Cathie Miller receives lifetime achievement award
L to R: Tony Conte (Executive Director Office of Finance and Administration Ryerson University) Jen McMillen (Dean of Students, Humber College), Cathie Miller, Kevin Beatty (Director, Housing & Conference Services McMaster University), Peggy Wakabayashi (Director of Residence, Western University).
The long-standing previous Director of Housing and Conference Services, Cathie Miller was presented with a prestigious lifetime achievement award from the Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers on June 1.
Miller had a distinguished career at McMaster in a variety of areas. An alumna of Brandon Hall, Bates Residence, and the Women’s Varsity basketball team, Miller established herself as a teammate to many students on and off the court during her undergraduate at McMaster. Immediately upon graduation she made the transition to become the Head Coach of the Women’s Varsity basketball team, while also assuming a formal educational position as Lecturer in the school of Physical Education.
After completing her master’s degree Miller joined the Ministry of Culture and Recreation. She continued to cultivate her passion for teaching and education by leading the provincial implementation of a National Coaching Certification Program. Her leadership and dedication to making others around her thrive, translated into a highly successful 13 year career with the provincial government and a diverse portfolio including oversight for the flagship Ontario Games Program.
Miller became Director of Housing & Conference Services at McMaster in 1995 and served the residence and McMaster community for 19 years until her much deserved retirement in the summer of 2014. Her clear dedication to her own growth and development, those she worked to serve, and those that work beside her, provide an excellent example of the importance of continual learning as the foundation of personal and professional success. She set a clear tone of service to students and continually re-focused efforts on helping students flourish. Miller led from the heart, role modeled daily what it means to be an authentic leader, and somehow mastered the art of simultaneously being both teacher and student.
In 2015 Housing and Conference Services named their top student leadership award the ‘Catherine A. Miller Residence Life Service Award’ in honour of Cathie Miller’s passion and curiosity for learning, service to the residence and campus community, and her unwavering dedication to the growth, development and achievement of others.
