Chief justice Annemarie Bonkalo, Metrolink chairman Robert Prichard and acclaimed Cuban musician Carlos Varela will receive honorary degrees at this week’s convocation ceremonies. They will be joined at this week's ceremonies by a distinguished group of guest speakers that includes Chancellor David Dodge.

Robert S. Prichard

Robert S. Prichard

J. Robert S. Prichard has been a leader in higher education, law, public service and business. In higher education, Mr. Prichard served as a law professor for 25 years, teaching at the University of Toronto, Harvard and Yale and specializing in law and economics. He served as dean of law (1984-1990) and president (1990-2000) at the University of Toronto where he remains president emeritus. He has also served as chair of the Council of Canadian Law Deans, chairman of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU), on the executive committee of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and the American Association of Universities (AAU), and the board of the International Association of Universities (IAU).

In public service, Mr. Prichard serves as chairman of Metrolinx, the regional transit agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, where he was previously the president and chief executive officer. He also serves as a trustee of the Hospital for Sick Children and a member of Canada’s Economic Advisory Council and Ontario’s Economic Advisory Panel. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Mr. Prichard will receive his honorary degree (LL.D) on Monday, June 9 at 2:30 pm at Grant Hall.

Carlos Varela

Carlos Varela

Cuban singer/songwriter Carlos Varela is one of Cuba’s most talented and emblematic artists of his generation. Born in Havana on April 11, 1963, he began his music career playing the drums in his school’s rock band where he wrote his first songs. He soon joined the Nueva Trova movement of Cuban singer songwriters and began performing in theaters and small venues in Havana and other cities throughout Cuba.

Through his original style of music, Mr. Varela emerged as a founder and leader of a new space in the Cuban cultural panorama: the Novisima Trova movement. In 1989, he gave a legendary concert at the renowned Sala Chaplin (Chaplin Hall), debuting songs from his first album, Jalisco Park. Soon after, he became the first artist of his generation to sell out the 5,000 seats of the Karl Marx Theater for three consecutive nights. His music continued to gain international popularity, and Mr. Varela gave concerts throughout Latin America and Europe. The continuing success of Mr. Varela’s music, both internationally and in Cuba, confirms his place as a musical symbol of his generation with an extensive, dedicated fan base.

Mr. Valera will receive his honorary degree (LL.D) on Friday, June 13 at 10 am at Grant Hall.

Annemarie Bonkalo

Annemarie Bonkalo was appointed chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice in 2007. She holds a B.A. (Honours) from Queen’s University, an M.A. Criminology from University of Toronto and an LL.B. from Queen’s University.  Called to the bar in 1978, Chief Justice Bonkalo was appointed the first female assistant crown attorney in Peel Region in 1978. She and another female lawyer were appointed the first female judges of the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) in Peel Region in1990. She was appointed a regional senior judge in 2004 and associate chief justice in 2005. She has lectured in the areas of criminal law, advocacy and court administration.

Some of the Court’s key accomplishments during Chief Justice Bonkalo’s term include: implementing a vision for the Ontario Court of Justice that guides the work of the Court and identifies future priorities; developing an internal discrimination and harassment policy, along with accompanying procedures and a panel of advisers; and redesigning the education programming for newly appointed justices of the peace.

Ms. Bonkalo will receive her honorary degree on Friday, June 13 at 2:30 pm at Grant Hall.

Joining Chancellor David Dodge as this week’s convocation guest speakers are:

Christine Overall

Dr. Overall is the author of over 120 journal articles and book chapters in the areas of applied ethics, feminist philosophy, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of education.  She is the editor or co-editor of four books and the author of six, some aimed at academic readers and some intended for wider audiences.

Dr. Overall came to Queen’s in 1984 as a Webster Fellow in the Humanities.  In 1986 she was appointed to a tenure-track position as associate professor and Queen’s National Scholar in the Department of Philosophy.  She was awarded tenure in 1990 and promoted to full professor in 1992.  From 1997 to 2005 she served as associate dean in the Faculty of Arts and Science.  Dr. Overall was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1998, and was the 2008 winner of the Royal Society of Canada’s Gender Studies Award.  She has won two awards for teaching excellence.

Dr. Overall will address convocation on Wednesday, June 11 at 2:30 pm at Grant Hall.

Vincent Sacco

Dr. Sacco is a professor in the Department of Sociology. His interests relate to the study of criminology as well as the study of public perceptions of and reactions to crime. In approaching criminology, his work emphasizes the study of "criminal events." This conceptualization explicitly recognizes that we cannot address the complexity of the social phenomenon of crime by reducing the problem to a single question - why do some people behave criminally? Instead, we need to put this question in an appropriate context that also asks why some people rather than others are more likely to be victimized by crime; when and where crimes occur; and why the police, lawmakers and members of the general public think about crime as they do.

Dr. Sacco will address convocation on Wednesday, June 11 at 6:30 pm at Grant Hall. 

Mark Wiseman

Mr. Wiseman joined the CPP Investment Board in June 2005 as the organization’s senior vice-president, private investments. He was later named executive vice-president, investments, responsible for managing all of the investment activities of the CPP Investment Board. He assumed the role of president and CEO in July 2012 and is responsible for leading the CPP Investment Board and its investment activities.

In 2006, Mr. Wiseman was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. He is a board member for the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) and serves on the board of several not-for-profit organizations, including the Capital Markets Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and Right to Play International.

Mr. Wiseman will address convocation on Thursday, June 12 at 10 am at Grant Hall. 

Joshua Mozersky

Dr. Mozersky is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy. He works in metaphysics and the philosophy of language, with some dabbling in the philosophy of science. His current work defends a theory of time known as the B-theory. Dr. Mozersky is currently completing a manuscript, Time, Language and Ontology, that defends the B-theory and explores its implications for the semantics of temporal predication in general, and the metaphysics of objects and temporal parts.

Dr. Mozersky will address convocation on Thursday, June 12 at 2:30 pm at Grant Hall.