Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire

Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire CM CQ is a Canadian engineer born in Montreal, Quebec in 1941.[1] She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2003, made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2005, and has been chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation of École Polytechnique de Montréal since 2013.

Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire

CM CQ
Born
Michèle Thibodeau

1941 (age 79–80)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationB.Eng
Alma materÉcole Polytechnique de Montréal
OccupationEngineer, administrator
Known forCEO of Centraide of Greater Montréal
Board member of
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
  • Corporation of l’École Polytechnique de Montréal

Biography

Early life and education

Michèle Thibodeau was the eldest of a family of four children.[2] She received her diploma from the Sacred Heart Convent in 1957. When she was 17, her father, an architect, encouraged her to enrol at École Polytechnique of Montréal.[3] She was the first woman to earn a degree in civil engineering in 1963,[4] Also that year, she married Pierre-André DeGuire.[5] The first woman to graduate from Polytechnique, is an honor that corresponds to Gabrielle Bodis, Diplôme en mécanique–électricité in 1959.[6]

Career

Thibodeau-DeGuire worked for nearly 20 years as a structural engineer, starting in 1963 with Lalonde Girouard Letendre. In 1975 she became a consulting engineer at Francis Boulva and Associates.[4] She built several bridges and worked in particular on the construction of the walls of the Décarie Expressway.[2][7]

From 1982 to 1984, Thibodeau-DeGuire served as General Delegate of Québec in Boston,[4] maintaining relations with multiple levels of government in six states in the northeastern United States.[2]

In 1985 Thibodeau-DeGuire joined the staff of École Polytechnique of Montréal, first as assistant to the president, then in 1986 she became director of public relations.[4] In December 1989, she was responsible for the institution's communication when the École Polytechnique massacre took place.[2] The school president and director were in Europe[8] and Thibodeau-DeGuire showed admirable leadership throughout the crisis and in the organization of commemorative events and outreach which followed.[9]

From April 1991 to 31 December 2012 Thibodeau-DeGuire was president and CEO of Centraide (English: The United Way) of Greater Montréal.[4] She was at the origin of project "1, 2, 3, Go" which helped children in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.[1] Under her leadership, fundraising increased from $23 million to $58.7 million, mainly through increasing major donors from 3,000 to 8,000.[7]

In January 2013, Thibodeau-DeGuire succeeded Bernard Lamarre as Chairman of the Board of the Corporation of the École Polytechnique of Montréal with a five-year term.[4][10][11] In 2014 Thibodeau-DeGuire agreed to chair the selection committee for the Order of the White Rose, a $30,000 national scholarship for female engineering graduate students, in memory of the victims of the massacre 25 years earlier.[12]

In 2013 Centraide launched the Michèle-Thibodeau-DeGuire Award,[1] which annually recognizes an outstanding volunteer of the charity.[13]

Awards
  • Member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (1991)
  • Merit Award from the Alumni Association of École Polytechnique de Montréal (1994)[4]
  • Builder of the Month, Revue Commerce (1994)[1]
  • Order of Merit of the Alumni Association of the Université de Montréal (1995)[4]
  • Grand Prix of Excellence of the Order of Engineers of Quebec (1995)[4]
  • Award from the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (1995)
  • Personality of the Year, Richelieu International (1999)
  • Personality of the Year, Les Affaires (1999)[1]
  • McGill Management Achievement Award (2001)[2]
  • Grands Montrélais of the Académie des Grands Montrélais (2001)[4]
  • Member of the Order of Canada (2003)[14]
  • Award from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University (2003)
  • Knight of the National Order of Quebec (2005)[1]
  • Honorary Doctorate of the University of Montréal (HEC)(2005)[4]
  • Honorary Doctorate from Concordia University (2006)[4][9]
  • Honorary Doctorate from the Université du Québec à Montréal (2007)[4][3]
  • Honorary Doctorate from McGill University (2008)[4]
  • Fellow of Engineers Canada (2011)[4]
  • Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa (2012)[15]

Board of Directors
  • 1965–1978: Association of graduates of the École Polytechnique de Montréal
  • 1993–1999: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)[1]
  • 1998–2004: Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN)
  • 2007–present: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)[4][16]
  • 2013–present: Corporation of the École Polytechnique de Montréal[4]

References
  1. "Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire" (in French). Government of Quebec. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. "Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire". Chambre de commerce de Montreal. 2001. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  3. "L'UQAM décerne un doctorat honoris causa à Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire, présidente et directrice générale de Centraide du Grand Montréal" [UQAM awards an honorary doctorate to Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire, President and CEO of Centraide of Greater Montreal] (in French). University of Quebec at Montreal. 12 October 2007. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014.
  4. "Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire appointed Chair of the Board of the Corporation de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal". Carrefour de l'Actualité. École Polytechnique de Montréal. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. Vézina, René (25 November 2011). "La leader qui rassemble les autres leaders" [The leader who brings together the other leaders]. Les Affaires (in French). Transcontinental Media. p. 2. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  6. Polytechnique Montréal. "NOS PIONNIÈRES". FEMMES ET GÉNIE. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. Grégoire, Monique (2 December 2012). "La femme aux 59millions... à partager" [The woman with 59 million... to share]. L'actualité (in French). Mishmash Media. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  8. Vézina, René (25 November 2011). "La leader qui rassemble les autres leaders" [The leader who brings together the other leaders]. Les Affaires (in French). Transcontinental Media. p. 1. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  9. Quesnel, Louise (June 2006). "Honorary degree citation - Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire" (in French). Montreal: Concordia University. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  10. "Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire, ING., FIC, FACG, C.M., C.Q." (in French). Polytechnique Montreal. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  11. "Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal". The Canadian Academy of Engineering. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  12. "25 years after the tragedy, Polytechnique Montréal launches the Order of the White Rose and the Week of the White Rose". Carrefour de l’Actualité. Polytechnique Montreal. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  13. "Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire Award". Centraide of Greater Montreal. 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  14. "Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire". Governor General of Canada. 20 February 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  15. "Thibodeau-DeGuire, Michèle". University of Ottawa. 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  16. "Michèle Thibodeau-Deguire Appointed to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada". Government of Canada. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
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