Nominate an exceptional leader for this year’s Employee Awards

March 28, 2024

The Gerry A. Barker Leadership Award is presented annually to an Algonquin College employee in recognition of excellence in leadership as demonstrated through their work over the past academic year on a specific project, activity or with a team. This award was created to recognize the contributions of former Vice President of Human Resources Gerry Barker, who worked at Algonquin College from 1999 to 2015.

All full- and part-time employees of the College are eligible for this award.

Criteria includes the following:

Demonstrated a collaborative leadership style (for a specific project, activity or with a team as identified above.)
Created a positive work environment using appropriate leadership skills.
Inspired, motivated, mentored and coached others to accomplish more than they would have normally.
Led a project, team or task to outstanding results.

Nominations for 2023-2024 Employee Awards must be received by Friday, April 26.

Last year’s recipient was Sarah Gauthier, Manager, Administrative Services at the Pembroke Campus. Here’s an excerpt from Sarah’s nomination:

“I would describe Sarah's leadership as being a stewardship leader. Steward leaders focus on people to leverage and achieve results. They do this by taking care of each individual in their team and by engaging them in activities and responsibilities. They value trust, empathy, and respect and they build effective relationships. Sarah exceeded and excelled in each of these caveats.”

You can nominate candidates at for the other awards at the links below: