Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: May 6, 2010
• Invested on: November 17, 2010

Bonnie Patterson has long been influential in post-secondary education. Her career has included a series of firsts for women in academia. These include roles as the first woman to head a business school in Canada, to steer the Council of Ontario Universities, and to lead Trent University. As president and vice-chancellor of Trent, she helped to significantly increase graduate enrolment and research funding. She also helped establish a school of education and professional learning, as well as nursing and forensic science programs. Highly regarded by her peers, in 2009 she took the helm of the Council of Ontario Universities for the second time as president and chief executive officer.