Alumni Awards of Merit honour outstanding alumni

Alumni Western celebrated the achievements of four Western graduates at its 33rd annual Alumni Awards Dinner at Homecoming 2007. Their accomplishments represent the best of Western.

By Communications Staff - Western Alumni Gazette

Neil Hetherington, BA'95, received the Young Alumni Award, recognizing an outstanding individual in their field of endeavour. Recipients are 40 or under and set an inspirational example for future alumni.

At 33, Hetherington has built homes for hundreds of families across the globe and is the youngest CEO of a Habitat for Humanity affiliate. For Hetherington, a political science graduate, Western became the foundation for his future. Throughout his undergrad, Hetherington traveled the world with Habitat for Humanity, an international, non-profit organization that builds homes with those in need.

After graduation, Hetherington gained first-hand construction experience as a project manager for Tridel Construction. In 2000 he made a career move to the non-profit sector and took over as CEO for Habitat for Humanity Toronto. Once settled in his new role, Hetherington worked with hundreds of volunteers to dramatically grow the organization. This year alone, the organization will construct about 55 homes.

Hetherington has received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, for outstanding and exemplary achievement or service to the community or to Canada as a whole, and was named oneof Canada's Top 40 Under 40.

While honoured to add Western's Young Alumni Award to his accolades, Hetherington hopes it will inspire others to get involved with non-profit entities. “If they can't do it as a career, they can volunteer, swing a hammer, sit on a committee, or be on a board."


Jane Roy, BSc'87, is recipient of the Community Service Award. “This is my school. I'm proud of it. I love coming back to Western." If there was ever an official ambassador for The University of Western Ontario, one that proves the best student experience can be carried forward into their personal and professional lives as well as the lives of others, Jane Roy would certainly appear near the top of that list.
A community advocate in London through work at the London Food Bank; a fundraising veteran of numerous disaster relief crises; a volunteer activist in Rwanda, Iraq, Somalia, Guatemala and Sudan; and, of course, Roy is also a London native whose appreciation for her university experience is apparent in her career endeavours.

“I applied to everywhere else but I was always set on going to Western, there was no issue about that," says Roy, who received an Alumni Award of Merit (Community Service Award) from the Western Alumni Association.

“Going to all the classes, meeting all the people; it was great," she adds. “Western is a big part of the London community and growing up here I tend to see it as a huge part of the community experience for me."

Along with her husband, London North Centre MP Glen Pearson, Roy has established a charitable organization, Canadian Aid for Southern Sudan (CASS). Her most recent efforts in Sudan involve freeing child slaves, building schools, developing a women's literacy program and aid program that helps women set up their own businesses. The couple's three children are adopted siblings from Sudan.

She has served as chairperson of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, as member of London's Round Table on the Environment and Economy, and was a key member of the Mayor's Anti- Poverty Task Force. Most recently, Roy and Pearson were recognized on the Mayor's New Year's Honours List 2007 for humanitarianism.


Kevin Newman, BA'81, received the Professional Achievement Award, that recognizes superior achievement in a professional field. The recipient is a role model for newcomers and sets standards for others.

From Western's student radio, CHRW, to Global National, Newman has made his mark on journalism in Canada. Drawn to the university because of its journalism program, the political science major found his start in news not in the classroom, but at the student radio station. Although there wasn't a news program there at the time, Kevin volunteered to create one and became the first news director at the station.

At Global News, Newman began his broadcasting career as a general assignment reporter and Queen's Park correspondent. He soon moved to CTV in 1988, where he was the parliamentary correspondent before leaving to take a position at the CBC.

In 1994, Newman made the move to the United States to work for ABC News, where he was recognized with a Peabody Award. He returned to Global Television in 2001, this time as anchor and executive director for Global National. Looking back, Newman says his time at Western has had a great impact on his life today. “I come back to Western every couple of years and it does feel like home. It's one of the very few places in life you can go where generations can bond and share a common experience."


J. Stanley Hill, MA'69 is the recipient of the Dr. Ivan Smith Award, Alumni Western's highest tribute - for sustained and significant contributions to the Alumni Association. Hill's father was fond of saying “you've got to be ready to open the door when opportunity knocks." And so, in 1959, when the opportunity came knocking to move to Montreal from Scotland, Hill and his wife, Muriel - both young school teachers at the time - walked right on through.

In 1968, Hill began a 26-year Western career that included the roles of Mustang varsity soccer coach, assistant dean (Faculty of Kinesiology) and undergraduate chair in the faculty until his retirement in 1994. In 1969, Hill also earned a Master of Arts in physical education at Western, and received his PhD in health education from The Ohio State University in 1982.

Hill's fondest memories of Western include the many outstanding students he had the privilege of teaching, coaching varsity soccer, which he calls a “peak experience," and being involved in convocation as a public orator, chief public orator, and director of convocation.

Hill was also heavily involved with Western after retirement as a member of the Student and Young Alumni Outreach Committee from 1998 to 2004, a member of the Alumni Association Board from 2001 to 2007, and a member of the University Senate from 2003 to 2006.