2008 Press Releases

Butts-Whiting Award for Donnchadha Ó hAodha
11.06.2008

Donnchadh O'hAodha, General Manager of UCC's Student Centre becomes the first ever recipient outside the US to win a Butts Whiting Award.
The award was announced and presented at the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) meeting held recently in New Orleans.  

The Butts-Whiting award honours outstanding leaders within the ACUI association who have made significant contributions to the college union and student activities field. Announcing the award, Bob Mindrum, ACUI past President, said: "For the better part of two decades, O'hAodha has been highly involved as a volunteer in our association, both on the regional and international levels."

Mindrum said words that may describe O'hAodha include: honourable, kind, courteous, and passionate. But the one that sticks out most to Mindrum is commitment. "I think about O'hAodha; dedicated not just to the ideals of ACUI and the hard work that volunteers do for our association, but also to bringing those ideals and a solid work ethic back to the home campus and to the facility, in this case, where these ideals play out for students and others in everyday life," Mindrum said.

On being presented with the award, O'hAodha said. "I felt very surprised, but also very honoured." While it may seem like a sacrifice, O'hAodha has never regretted travelling across the globe to attend ACUI conferences.  "I will always have a lot more to learn from college union staff in the United States," O'hAodha said. "I have made some great friendships. Without overstating it, all the experiences with ACUI have been very worthwhile and memorable." And O'hAodha doesn't plan to stop building community. "I hope that we can continue to build on the connections of the recent years, especially at the regional level," O'hAodha said.

The Butts-Whiting Award is the highest honour the Association bestows. Named after Porter Butts and Edgar Whiting, 42 ACUI members have received the Butts-Whiting award since it was first given in 1967. Award recipients must have been college union professionals for at least 10 years; be active in the field at the time of nomination; have attained prominence through his or her work on campus, through ACUI, or in developing the college union movement; and be a successful person of such integrity, stature, and demonstrated ability that his or her campus community will take pride in and be inspired by this recognition.

Picture: Donnchadh Ó hAodha

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