Awards

An award-winning college

George Brown's students, faculty and staff receive awards for their excellence, innovation and their many contributions to education and the community-at-large.

The following list provides highlights of George Brown's awards and honours:

2017

• President Anne Sado received the Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICAN) Presidents' Leadership Network Distinguished Service award in May.
• George Brown College was named a gold recipient of CICAN's Internationalization Excellence award in May.

2016

• Four graduates of our Theatre Arts program, Marjorie Chan, Aviva Armour Ostroff, Jamie McRoberts and Nathan Carroll, won Dora Mavor Moore awards.
• Vicky Cheng, a Chef School graduate who is now the executive chef of VEA in Hong Kong, received a Michelin star.
• The George Brown College Foundation won two awards for a fundraising video called A Letter Home, featuring international students sharing their experiences in Canada. The video won the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education Prix D'Excellence Bronze Medal for Best Fundraising Materials. It also won the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts Gold Award of Excellence – Branded Content in the non-profit category.
• George Brown College earned fifth spot on the Sustainable Campus Index top 10 list.
• George Brown College was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers for 2017.

• Lori Cranson, Associate Dean of the Centre for Community Services and Early Childhood and the Centre for Health Sciences, won the John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Award for her work with George Brown’s Student Success Team.

2015:

• Jewellery Arts professor Paul McClure received a Saidye Bronfman Award as part of the 2015 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
• The Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences at Waterfront Campus won a Good Design is Good Business Award from Architectural Record magazine and a Canadian Green Building Award.
• Alumnus Jerry Gou won a City of Toronto International Student Excellence Award in the entrepreneurship category.
• Alumnus Benjamin Valliquette Kissell won a Premier's Award in the recent graduate category.
• George Brown College was named the top research college in Canada, according to Research Infosource annual rankings.

• Dr. Cory Ross, Dean of the Centre for Health Sciences, was granted a fellowship from the U.K.-based Royal Society for Public Health

2014:

• George Brown College named one of the Top 100 Employers in Canada for 2015—the only college to make the list.
• George Brown College named one of Greater Toronto's Top 100 employers.
• George Brown College achieved gold status as a Smart Commute Employer.
• George Brown College President Anne Sado named one of 2014's Top 25 Women of Influence and inducted into the Women's Executive Network Top 100 Hall of Fame.
• George Brown graduate Jessica Lynn Whitbread wins Premier's Award in community services category.

2013:

• George Brown College President Anne Sado appointed Member of the Order of Canada.

2012:

• George Brown College President Anne Sado named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by Women’s Executive Network for second time in three years, and was also honoured as 2012 YWCA Woman of Distinction.
• The Waterfront Campus has been awarded: Toronto Construction Association’s Best of the Best in the large building category, a Brownie award for Excellence in Brownfield Remediation, and was a finalist for the Globe Awards for Environmental Excellence

2011:

• George Brown Disability Consultant Karen Walker was chosen by the provincial College Committee on Disability Issues to receive the 2011 Disability Award of Excellence. Walker works in the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Services Department at George Brown’s St. James Campus.

2010:

• Skills Canada Medalists – Two former George Brown students came back from the Skills Canada finals in Kitchener-Waterloo with some extra hardware. Eric Ganton (left) won a silver medal for Ontario in the architectural computer aided drafting and design category. Shayne Claringbold won a gold medal in the sheet metal category. Both earned their spots on the provincial team by winning gold medals in an earlier provincial competition that saw five other George Brown students earn silver medals and six other students earn bronze medals. Students won medals in computer aided manufacturing, refrigeration, precision machining, industrial millwright, mechantronics, heating systems and plumbing categories.

2009:

• The George Brown College Exterior Signage Program was awarded the Premier Award for best Wayfinding System at the 2009 Canadian Sign Association Awards. George Brown College worked with Kramer Design Associates Limited (KDA) to create this award-winning program.

2007:

