Accolades
Congratulations to benefactor and former chancellor Eric Molson, who will receive the Order of Canada from Governor-General Michaëlle Jean. Paul Fazio, founder of the Centre for Building Studies, will also receive the award. (See our story on page 8.)
Paulos Milkias, who teaches the course Politics of Africa in the Department of Political Science, has published a book called Haile Selassie, Western Education and Political Revolution in Ethiopia (Cambria Press). It was described by one reviewer as “a gripping narrative,” and by another as “remarkably comprehensive.” Last year, he published The Battle of Adwa: The Historic Victory of Ethiopia Against European Colonialism (Algora), which he wrote with Getachew Metaferia.
Concordia graduate Torill Kove has won an Oscar. When the Academic Awards were announced in Hollywood on Feb. 25, the Concordia graduate, dressed in a sleek black evening dress, accepted the Oscar for Best Animated Short from child actors Abigail Breslin and Jaden Smith, and thanked her producers at the National Film Board. She won for her charming film, The Danish Poet, a co-production between the NFB (Marcy Page) and MikroFilm AS (Lise Fearnley-Norway).
Kassandra Churcher, who teaches in the Department of Education, has written a paper with Lisa Trimble, a doctoral student at McGill University, called “Abstaining From Reality: Moral Education Based Sexuality.” It will be presented at the Kinsey Institutes’ University Consortium for Sexuality Research & Training, to be held from April 9 - 11.
courtesy of Dania El-Khechen
Congratulations to computer science doctoral student Dania El-Khechen, who came second in the creative non-fiction category of the Prix littéraire Radio-Canada for her piece, Où est Baba? It explores the emotions of a child confronted by three deaths: of the father she never knew, of a beloved grandmother, and of a neighbour killed before her eyes. The jury awarded her the prize “for the tragic simplicity of the text, for the authenticity of the voice, and for the great coherence between the style and the content.”
Born and raised in Beirut, Dania has always enjoyed writing in Arabic and in French. She came to Montreal in 2003 to study theoretical computer science. While pursuing her PhD, she also took courses in French creative writing, where she learned of this competition.
Leah Sherman (Art Education, Emerita) has written a chapter in a recent book called From Drawing to Visual Culture: A History of Art Education in Canada, edited by Harold Pearse (McGill-Queen’s UP). Her contribution is called “Modern Art and Child Art in Quebec: The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Art Field and Child Art.” It was co-authored with Suzanne Semerise, of UQAM.
Alumna Francine Allaire, a well-known producer and woman of the theatre, has been named head of dramatic programming for Radio-Canada. In her distinguished career, she has been head of the Institut National de l’image et du son (INIS), Telefilm Canada and the Cinémathèque québécoise, and consultant to many organizations. She earned her BA in Communication Studies from Concordia in 1977, and served from 2001 to 2004 on the advisory board of the Faculty of Arts and Science.