Retired Humanities faculty member Marvin Hershorn passed away suddenly on Jan. 17. He taught at Dawson from 1970 to his retirement in December 2009.
His obituary can be found here: https://www.paperman.com/funerals/Marvin-Manny-Hershorn-DC178830
Judy Bahen, a long-time Dawson employee, passed away on February 4 at the age of 76. She began her career at Dawson in 1976 and retired in 2011. During those 35 years, she held a number of support staff positions, including Administrative Secretary in the Office of Academic Dean throughout most of the 1990s, administrative support agent in Continuing Education and as an administration technician in the Academic Systems Continuing Education office during the last 10 years of her Dawson career.
Judy was an enthusiastic member of the Dawson community, attending as many events and social gatherings as time allowed. Kindhearted to a fault, she greeted everyone she met with a smile and a warm greeting in her trademark gravelly voice. She is fondly remembered by her former colleagues and friends at the College.
Her obituary is here: https://lakeshorecardinal.ca/obituaries/judy-bahen/
Liz Charles, renowned champion of student-centered education at Dawson College, retired this February after decades of pioneering classroom innovations.
This milestone caps a distinguished career highlighted by her recent receipt of the 2025 Prix Gérald-Sigouin from the AQPC, as detailed in this story.
Visit the link for a homepage news story featuring heartfelt tributes from colleagues.
Retired music teacher Pierre Landry has died. His obituary can be found here:
https://yveslegare.com/pages/avis-de-deces/pierre-landry-1964902
Dawson mourns the passing of one of the most distinctive voices and enthusiastic members of its community. Roslyn Silver passed away on November 24 after facing health challenges for a number of years. She was surrounded by her loved ones and closest friends until the end. Roslyn started her long career at Dawson in 1979…
The College received the sad news that Louise Kralka, who served on the Board of Governors for eight years between 2009 and 2017, passed away on January 20. She was 68 years old. The celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, January 31. Details are contained in the obituary at https://voluntas.ca/obituaries/kralka-louise/.
Louise was a dedicated member of the extended Dawson community with close friends at the College, and her son Patrick McBride who worked for a time in Facilities Management. An active and engaged member of the Board, she was Chair between June 2014 and February 2017 after serving as Vice-Chair, and she contributed to many Board-related committees.
It is with much sorrow that we announce the death of Paul Duchow, who passed away in Cuba on October 5, 2025 at the age of 77. Paul taught Political Science and Humanities at Dawson, first at Lafontaine, then at Atwater. He also made an important contribution to the college serving on the executive of the Dawson Teachers’ Union for years. He supplemented his studies with a law degree specializing in immigration law. Following an early retirement from teaching, Paul helped clients cut through immigration red tape. For the past years, Paul spent much of his time in Cuba where his wife, Yarima Perodin, and his daughter, Rebecca, still live.
Selma Hamdani began her new role as Interim Associate Dean, Science, Medical Studies and Engineering on Aug. 22. She holds an M.Sc. in Neuroscience from McGill University. Since 2012, she has been an active member of the Dawson community. Prior to her appointment, Selma was a faculty member in the Psychology Department, a Coordinator of…
Brid Nic Niocaill began her new role as Interim Dean, Creative and Applied Arts on May 22. She completed her studies in Ireland with a Ph. D in neuroscience before moving to Montreal to pursue a post doc at McGill University. Brid joined the Dawson community in 2010 as a faculty member of the Biology…
Jonathan Perlman (Dawson Class of 2002, Computer Science) began his new role as Manager of IT Support on July 2. He is well-known in the Dawson community having worked in Dawson’s IT Solutions department for over 20 years, leading projects and supporting students, faculty, and staff, while also teaching IT courses through Dawson’s CTD and…
Last Modified: February 26, 2026
