Kai Luginbuhl – Associate and News Editor

SRC award nominations are now officially open for the spring 2026 graduating class. These awards include up to five Golden Mitre Award winners and 13 SRC awards across four categories. Nominations for these awards come from members of the Bishop’s community, and the final say, for the most part, rests with the SRC Board of Student Representatives, with some selected by the SRC Executive Council. The SRC Awards Night will take place in April, following the nomination and voting period. The following are titles and short descriptions of all awards. If a graduating student who exemplifies any of these qualities comes to mind, visit BUSRC on Instagram or BUSRC.COM/AWARDS for information on how to nominate your peers. The four categories of SRC awards are Student Leadership, Experience & Contribution, Community Impact and Academic & Staff. 

Image courtesy of BUSRC

Experience & Contribution Awards are all voted on by the SRC board of student representatives, apart from the Joan & Alex Paterson and Purple Letter Awards. The Michel Fontaine Experience Award is given to “A student who has exemplified the ‘Bishop’s Experience’ through campus leadership, athletics, and/or community involvement.” The Ray Lawson Award will be given to the student who has contributed most to the life of the university within the past year. The Joseph E. Cassar Award will be awarded to the student who has contributed the most to the SRC within the past year. The Joan & Alex Paterson Award is given to a graduating student who has contributed the most to volunteer work and activities in the off-campus community, and the final award in the Experience & Contribution category is the Purple Letter Award, where a maximum of ten students are recognized for their contribution to the Bishops’ community who might not be otherwise recognized for their efforts.

SRC student leadership awards include the Enzo Evangelisti Outstanding Leadership Award, the SRC Extra Leadership Award (leaders within clubs) and the Club Sports Leadership Award. 

The Community Impact Awards include the Joy Chandler Community Involvement Award is given to a student(s) who brought the community together in a meaningful way, SRC Extra Community Impact Award is presented to a club lead who has impacted not only their club but the broader Bishop’s community as well and Club Sports Community Impact Award is given to a Bishop’s club who “Promoted the social values of the community, making the university a truly better place to live in.” 

Finally, the Academic & Staff Awards include the Outstanding Department Award and the Outstanding Academic Support/Service Award.

“The Golden Mitre Awards are the highest non-academic honour a graduating student can receive,” stated the BU SRC. Given to up to five graduating students, selected by their peers through nominations and voting. Nominees demonstrate a meaningful impact through their non-academic contributions throughout their time at Bishop’s. Recognizing those who have “gone above and beyond to enhance student life and strengthen our community … Award recipients will receive their Golden Mitre pin and certificate at Spring Convocation. Their names are also engraved on the Golden Mitre Honour Society Plaque,” stated the BU SRC.