positive difference in the world through their professional or personal work in media, information, community development and social justice, government, the arts, politics, and leadership. We will recognize many forms of achievement including within professional activities, community service, service to the university, social impact and innovation, or contributions to equity, diversity, inclusion and access in institutional and community contexts.
It doesn't matter what year the person graduated, or how professionally established they are; if they're making significant change out in the world or contributing something big to one of our related fields of study, we'd love to hear about it.
An awards committee made up of current students, staff, faculty and Arts and Humanities alumni will collectively choose a winner from the pool of nominations.