This year’s Catalyst Canada Honours have been awarded to Gordon M. Nixon, president/CEO, RBC (Company/Firm Leader); Anne-Marie Hubert, managing partner, Ernst & Young (Business Leader) and Jane Allen, chief diversity officer, Deloitte Canada (Human Resources/Diversity Leader). The awards which recognize leaders who have demonstrated the level of personal commitment and passion in driving women’s advancement in corporate Canada will be presented at the Catalyst Canada Honours gala in November.

Carleton University scholar Christopher Worswick is the recipient of the 2012 Doug Purvis Memorial Prize for his book, Toward Improving Canada’s Skilled Immigration Policy: An Evaluation Approach. The book analyzes the point system used to screen new immigrants. The prize includes a $10,000 award. Worswick co-authored the book with 2 Queen’s University economists, Charles Beach and the late Alan Green.

CBC Thunder Bay has won the Adrienne Clarkson Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association. Common Ground Cafe, a CBC radio and social media project, was recognized for exploring the issue of diversity between aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in the region.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities have announced the selection of Itasca Community College as the first place winner of the Annual MNSCU Diversity Awards in the category of New Innovative Practices. This category was created to recognize programs and practices of excellence that advance access and retention of students from diverse communities. Itasca Community College received a $4,000 prize to be used in the continued development and promotion of this best practice.

Catholic Health Partners of Cincinnati and Cardinal Health of Dublin, Ohio have been recognized by the Premier healthcare alliance with its annual Diversity Award. The award recognizes a Premier member hospital or health system and a contracted supplier that have established active programs to evaluate and support minority-, women-, veteran-owned, and small business. Of the more than 2,600 hospitals in the Premier alliance nationwide eligible for this award, Catholic Health Partners was the only health system to receive this distinction.

The Florida Bar has presented Tallahassee attorneys Benjamin Crump and Daryl Parks with the Henry Latimer Diversity Award. Latimer who died in an automobile accident in 2005 was touted to be the first black president of the Florida Bar.

The Illinois CPA Society has honored Kenton Klaus, Deloitte Tax LLP, with its 2012 Outstanding Leadership in Advancing Diversity Award for his commitment to fostering a more inclusive and diverse accounting community for those with disabilities.

The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) has named 2 more recipients with as winners of the 2012 Thomas L. Sager Award: Pepper Hamilton LLP for the Mid-Atlantic Region and Crowell & Moring LLP for the Western region. The Sager Award is presented annually to one firm in each of MCCA’s five regions that has demonstrated a sustained commitment to improve the hiring, retention and promotion of minority attorneys.

President Barack Obama honored 13 men and women with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor, for making significant contributions to the lives of women, people of color and ethnic minorities. Honorees included Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, Pat Summitt, head coach, women’s basketball, University of Tennessee, and Madeleine Albright, the first female US secretary of state.

Diageo, the world’s leading spirits, wine and beer company, was recently recognized as one of the 50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse Managers To Work for its efforts in promoting a diverse and inclusive business environment by Diversity MBA Magazine. Diageo’s Vice President of Procurement Christina Ruggiero, was also honored by DiversityPlus Magazine as one of its 2012 Top 25 Women in Power Impacting Diversity for driving diversity both internally and externally.

Three leaders in health education will be named the 2012 Champions of Health Professions Diversity by the California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) for their successful efforts to improve the health and wellness of California’s most underserved communities. They are: Lawrence Doyle, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Peter Manoleas, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, and Angela Minniefield, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles. Each honoree received a cash award of $25,000.

Thompson Hine LLP has once again been nationally recognized for its leadership in advancing women within the legal profession. The inaugural Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law Awards honored the firm’s women’s initiative, Spotlight on Women, as the best gender diversity initiative by a national firm.

Ken Fredeen, general counsel and secretary to the board and his legal department at Deloitte & Touche LLP have been acknowledged this year for their work with the Canadian General Counsel Award for social responsibility. In accepting the award, Fredeen said, “We want an inclusive work environment where the best can succeed.”

Time magazine has received the Thumbs Down Award for its lack of racial diversity in its writing staff from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). NAJB Vice President Errin Haines said, “The absence of black journalists from places like Time sends the message that we are not valued for what we could bring to such venerable and influential legacy publications, and gives little hope to those black journalists who would hope to one day see their names on the masthead.”

Based on the responses of its readers, Diversity/Careers in Engineering & Information Technology magazine has chosen the Best Diversity Companies for 2012.  Readers were asked to identify the organizations that they believe do the best work in diversity, which includes support of minorities and women, and commitment to supplier diversity. For the complete list of the Readers Choice: Best Diversity Companies 2012, click here.

Charles F. Kegley is the recipient of the American Lung Association‘s 2012 Bernard Gregory Award for Diversity. The national award is presented annually to a volunteer in recognition of the development or promotion of effective diversity practices within the association. Dr. Kegley has volunteered with the American Lung Association for close to 30 years.

Diversity Journal has handed out the 2012 Diversity Leader Award to more than 60 organizations that have tailored their diversity and inclusion efforts in response to their employees, customers, partners and the public. For the complete list, click here.

Diversity Woman magazine has announced its 2012 Mosaic Woman Award honorees: Pat Harris, McDonalds Corporation (Mosaic Woman Leadership), Michele Kang, Cognosante (Mosaic Woman Leadership), Soledad O’Brien, CNN (Mosaic Woman Lifetime Leadership) and Lynn Tilton, Patriarch Partners (Mosaic Woman Legend).

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has named Bridget Foster of St. John’s, Newfoundland, as the recipient of the 2012 Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism. She was recognized in the Lifetime Achievement category for working for more than 30 years successfully integrating newcomers into her province. Senator Yuzyk was a member of the Senate of Canada from 1963 to 1986 and played a key role in the development of Canada’s multiculturalism policy.

More than 500 Network of Executive Women members and industry supporters honored Michael T. Duke, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Inc., as he was inducted into the NEW CPG/Retail Diversity Hall of Fame and presented with the William J. Grize Diversity Hall of Fame Award. NEW is the consumer products and retail industry’s largest diversity organization with more than 5,000 members in 19 regions in Canada and the U.S.