Erika Dyck

Women of distinction

University of Saskatchewan faculty, alumni and senior leaders were among the honourees at this year’s Saskatoon YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.

By University Communications

Over the past 35 years, hundreds of local leaders have been honoured for their contributions to the community at the PotashCorp YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, which also serves as the largest annual fundraiser for Saskatoon’s YWCA.

This year, 10 award winners were honoured on Wednesday, May 31 from the 50 final nominees, with five of the 10 winners part of the U of S family of alumni. 

The award winners from the U of S were:

  • Research and technology: Professor Erika Dyck (BA’98, MA’00), a current faculty member in the College of Arts and Science, and Canada Research Chair in the History of Medicine.
  • Lifetime Achievement: Kathryn Ford (BA’71), long-time local lawyer who was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar in 1977 and current member of the U of S Board of Governors since 2013.
  • Education: Cathy Mills (BEd’77), spent four decades as an educator before retiring in 2008 and serving as a consultant with the Saskatchewan Education Leadership Unit in the College of Education.
  • Health and Wellness: Dr. Vicki Holmes (MD’73), a family physician for four decades in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the creator of the Mid-Life Women’s Centre. 
  • Athletics: Darlene Danyliw (BSHEC’76, BEd’77), a long-time local volunteer and past president of Curl Saskatchewan and a finalist for the 2016 Curling Canada Volunteer of the Year Award.

For more coverage of the awards ceremony, see the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and SaskNow.ca.