David L. Johnston Award

David L. Johnston Award

James Ramsay and Robyn Wiltshire

Jim and Robyn took on the roles of Co-Chairs of the McGill Faculty and Staff Fund in 1998 and since then have entirely restructured the way McGill looks at faculty and staff in fundraising efforts. This energetic pair took an enthusiastic hands-on approach from the start, selecting a truly representative committee for the fund and emphasizing the importance of recognizing and thanking faculty and staff for the work they do at the University every day before asking them for support.

They organized a kick-off party to launch the newly organized fund, and have been instrumental in reaching out to retired faculty and staff by starting the "Tea and Tour" program that has invited retirees back for tours of the new Nahum Gelber Law Library, the McCord Museum and a McGill staff version of the Antiques Roadshow. Under their leadership the fund has grown by more than 26% (raising over $320,000) and, more importantly, staff participation has increased by 78%, a truly astonishing achievement.

Robyn has been with McGill since 1982 in the departments of Political Science, Accounting and Psychology, and is currently the Executive Assistant to the deans of Arts and Science. Jim Ramsay has been on the faculty in the Department of Psychology since 1967 and an associate member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics since 1986.