Join alumni and friends for the 16th Annual Acadia Alumni Gala Dinner and Silent Auction to support Acadia students and to honour our 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Dr. Carmen O’Neill (’83), and Young Alumni Award recipient, Dr. Aaron Shafer (’07).

DATE: Thursday, April 12, 2018

LOCATION: Halifax Convention Centre, Halifax, N.S.

TIME: 5:30 p.m.

COST: $125 per ticket; $1,250 for a table of 10

Young alumni who graduated between 2008-2017 can purchase a ticket for $75.

Book your seat today by visiting http://attend.com/2018AcadiaGala .

Registration deadline: Thursday, April 5, 2018.

If you have any questions, feel free to call 902-585-1459 or e-mail acadia.alumni@acadiau.ca.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Dr. Carmen O’Neill (’83)

For more than 25 years, Dr. Carmen O’Neill (’83) has been a valuable part of the Nova Scotia health care system, serving as a family physician in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia in practice with her husband, Dr. Everett Weagle (’84). She is also a member of the Department of Family Medicine at the South Shore Regional Hospital, volunteers with Harbour House, offering safety, comfort and hope to women who are victims of abuse and their children, and is an advisory Board member for 811 (Nova Scotia). Dr. O’Neill is an ardent supporter of Global Brigades as well, dispensing on a volunteer basis health care to under-resourced communities in Honduras. She has provided mentorship, leadership, support and encouragement to the many students working on the brigade with a combination of professionalism and a passion for people. Dr. O’Neill is the mother of two daughters, Rachael (’16) and Kirsten Weagle, both of whom are pursuing degrees in medicine. Dr. O’Neill and her husband live in Hebbville, Nova Scotia.

Young Alumni Award

Dr. Aaron Shafer (’07)

Dr. Aaron Shafer graduated from Acadia University in 2007 with an MSc in Biology. A distinguished scholar and researcher, Dr. Shafer published eight peer-reviewed papers while still a graduate student at Acadia. Biology professor and mentor Dr. Don Stewart said of Dr. Shafer that “he was the most outstanding student that I have had in nearly 20 years of teaching, and his record of successes after leaving Acadia highlights how exceptional an academic he is.” Dr. Shafer completed a PhD at the University of Alberta in 2012, and his thesis was selected in 2013 by the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies as the best PhD thesis in Canada in the fields of science, medicine and engineering. He has received the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (valued at $70,000 per year for two years) and after a successful stint at Upsala University in Sweden, Dr. Shafer is now an Assistant Professor at Trent University in Peterborough, ON. He is deeply committed to his profession and his students, and is a strong advocate of scientific endeavour among youth in Canada, learned societies and stakeholder groups nationwide.

We would also like to welcome as valued sponsors the following, and thank them for their support of Gala 2018:

 

Chancellor’s Sponsor

Irving Oil

Executive Sponsor

Crombie REIT

President’s Sponsors

Bank of Montreal

TD Insurance Meloche Monnex

McInnes Cooper

Saltwire

Red and Blue Sponsors

Industrial Alliance

Stevens Group

Colliers Project Leaders

SouthWest Properties

Bird Construction

Stand Up and Cheer

Mattatall Signs

Friends of Acadia

Mersey Seafoods

Advocate

Sodexo