Stu Lang ’70

Presented annually by UCC’s Association Council, this award is granted to an individual who has demonstrated a lifetime of significant achievement in his field(s) of endeavour, and has made a positive impact on the local, national or global community while upholding the principles and values of the College.

A professional athlete, community volunteer, philanthropist and businessman, Stu Lang embodies UCC’s highest virtues. His enduring belief in and commitment to our school and our students is truly inspirational.

Stu is a board director of CCL Industries, a family-controlled international business, where he was a divisional president for many years working in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe over the course of his 25-year career. In the 70s and 80s, he spent eight years in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Elks (then called the Eskimos), playing in seven Grey Cups and winning the trophy five times. Stu then went on to be the head coach for the University of Guelph football team for six years, playing in the Yates Cup three times and ultimately winning the trophy in 2015.

While a student at UCC, Stu was Head of Mowbray’s House, played football, hockey, track and rugby and earned the Herbert Mason Award for outstanding character and leadership. After UCC, Stu attended Queen’s University where he studied chemical engineering and played for the Golden Gaels varsity hockey and football teams and was elected to their Hall of Fame.

In 2013, Stu made an $11-million gift to UCC — the largest donation in our history and the largest single donation in Canadian independent school history at the time. This incredible contribution paved the way for initiatives like the Lang Scholar Program. Now in its second decade, it enables student-athletes to cultivate leadership skills and gives them unparalleled opportunities both to mentor and be mentored. Through their continued generosity to the priorities of the College, Stu and his wife, Kim, are the College’s largest philanthropic supporters. Most recently, the Langs endowed a major gift to establish the Lang Leadership Lab — a Senior Kindergarten to Year 12 leadership development program to be launched next year across UCC’s Deer Park and Norval campuses.

As an Old Boy, Stu contributes to the College in myriad ways, including serving on various committees and as an honorary member of the Campaign Cabinet. He chaired the Athletic Review Committee charged with enhancing our athletics curriculum and has been an honorary member of the Foundation Board of Trustees for the past 12 years. He also served for two years as a volunteer coach of the UCC varsity football team — travelling three hours a day, six days a week, between the campus and his home near Guelph, Ontario.

Stu and his wife, Kim, presently manage two charitable foundations, one focused on athletics, academics, animal welfare and adolescents, and the other supports Christian missionary work around the world. 

Said Stu’s nominators for this award: “Stu’s remarkable achievements in athletics, business and philanthropy, coupled with his exemplary commitment to service and his unprecedented support for the vision, mission and values of UCC — as a volunteer and visionary leader — make him an exceptional candidate for this prestigious honour.”