• George Brown faculty member Jim Kinney won the McGraw-Hill Ryerson Award for Innovation in Education presented at its IT conference on June 1, 2007 at Durham College.
• George Brown College's Jamaica Project wins award at the Annual Canadian Awards for International Cooperation
• George Brown College Early Childhood Grad Wins Prestigious Award: Tolu Quadri, a graduate of George Brown's School of Early Childhood, won the Jerome Youth Leadership Award. This annual award celebrates the achievements of the Black community in Canada. Quadri graduated from George Brown College in 2006 with a diploma in Early Childhood Education. As a student, Quadri participated in the School of Early Childhood's Jamaica project, a Canadian International Development Agency funded project that has sent students to aid in the enhancement of early childhood education in the Caribbean nation. The daughter of Jamaican parents, Quadri is one of three sisters to have graduated from the George Brown School of Early Childhood.  
• George Brown College wins award from the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS).
  We are winners of a CPRS Achieving Communications Excellence (ACE) award; Employee Communications Campaign of the Year in the not-for-profit / non-governmental organization category. The recognition comes as a result of the project aimed at communicating The Path to Leadership, the new George Brown College logo, and the rollout of our re-branding initiative to all staff at last year's President's Breakfast.
• George Brown staff recognized as leaders: Congratulations to both Nancy Hood and Bob Cox for winning the Exemplary Leaders Award from the Chair Academy. They were recognized for demonstrating outstanding leadership in creating the Canadian Society for Professional and Organizational Development (CSPOD), developing a Faculty Portfolio program, promoting the Teaching Squares Project, and initiating the Specialist Series of Programs. Both have shown dedication to inspiring excellence among college faculty and staff.
• Joe Baker, Academic Manager, FHT Continuous Learning, and Rudy Guo, a George Brown College graduate, won the Ontario Hostelry Institutes Top 30 Under 30 Award.
• Internationally Recognized Poet: Maureen Hynes, a coordinator in the School of Labour in the faculty of General Education and Access, won the second prize in the Petra Kenney International Poetry Competition for her poem Fold. She received the award at a ceremony at Trafalgar Square in London, England on May 11th. Maureen was the only Canadian to place in the top three of this prestigious international competition.
• Award Winning Technologist: Erik Simundson, a technologist with The Centre for Advanced Building Technologies, was selected by the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technologists and Technicians (OACETT) as the Outstanding Educator for 2007. Erik has received many other excellence awards from the college in the past.
• George Brown College Wins Gold Twice: 2007 Association of Ontario Snowboarders University and College Series GOLD - The Huskies snowboarders entered this year's competition aiming to defend their 2006 championship title. George Brown defeated the competition by a landslide claiming the gold medal. Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Men's Indoor Soccer Team GOLD - The Huskies faced off against rivals Humber in the championship match and defeated them after five minutes of sudden death. This year, the team won with three invitational tournament championships. Visit George Brown College's Athletic Department web site for more information.
• March 2007: Academic Excellence Saluted - The Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism continues to show its commitment to excellence with three of its faculty being honoured with awards. Chef Ian Gallacher won the esteemed CAFP (Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals) Educator of the Year Award. Chef Christine Walker and Chef Peter Rohner both won the NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development) Excellence Award.
• 2007 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Badminton Bronze Medal - The Huskies Men's Doubles team, Kenneth Ling and Eric Ngo, was awarded the bronze medal at the OCAA Championships.
• 2007 OCAA alpine skiing gold and silver - Richard Romano finished with the silver medal in the men's slalom race. Marla Henderson won her third consecutive title winning both the slalom and giant slalom races, becoming the first female to win three consecutive overall titles at the OCAA.
• George Brown graduate Vicky Cheng was presented with a 2006 Premier's Award. Making him the seventh George Brown graduate to receive the prestigious award.

2006:

• Marketing Faculty, Lori Futterer, Barry Wallace, Heather Stevens, Frances Steciuk, Frank Maloney, James Beatty, Margery Taylor and Thomas Arhontoudis coached our Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition team to their best ever finish. George Brown College came fourth out of 16 schools with one gold, three silver and one bronze medal.
• Nancy Hood, Executive Director of Human Resources, won the John Fry Individual Merit Award at the recent NCSPOD Staff Development conference.
• Andrew Zalvin, Group Marketing Manager, appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 25th (Toronto) Service Battalion.
• Yorkville School of Makeup and Esthetics Instructor Jessica Ellinson won Canadian Nail Technician of the Year at the 2006 Contessa Awards.
• NOW Magazine's Best of Toronto 2006 issue named Anna Willats, faculty in the Assaulted Women and Children Counsellor Advocate Program, as Best Activist in the city.
• Director of Staff Development Bob Cox received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council for Staff Program and Organizational Development in recognition of serving the Board of Directors as Canadian Vice President, President Elect, and Past President from 1999-2006
• Former George Brown students Mariko Humphrey and Monika Sosinski won the NOW Magazine Design a Newspaper Garment Contest.
• 2006 Ontario College's Athletic Association Men's Soccer Awards - George Brown College's team awarded a bronze medal; Jerome Watts and Frederick Sam named league all stars; Richard Kirwan chosen as part of the championship all star team, and head coach Lucky Boothe awarded coach of the year. The Huskies soccer team advanced to the 2006 OCAA final four championships for the first time in over a decade. Kevin Ferreira was chosen as Ontario's Men's Soccer Athlete of the Month for October.
• Nancy Hoang, Fashion program student, winner of the White Cashmere Student Design Competition.
• Patrick Kriss, Chef School apprentice, winner of the regional title in the San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef competition.
• Red Dot Award, design concept 2006, Lily Kim from the School of Design won for her winning submission Play with Learning.
• June 2006: Lorraine Betts and Rivie Seaberg were both awarded a CNSA Preceptor/Mentor Award.
• Canadian New Media Awards, May 2006: Dan Ouellette, an instructor in our School of Design, won Educator of the Year award.