And the Arch Awards Go to…

Inspired by the difference our alumni make, the UCalgary Alumni Arch Awards began in 1985 as a platform for the University of Calgary Alumni Association to honour and celebrate alumni who are making positive change in the world. Awards recognize alumni who have notably improved their profession and community through commitment, leadership and positive disruption. 

This year’s Arch Award recipients are: 

Aditha (Edie) Adams, BSc'85, MEDes'90 | Distinguished Alumni Lifetime Achievement 

Edie Adams is, by profession, a tool maker. As director of ergonomics with Microsoft, she creates physical tools to help our bodies and minds engage with the virtual world and to make our lives better. Her design innovations have been critically acclaimed, with some of the more than 140 U.S.-patented products resulting from her efforts included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Chicago Athenaeum. In short, if you have used a Microsoft device in the last 30 years, there is a good chance you have Edie Adams to thank for it.

Special feature: The Art of Designing a Life with Global Impact

Read profile | Say congratulations

Dr. Jennifer Hatfield, PhD'01 | International Career Achievement Award 

2023 International Career Achievement Award recipient Jennifer Hatfield is an internationally recognized adviser and global health scholar with a deep understanding of the diverse global health eco-system. Hatfield’s accomplishments are seen in countless ways, from international activities and guiding Canadian best practices, to the halo effect of influencing and supporting faculty and students as they engage with global leadership. Through the Cumming School of Medicine’s Global Health and International Partnerships program, Hatfield created Leaders in Global Health Tomorrow, which has supported emerging international experts in public health and the basic sciences. 

Read profile | Say congratulations

Leah Schmidt, BA'17 (Women's Studies) and BA'17 (International Relations) | Early Career Achievement Award 

At just 29 years old, Leah Schmidt has already established herself as a trailblazer in her field, known for putting her whole heart, mind and positive energy into each opportunity she is involved in. From working at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in New York City, to starting her Doctorate of Philosophy in multi-disciplinary gender studies at the University of Cambridge, to being a Fulbright Killam Fellowship recipient, Schmidt has made a significant impact in the short five years since completing her undergraduate degrees. As a self-identified non-neurotypical queer woman with physical disabilities, she has made a strong commitment to furthering the representation and inclusion of diverse identities in all her work. 

Read profile | Say congratulations

Aaron Renert, BSc'92, MSc'93, LLB'98, BEd'03 and Dr. Moshe Renert, BSc’85, PhD | Career Achievement Award 

Since the inception of the Renert Tutorials at the University of Calgary in 1990, Aaron Renert and Moshe Renert and their staff have brought thousands of students to campus for high school diploma reviews and college admission and graduate school test prep sessions. Years of Renert Tutorials would lead to the opening of the Renert Tutoring Centre, the Bright Minds program and, ultimately, Renert School, an accredited kindergarten to Grade 12 private school founded by Moshe and Aaron in September 2013. At every stage over the past 30 years, Aaron and Moshe have used entrepreneurial thinking and innovative leadership to pivot, improve, enhance, and extend product offerings to extended target markets to the betterment of the Calgary and Alberta communities.  

Read profile | Say congratulations

Matthew Brister, BSc'81 and Tara Brister, BSc'82 | Alumni Service Award 

Matthew Brister and Tara Brister are community builders, high-impact philanthropists, mentors, and innovators. Each alone has made impacts on the UCalgary community and its alumni, and together they have transformed key areas in education, health research, clinical care, and energy ventures — their contributions to the UCalgary community are outstanding.  Since its establishment, the Tamaratt Fund at Calgary Foundation has contributed to the support and mentorship to the UCalgary and Calgary community. For Matt and Tara, giving of their time, energy and experience is just as important as giving through philanthropy. 

Read profile | Say congratulations

Dr. Madeleine Cole, MD’98 | Community Commitment Award 

Madeleine Cole is a committed northerner, a physician, a mother, an lqalummiuq and a true member of the Northern community.  She comes from a place where understanding and committing oneself to helping to address complex social and political issues, especially in the field of medicine, means a dedication to immersing oneself in the culture of the communities that one looks to serve. She has made a career in maternity care, paediatrics, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, Indigenous health, and community medicine in Iqaluit and other communities in Nunavut, as well as underserved communities in Guyana, Sudan, Ghana and the Philippines since 2000.  

Read profile | Say congratulations