2015-16 Gold Medal Recipients
The Toronto Metropolitan University Gold Medal is the University's highest honour, awarded to students with outstanding academic achievement combined with outstanding involvement with the University, their profession, and/or the community.
Faculty of Arts
Jeremy Dawson, Philosophy MA
Dawson made a substantial contribution to his field as an editorial assistant for the Canadian Journal of Philosophy. He also supported his program by establishing a reading group on classic texts in analytic philosophy, helping to organize a research group on logic, participating in another on feminist theory and serving as a reviewer for the 2016 TMU Philosophy Graduate Conference.
Faculty of Communication & Design
Catherine Lachowskyj, Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management MA
Lachowskyj is an accomplished writer, editor and researcher. Her research explores vital contemporary questions involving post-colonial theory, globalization, and the expansion and recalibration of the history of photography to understand and celebrate important, previously marginalized photographic work. Lachowskyj also received a prestigious Manfred & Hanna Heiting Fellowship for photo-historical research.
Faculty of Community Services
Emma Abramowicz, Urban Development MPl
As a member of the university's Planning Graduate Student Association, Abramowicz developed a networking night to connect fellow students with industry professionals. Outside the classroom, Abramowicz was a finalist in the 2016 Cities of Tomorrow Showcase, collaborated with artists and developers to beautify underutilized spaces through the PATCH Project, and was a volunteer program and research intern at Heritage Toronto and the Ontario Heritage Trust.
Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
Mahmoud Sayed Ahmed, Civil Engineering PhD
With 33 research publications to date, Ahmed was president and co-founder of the Civil Engineering Graduate Program Association, founder of the Civil Engineering Graduate and Alumni Society, and a student member of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. Beyond the university, Ahmed was also active in parent advisory groups for the Toronto District School Board and Nelson Mandela Park Public School.
Faculty of Science
Adam Harley, Computer Science MSc
Harley has accumulated an impressive list of research achievements, including four peer-reviewed papers and a best student paper award at a premier international conference. Harley also gained valuable international experience by conducting research abroad at École Centrale Paris. He is currently on a full PhD scholarship at The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Interdisciplinary programs
Laurence Butet-Roch, Digital Media MDM
In addition to her Gold Medal, Butet-Roch also received a Board of Governors Student Leadership Award and Medal for her exceptional contributions to scholarly research, the university and human rights activism. From work within the Indigenous community to student involvement and professional accolades, ButetRoch is a highly accomplished professional and outstanding ambassador for the university.
Ted Rogers School of Management
Michael Rowden, MBA
Rowden produced a cuttingedge, well-received major research paper on Bitcoin as an investment instrument. He also served as a research assistant studying the ethical and social aspects of cryptocurrencies. As a key member of the university’s MBA team that competed in a prestigious sports analytics case competition in Phoenix, Ariz. Rowden was instrumental in the team’s second-place finish against top-tier American universities.