Georgian administrators recognized with province-wide awards

Two Georgian College administrators have been honoured with awards from the College Administrators Network for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the Ontario college system.

The association recognized Michele McConney with the Doug Light Lifetime Achievement Award and Lisa Buchanan with the Emerging Leader Award. Both awards were presented at the College Administrators Network annual conference on June 24 in King City.

Georgian College President and CEO MaryLynn West-Moynes congratulated Michelle and Lisa for their accomplishments.

“Both Michele and Lisa are extremely dedicated to the success of Georgian students and well respected across the Ontario college system,” she says. “All of us at Georgian are inspired by their leadership and very proud.”

The Doug Light Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to Michele, Manager of Athletics at Georgian, pays tribute to an administrator who has significantly influenced college education throughout his or her career.

Michele, who has spent over 38 years at Georgian, has played an integral role in enhancing the student experience from raising money for awards and scholarships through the Georgian Golf Classic to the development and expansion of the Athletic Centre and J.C. Massie Field. She has also earned a reputation for having a student-centred, collaborative approach. Michele has participated on the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Executive for 16 years and was a dedicated VP Governance for the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association.

“I was very surprised and honoured to be nominated for this prestigious award,” says Michele. “But when they notified me that I had won, I was shocked. There have been some impressive administrators who have already received this award and I’m humbled to join this group. During my years at Georgian I’ve been involved with a number of wonderful projects to enhance student life at the college and I’ve had the privilege to work with a great team of passionate and dedicated people to execute student programming.”

The Emerging Leader Award, presented to Lisa, recognizes administrators who are newer to management, are positively influencing the college through their leadership and have earned the respect of their colleagues.

Lisa has been instrumental in providing leadership around work-integrated learning for students in her three years at Georgian. She has provided operational oversight of the Clinical Placement Office and took on additional responsibilities as manager of the health clinics in the Sadlon Centre for Health, Wellness and Sciences. She has also been a strong advocate for employee engagement, motivating and empowering her staff to take on new challenges and continuously develop. Lisa is recognized at the college for being solution focused with a strong work ethic and approaching everything she does from the lens of student success.