UWindsor drama grad Antoni Cimolino (BFA 1984, hon. D.Hum 2004), artistic director of the Stratford Festival, was one of 69 appointments to the Order of Canada announced December 30 by Gov. Gen. David Johnston.

Cimolino will be invested as a member of the order—one of the country’s highest civilian honours—at a ceremony to be held later. The honour recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation, most notably in Cimolino’s case his contributions to Canadian theatre as an actor and director.

He has headed the festival, among the world’s leading repertory theatres dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare, since 2013.

In an interview with the Stratford Beacon-Herald, Cimolino acknowledged he was moved by the recognition of service to the community: “What matters is to be able to say, at the end of your life, you left things better than you found them.”