This year's Dalhousie Alumni Award recipients (left to right): Dr. Ronald Gilkie, Dr. Dale Ells, Dr. Roberta Barker, Dr. Christy Sutherland, Dr. Colin Van Zoost.

At Thursday night's Alumni Dinner, Dalhousie celebrated four outstanding alumni and one of its exceptional teachers with the Dalhousie Alumni Awards for 2014.

The awards, presented by the Dalhousie Alumni Association, honour members of the Dalhousie community to celebrate these notable achievements and the diverse ways that alumni contribute to the university and to society.

They include four awards for alumni for lifetime achievement, volunteerism to Dalhousie, volunteerism to the community and for early career accomplishments as well as the university's top award for teaching.

Here are the citations for this year's award recipients:

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes alumni for exceptional accomplishments in career and community service.

Growing up in his familys boatyard in Melville Cove, Nova Scotia, Dr. Ronald Gilkie (BSc60, BEng62, MEng64) says you were always expected to go above and beyond.

My dad said if someone gave you a job, you shouldnt just do it -- you should do it well, says Dr. Gilkie. That attitude sort of gets ingrained in you.

He was inspired to teach at just six years old, when he recognized that even the most difficult teachers were trying to make him a better person. When he was a senior engineering student at Dalhousie, one of his professors saw a spark in him.

He kept finding excuses for why he couldnt do the tutorial, and hed say, Would you mind taking it from me today, Ron? recalls Dr. Gilkie. He was grooming me to be a professor someday, although I didnt realize it at the time.

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Celebrating exceptional impact: Dal's 2014 Dalhousie Alumni Award winners