Universities Canada congratulates their nominees for the King Charles III Coronation Medal from member universities across Canada including MUNPA member Dr. Marguerite MacKenzie. This esteemed honour celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions across diverse fields from the local community to the global stage. The award was presented on March 21, 2025.

From her nomination for this award by Ellen Steinhauer, “ The Indigenous languages of the Innu, Cree and Naskapi, all with fewer than 15,000 speakers, qualify as endangered minority languages that are under serious threat of erosion. The languages are being transmitted to children with increasingly less frequency making the prospect of linguistic survival bleak. Marguerite MacKenzie has worked for over 50 years in capacity-building with speakers of these languages in Québec and Ontario, and, along with collaborators and students, has developed a range of language preservation resources and tools that are readily accessible and maximize the number of supports available for language maintenance. One significant contribution of her research is a four-volume dictionary that covers all the Innu dialects spoken in Quebec and Labrador. Published in Innu, English and French, it is the only pan-dialectal dictionary of an Algonquian language. The work, which comprises over 27,000 words, published on-line and in four print volumes, has proved to be pivotal to high-quality curriculum creation and teacher training for Innu language programs in Labrador and Québec.”

This medal recognizes the ongoing work of Dr. MacKenzie in preserving aboriginal languages, along with the SSHRC Insight Award in 2013 for her work on the Innu Language Project; being named the 2016 Laureate of the National Achievement Award of the Canadian Linguistic Association; from Memorial the President's Award for Public Engagement Partnerships 2019; and in 2017 the MUNPA Tribute Award.

Dr. Marguerite MacKenzie retired in 2014 after almost 20 years at Memorial and was almost immediately awarded the title of Professor Emerita in recognition of her outstanding career as a researcher and teacher and for her contributions to Memorial. She was a founding member of the St. John’s Native Friendship Centre (now First Light) and has demonstrated in many ways her focus on supporting the indigenous communities at home and nationally.

Congratulations to Dr. MacKenzie, on behalf of the MUNPA community, on this most recent award.