Dan Rowan Memorial Award

Daniel Rowan was an employee of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) who died on November 12, 1999, while en route to Pristina, Kosovo. Dan's life was cut short at age 34, when the United Nations plane, in which he and 23 other humanitarian aid workers were traveling, crashed into a mountain ridge, killing everyone on board.

Dan began his career with CSC as a Parole Officer, in Toronto, in 1988. He then moved to Kingston in 1990, and developed the position of Liaison Officer between CSC and the Metropolitan Toronto Police Reporting Centre. Dan also took on the role of Communications Officer in the Ontario regional office, and was later appointed Acting Director, Communications and Executive Services. He moved to Ottawa in 1994, taking on a wide range of increasingly responsible positions, including Advisor to senior management. Dan was a graduate of the Public Service's Management Trainee Program and was building his career within the Public Service to eventually secure a senior position within the Executive level. He was enrolled in a Masters of Business Administration Program and, in the fall of 1999, began work with CSC's International Relations Division as Project Manager of the Kosovo file, to re-establish a correctional system in Kosovo.

Dan Rowan will be remembered by all of those who had the privilege of knowing him. He was an open and generous person, with a moment for everyone, who helped create a sense of fun and a feeling of enthusiasm in the workplace. Dan was a dedicated professional and a man who was known for his ability to make sound judgments and take strong leadership decisions. He contributed greatly to the closeness and solidarity many staff feel within the unique environment of corrections. Dan was many things to many people, and his warmth and approachability endeared him to all he met. He was an outstanding human being who was a credit to the profession of corrections, and whose spirit remains with us, not to be forgotten.

Since Dan's death, CSC has established the Dan Rowan Memorial Award, which was created in honour of Dan, for his outstanding commitment and leadership to the Correctional Service. The award, which is presented annually, recognizes a National Headquarters employee who, in the eyes of his or her peers, exemplifies the spirit of the principles contained in Core Value 3 of the CSC's Mission Statement which states, “We believe that our strength and our major resource in achieving our objectives is our staff and that human relationships are the cornerstone of our endeavour”.

On June 5, 2000, Daniel Rowan was awarded, posthumously, the Governor General's Corrections Exemplary Service Medal, which is presented to employees in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession of corrections. On June 15, 2004, Daniel's family was presented with the “Dag Hammarskjöld Medal - In Service of Peace”, a United Nations medal awarded posthumously, as a tribute to the sacrifice of those who have lost their life as a result of their contribution to Canadian peacekeeping efforts.

Dan Rowan's name is inscribed on the Monument to Canadian Aid Workers found in the World Pavilion in Ottawa's Rideau Falls Park.