Angela Schneider, Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

By Volker Nolte

Angela Schneider, BA’82, MA'85, MA’87, PhD’93, started her university athletic career as a shot putter with the Mustangs track and field team in 1978-79 under coach Bob Vigars. She immediately left her mark with a silver medal at the Ontario Women's Intercollegiate Athletics (OWIAA; later OUAA, now OUA) Championships. In 1979 she was recruited by Jerry Patchell, Western rowing coach, who identified her athletic abilities as a rower. Angela fell in love with the sport. In her first year as a novice, her crew won the OUAA Championships. She made the Varsity rowing team in 1980 and won the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU; now U SPORTS) Championships.

Numerous gold medals followed. Beyond OUAA and CIAU championships, Angela earned international victories at the Dad Vail Eastern American University Championships in Philadelphia and at the famous Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. At the latter, her crew was drawn to start at the end of the field in 41^st position - normally a stark disadvantage - but the determined group passed multiple boats to win.

Angela successfully landed a seat in the Canadian women’s eight in 1983, winning a silver medal at the biggest international regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland followed by fourth place at the world championships in Nottingham. Angela achieved her greatest international triumph in 1984 in the coxed four when she again won a silver medal in Lucerne followed by the silver medal for Canada at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Alongside her athletic career, Angela, a Rhodes Scholar nominee, had outstanding academic success. She completed her studies with two master’s degrees in physical education and philosophy, and a doctorate in philosophy-applied sport ethics. She is a world-renowned expert in philosophy of sport with a focus on fair play, doping, Olympism, human rights and gender. Her expertise has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which appointed her director of ethics and education at the World Anti-Doping Agency (2002-03).

In 1984 Angela started her teaching career at Western as lecturer in the department of philosophy. She has since held a cross appointment in women’s studies and feminist research and became a tenured professor in the School of Kinesiology in 1996. Her work has been honoured by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport with the Carol Anne Letheren Award, and by the Canadian Olympic Association with the Tait McKenzie Medal.

Angela has also held various administrative positions, serving as assistant dean of ethics and equity in the Faculty of Health Sciences from 1997-2002, and as director of the health ethics resource centre in the Faculty of Health Sciences from 1999-2002. Since 2019 Angela has served as director of the Western’s International Centre for Olympic Studies.

Angela remains a loyal supporter of the Western rowing team and plays an outstanding role as board member of the Mustangs Old Oar Committee. She was also a founding member, and president, of the Women’s Athletic Alumnae, and later co-president of the Western Mustang Athletic Alumni (WMAA).

Angela is an exceptional ambassador for Western and is very deserving of the WMAA Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations!