Memorial Foundation Seeks Corporate Award Nominees

The Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation is encouraging entries for its Memorial Foundation Corporate Award.

The foundation aims to provide opportunities and inspiration for young people, especially women, studying engineering. It offers promising students a variety of scholarships and awards, and honours universities that foster a positive learning environment for women in engineering. Through a Corporate Award, the foundation also recognizes companies that further the advancement of women in the profession.

The Corporate Award is one that foundation founder Claudette MacKay-Lassonde, chair and CEO of Enghouse Systems Ltd., thinks is particularly significant. In establishing the award, she says, "We wanted to recognize corporations that were doing the right thing with respect to the full integration of women engineers within their corporations. We thought they could be examples to other companies as to what can be done and how it can be done."

Past recipients of the award have been Wardrop Engineering Inc., based in Winnipeg, SaskPower in Regina, and Fortier, Franklin, Legault Inc. in Laval.

"The Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation's Corporate Award provided our company with the opportunity to make others aware of our corporate philosophy regarding the advancement of women in engineering," says Lloyd McGinnis, now retired as chair and CEO of Wardrop Engineering. The company established a "Women in Science" committee and encouraged its women engineers in numerous initiatives aimed at reaching elementary, high school and post-secondary students.

For application forms or more information about the Corporate Award competition, which closes Sept. 10, 1999, or about any of the foundation's other awards and scholarships, contact Deborah Worrad, executive director, Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation, 401 - 116 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5G3, fax (613) 230-5759, e-mail: memorial.foundation@ccpe.ca