Dallaire receives Loyola Medal
Honoured by Alumni Association
Photo by IITS Creative Media Services
Senator, former soldier, peace activist and newly minted academic Roméo Dallaire (at right) was awarded the Loyola Medal on Oct. 16.
Loyola Alumni Association President Jim Donaldson gave Senator Dallaire the award in the Loyola High School Atrium before about 150 guests, and President Claude Lajeunesse welcomed him into the Concordia family. Dallaire recently became a senior fellow of Concordia’s Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS).
In his acceptance speech, he mentioned that his mother, Catherine, was a long-time Concordia staff member. He also talked about the importance of the UN Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention, to which he was appointed earlier this year.
Dallaire joins an impressive list of Loyola Medal recipients, including Governor-General Georges P. Vanier, Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger, feminist Thérèse F. Casgrain, musician Oscar Peterson and philanthropist Richard J. Renaud.
Following the reception, Dallaire delivered his first lecture as a MIGS senior fellow. He said classic warfare, with armies fighting armies, is becoming outdated. Canada and other nations face grave geopolitical challenges, including the current crisis in Darfur.