Mike Dawes, a University of Western Ontario professor emeritus of mathematics, has been awarded CAUT’s Donald C. Savage Award.

The award is acknowledgement of outstanding achievements in working to protect and promote the interests academic staff through collective bargaining.

Prior to his retirement last June, Dawes put in more than 30 years of service at Western, 24 of which he was also actively involved in the faculty association. He served on the board and executive, as chair of the salary and benefits committee, and as vice-president, president and past-president. When the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association certified in 1998, he was called on as chief negotiator and served in that capacity for 12 years and through four rounds of bargaining for faculty members. He has also seen the librarians and archivists — who became the second bargaining unit of UWOFA in 2004 — through two rounds of negotiations.

In broader service work, Dawes has served as chair for the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations’ collective bargaining committee, and was a long-serving member of CAUT’s collective bargaining and economic benefits committee, also serving as its chair.

“Mike has distinguished himself as an admired negotiator, and a valued mentor and colleague to us all,” said CAUT executive director James Turk. “We are delighted he is acknowledged for his unwavering commitment to improve working conditions for academic staff through better collective agreements and fortunate he has been willing to share his considerable talents in the service of his colleagues in UWOFA and across Canada.”