Reunions, Homecoming and alumni celebrations
The spring and fall months turned out to be the perfect time for many of you to enjoy reunion activities, attend lectures featuring prominent alumni, and celebrate Homecoming at the Dean’s Gala.
Reunion Celebrations
In the past several months, 11 class reunions have taken place.
Events began as early as May, when Dentistry alumni from across the country gathered in Toronto to attend the annual Ontario Dental Association Conference and met up with their classmates for cocktail receptions and dinners. In addition to a class dinner, the Dentistry Class of 2007, took the opportunity to spend a weekend on Niagara-on-the-Lake. They also got together during Homecoming Weekend in October attending the Dentistry Alumni Cocktail Reception and then headed off for a special Class dinner.
1950s
The Medicine Class of 1957, led by Dr. Jack Patten and a committee celebrated their 60th Reunion on Homecoming Weekend by visiting campus, attending the lectures hosted by Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and enjoying lunch with fellow alumni. The classmates then got together for the Golden Alumni Reception at the London Convention Centrewhere they received their 60 year pins and headed to the Dean’s Gala for their Reunion Dinner.
1960s
The Medicine Classes of 1962 and 1967 celebrated their reunions in London. While the Class of 1962 enjoyed events including a dinner and branch at Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre, the Class of 1967 enjoyed golf, lectures on campus, and the football game. They enjoyed receiving their 50 year pins at the Golden Alumni Reception and then came together at the Dean’s Gala for dinner and dancing.
1970s, 1980s and 1990s
The Medicine Classes of 1977, 1982, and 1987, celebrated at a variety of events in the city of London and on campus. From cocktail parties to a Saturday of music with Rick McGhie and an afternoon of football. Classes really enjoyed reuniting and celebrating the achievements of their classmates. The Classes of 1987 and 1997 joined in the festivities at the Dean’s Gala to celebrate their 30th and 20th reunions.
2000s
The Medicine Class of 2007 celebrated their reunion in September and enjoyed a barbeque, a family outing to the local Children’s Museum, and then a special dinner at Sunningdale Golf and Country Club. Meanwhile, the Medicine Class of 2012, including the Schulich Medicine & Dentistry – Windsor Campus Charter Class enjoyed a full weekend of activities with a cocktail reception, barbeque, and class dinner.
It has been an exciting Reunion season and we are looking forward to more of the same in 2018. If you would like to begin planning your reunion, you can access the School’s Reunion Planning Guide – or contact Nicole Dorssers, Events and Alumni Engagement Officer.
Homecoming – October 2017
It was a day of thoughtful and provocative conversation, inspiration and celebration.
On Saturday, October 21, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry hosted more than 1,500 alumni, faculty, staff, students and community members for its annual Homecoming events. While it may have been decades since some returning alumni graduated, their school spirit and purple pride remained intact.
A panel discussion about Pseudoscience kicked-off the day’s events. It was led by alumna, Dr. Jennifer Gunter now a practising obstetrician/gynaecologist and pain medicine specialist living in San Francisco. Dr. Gunter made international headlines this past year for her pointed and passionate criticism of a celebrity lifestyle and wellness website, calling it out for its lack of evidence and presentation of alternative facts. She was joined by alumnus, Mark Speechley, PhD a faculty member in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and faculty members including Drs. Marina Salvadori and Saverio Stranges. Dr. Strong moderated the panel.
The group discussed evidence-based medicine, along with how we can confront ‘bad’ science and increase scientific awareness and education.
Dr. Margaret Chan, BA’73, MD’77, DSC’93, was the 2017 Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer. In her hour-long talk – which was interrupted twice with standing ovations – Dr. Chan shared her views on global public health, the epidemics she has encountered while serving as the Director-General of the World Health Organization and the progress public health has made since she first entered into the profession.
Dr. Chan is proud of her alma mater – and engaged students, faculty and community members throughout her visit back to campus.
Following the lectures, hundreds of alumni enjoyed a complimentary lunch before heading-off to the Homecoming football game to watch the Western Mustangs take on the Ottawa Gee-Gee’s.
The Homecoming Weekend celebrations continued at the London Convention Centre, beginning with a Schulich Dentistry Cocktail Reception and the Golden Alumni Cocktail Reception, where alumni celebrating their 50 and great reunions were honoured.
Then it was on to the Dean’s Gala for an evening of dinner, dancing and the awarding of the Alumni of Distinction Awards. Students from the School’s various education programs attended the Gala and participated in the awards presentations.
As each award recipient was introduced, a special piece of music they chose was played accompanying their walk up to the stage.
Dr. Margaret Chan got things underway dancing to the stage to the lilting sounds of the Carpenters' 'Yesterday Once More.' Other recipients shared the meaning behind their choices which included the theme from Star Wars (Dr. Peter Leung); John Lennon’s 'Imagine' (Dr. Cecil Rorabeck); Fun’s 'We are Young' (Dr. Shawn Steele); 'Black and White' by Three Dog Night, (Dr. Paul Romanson); 'Look What You Made Me Do' by Taylor Swift (Dr. Zain Kassam); and 'What a Wonderful Life' by Louis Armstrong (Dr. Robert Bourne). Dr. David Spence ended the awards presentation and engaged the crowd in singing along to 'When the Foeman Bares his Steel from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.
Congratulations to the following alumni who received Alumni of Distinction Awards:
Community Service Award
Robert Bourne, MD’71, and Cecil Rorabeck, MD’68, DSc’09
Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Award
Margaret Chan BA’73, MD’77, DSc‘99
Young Alumni
Zain Kassam, MD’08
Excellence in Basic Science Research
Peter Leung, PhD’79
Dental Alumni of Distinction
Paul Romanson, DDS’72
Professional Achievement
David Spence, BA'65, MD'70
Young Dental Alumni of Distinction
Shawn Steele, BA’01, DDS’05, JD'13
