WINNIPEG, MB – Sometimes you have to fight to make the world a better place; other times, a well-crafted feasibility study will do. Dr. Alan Diduck, who is UWinnipeg’s Acting Associate Dean of Science and a professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, has been providing his students with the tools they need to make positive environmental changes inside and outside of the classroom for more than a decade. His educational mandate and contributions to campus sustainability at UWinnipeg have earned him the 2016 Campus Sustainability Recognition Award.
An involved faculty member, Diduck has served on numerous environmental action committees and has provided invaluable mentorship to student groups like SUNSET (Sustainable University Now, Sustainable Environment Tomorrow), which successfully advocated for the creation of a campus-wide sustainability initiative between 2003 and 2006.
“He inspired and supported students over a decade ago in their work advocating that The University of Winnipeg take up the environmental mantle,” said Alana Lajoie-O’Malley, Campus Sustainability Office Director and former SUNSET member. “As one of those students, I can confidently say that this type of mentorship was necessary for students to be able to achieve what they did.”
More recently, Diduck took on the development of a campus sustainability course that was delivered during the Winter 2016 term. Student work from the first session of the course included the development of a seed library, research into opportunities for storm water management on campus, and a proposal for strategies to better integrate sustainability into the curriculum.
“His willingness to invest valuable time into testing a new course demonstrates the commitment he has to the university’s sustainability efforts,” said Lajoie-O’Malley.
Thanks to high quality nominations, this year’s award selection committee had a hard time choosing a recipient. As such, the committee would also like to recognize UWinnipeg’s Technology Solutions Centre (TSC) and Director of Technology Infrastructure Resty Jimenez, for their work in significantly reducing annual electricity usage and costs by virtualizing the campus server environment.
Diduck will be honoured at this year’s Autumn Convocation Dinner on October 13th.
