Ken McCarter Award for Distinguished NBS Alumni

Nominations Now Open

Nominations Now Open

Nominations for the 2026 Ken McCarter Award are now open!


Named in honour of Ken McCarter—an NBS Board Director for eight years—the Ken McCarter Award for Distinguished NBS Alumni recognizes exceptional NBS alumni who are making meaningful contributions across sectors and disciplines around the world.

 

Do you know an NBS Alum who deserves to be celebrated for their professional achievements? Someone who exemplifies integrity and bravery in pursuing their chosen path, inspires others, and makes a positive difference in their community?

 

Deadline: March 26, 2026

 

2026 Award Recipients will be announced next fall. For questions about this award, please contact alumni@nbs-enb.ca

 

Click on the image below to watch our Laureates Hall of Fame video and scroll down to learn more about all 17 past recipients of this distinguished honour.

About the Ken McCarter Award

The Ken McCarter Award for Distinguished NBS Alumni was created in 2017, and is presented annually at the Professional Ballet-Academic Grade 12 graduation ceremony. Nominations for this award are submitted by members of the NBS community, primarily fellow NBS alumni, to recognize their peers for their commitment and contribution to the betterment of their communities through professional activities.

 

Portrait of Ken McCarter at event

The award is named for W. Kenneth McCarter, an NBS board director for 8 years. During that time, he held the positions of Vice-Chair and Chair of Nominating and Board Governance and also served on the Finance & Audit and Human Resources Committees. He was also the board representative at the 2016 Global Alumni Symposium. Sadly, Ken passed away in April, 2017 - this award has been created to honour his memory and his commitment to NBS.

 

In what turned out to be his final year, Ken was the guiding force behind an important initiative that will serve the school into the future: the establishment of the position of chancellor, which was announced at the June, 2017 graduation. The board decided to establish the Ken McCarter Award for Distinguished NBS Alumni to honour Ken and connect his name to his abiding interest in the alumni of the School. 

 

Ken attended the 2016 Global Alumni Symposium, after which he gave a compelling address to the Board stating that it, “should be proud of the extremely accomplished alumni of the School … Many have accomplished amazing things and they all have potential to play a role as terrific ambassadors for the School.”

 

With this in mind, the award in Ken’s name is designed to acknowledge the important contributions to public service made by NBS alumni through a broad range of professional activities

 

Award Criteria

Each year, after considering nominations from NBS Alumni around the globe, the Award is presented to two Alumni who demonstrate how an NBS education can lead one to heights in a variety of careers. Past recipients have made a meaningful difference in dance, health care and research, education, arts administration, film, theatre, and more.

 

Criteria:

  • Excellence: the nominee has demonstrated excellence in a chosen field of endeavour

  • Inspiration: the nominee’s accomplishments will serve as a source of inspiration for current NBS students

  • Public service: the nominee’s accomplishments have moved the world forward in a meaningful and distinctive way

  • Impact of NBS Education: the nominee’s chosen career path was influenced by the education received at NBS

  • Courage: the nominee has shown courage in following a particular path

 

*Eligible Alumni: former students who have shared at least one year of their lives in PBP or CLP (all former iterations) and TTP graduates. Current NBS staff are ineligible.

Past Recipients

On and beyond the stage, across Canada and around the world, NBS alumni enrich their communities and break new ground in their chosen fields. The Ken McCarter Award is a way to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of NBS grads.