Alumni of Honour awards

During each Canadian Association of Oprometrists Congress, the School of Optometry & Vision Science recognizes our own through the presentation of the Alumni of Honour Awards.

Through leadership, advocacy and community service, recipients have made outstanding contributions to their communities and to optometry. Their dedication to the advancement of vision care has improved the lives of people across Canada and around the world.

2019 Alumni of Honour Award recipients

Dr. Kathy Dumbleton is an Associate Clinical Professor at the School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley and an Independent Clinical Research Scientist and Consultant. She completed her optometry training at the University of Wales in Cardiff and at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London in 1985, and subsequently completed her MSc in Physiological Optics (1988) and PhD in Vision Science (2013) at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. She is a Fellow and Diplomate of the Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Technologies (CCLRT) Section of the American Academy of Optometry and a Fellow of the British Contact Lens Association. Read full bio

Dr. Margaret Hansen-des Groseilliers and Dr. Roland des Groseilliers are icons in Canadian optometry. Between them, they have served in almost every leadership position within the profession.

Margaret and Roland were classmates and graduated from the College of Optometry of Ontario in 1965. They went on to practice from 1967 to 2011 at the Ottawa Optometric Clinic.

They have each served as Past-President of the Ottawa Society of Optometrists, of which Roland is a founding member. Both are Past Presidents of the CAO (Margaret served as the first woman in the role) and both have held leadership roles within COETF. Roland is a Past-President of the Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO) and the World Council of Optometry. Read full bio

Young Alumni of Honour

Dr. Joshua Smith completed his Doctor of Optometry degree at the University of Waterloo in 2013 after completing a Master’s degree at the University of Calgary in 2008 and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Mount Allison University in 2005.

He has been in private practice in eastern Ontario since 2013, primarily in the rural township of Alexandria. He has a special interest in visual neurorehabilitation, particularly in cases of stroke. He is a staff consultant at the Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, working with the hospital’s stroke rehabilitation unit. Read full bio

Previous recipients

Award process

Award selection will be made by a committee including the Director of the School of Optometry or delegate, the Associate Director, Advancement, a senior faculty member from the graduate program and the President of the Canadian Association of Optometrists or designate. All applications will remain active for the duration of two award cycles.

The School welcomes nominations for the Alumni of Honour Award from alumni, students, staff, retirees and members of the public. Self-nominations will not be considered. The nominees must hold a Waterloo Optometry degree(s) (OD, MSc or PhD).

To nominate an alumnus or alumna for the Alumni of Honour Award, please complete the nomination form, including all mandatory fields. The nomination form is posted early each year and a notice is posted in the Spring issue of the School newsletter.

Privacy statement

The University of Waterloo respects your privacy and that of the person you are nominating. Information collected here will only be used for award purposes. Read the University’s privacy policy online or contact Kel sey Gagnon for details.