The History of Queen’s Graduation

The first convocation ceremony in Queen's history took place on June 2, 1847, when the Senate awarded degrees to the university's first three graduates, probably in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

It was not until 1858 that convocations got their first designated, on-campus home: in a special Convocation Hall, constructed as part of the Old Medical building. The university soon outgrew that venue: that hall was dismantled after a bigger, more splendid Convocation Hall was included in Theological Hall, opened in 1878. That hall and its name both survive; but convocations soon moved on again, this time to the yet more spacious Grant Hall, completed in 1905. And after the rapid growth of Queen's in the 1950s and 1960s, convocations moved to the Jock Harty Arena in the early 1970s, although fall ceremonies continue to be held at Grant Hall. With the dismantling of Jock Harty Arena in 2007 (to make way for the new student life and athletics facility, the Queen's Centre), Grant Hall has become the host location for spring ceremonies as well.

Convocations have always been a time for pomp and circumstance. Until the 1950s, however, they were also frequently marked by rowdy behaviour, as students were notorious for drowning out speakers with catcalls and other noise and were even known to pelt the audience with assorted vegetables. The ceremonies have become quieter in recent decades, and also much bigger. There are now more than 25 ceremonies every year, attracting more than 4,000 graduating students (more than 5,000 students qualify to graduate every year, but not all attend convocation). The main features of the convocation ceremony are a speech to the graduands by the Principal, a speech by the Honorary Graduate or guest speaker - a tradition that dates from the granting of the first honorary degree in 1858 - and the granting of degrees by the Chancellor. Traditional music includes "Flourish for the Chancellor," an organ composition written specially for Convocation by Queen's music professor Fred Clarke.

Convocations are organized by the Office of the University Registrar. The Office is responsible for the main logistical arrangements and coordinates the work of other departments involved in the ceremony, including Physical Plant Services, Information Technology Services, Marketing and Communications, CFRC Radio, Environmental Health and Safety, and Student Wellness Services. The Registrar's Office also compiles the list of graduands and award winners, informs them of the time and place of convocation, produces diplomas, prints the convocation programs, and works with the Alma Mater Society's Hoods and Convocation Service to supply students with hoods and gowns. The Senate Academic Procedures Committee has authority for approving the list of graduands. The Senate Honorary Degrees Committee makes recommendations to the Senate for the award of honorary degrees.

The hood as an academical vestment is distinctly British and is worn by graduates of English speaking universities all over the world.

In its original form it was the upper part of the cowl worn by the Monks and Friars of the Middle Ages. The hood covered the head during inclement weather and in the draughty cloisters when taking exercise. If not needed for this purpose it could be pulled off and allowed to hang behind over the tippet. The tippet was the lower part, a short cape, reaching to the elbow and forming a very welcome article of clothing in the monasteries and hostels which were still unglazed at the end of the 15th century. Indeed, it would appear that glass was not in general use until 1650, for three years later an order was issued to all students at Oxford to "keep his chamber windows in repair after they have once been glazed by the college."

The cowl still forms part of the dress of the religious orders, but the hood, separated from the tippet now denotes a graduate of some British or American University or similar institution while the tippet is worn by certain dignitaries of both the Roman and Anglican church. A smaller type is also used to distinguish Diocesan Readers.

For the purposes of laureation at Queen's University, the design and colour scheme of regalia is as follows:

Honorary Doctor of Divinity: Purple silk shell with a white silk lining

Honorary Doctor of Laws: Black silk shell with a full blue silk lining

Honorary Doctor of Science: Gold silk shell with a black border

Doctor of Philosophy: Red/Gold/Blue

Doctor of Medicine: Red/White

Master of Applied Science: Black/Yellow

Master of Arts: Black/Red

Master of Arts (Art Leadership): Black/Red/Sky Blue/Emerald Green

Master of Art Conservation: Black/Red/Gold

Master of Business Administration: Black/Green

Master of Divinity: Black/Purple

Master of Education: Black/Powder Blue

Master of Engineering: Black/Yellow/Purple/Yellow

Master of Environmental Studies: Black/Gold/Royal Blue/Emerald Green

Master of Finance: Black/Green/Gold

Master of Industrial Relations: Black/Orange

Master of International Business: Black/Green/Gold

Master of Laws: Queen's Blue/White

Master of Management Analytics: Black/Gold/Green

Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Black/Green/Yellow

Master of Nursing: Black/White/Red/Green

Master of Nursing Science: Black/White/Red/Green

Master of Public Administration: Black/Honeydew/Henna

Master of Public Health: Black/Honeydew/Red

Master of Science: Black/Gold/Red

Master of Science (Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy): Black/Pale Blue/Royal Blue

Master of Science (Aging and Health): Black/Gold/Royal Blue

Master of Science (Anatomical Sciences): Black/Gold/Red/Gold

Master of Theology: Purple/Red/White

Master of Theological Studies: Black/Red/Purple

Master of Urban and Regional Planning: Black/Pistache Green/Red

Professional Master of Education: Black/Powder Blue/Red

Bachelor of Arts: Black/Red

Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education: Black/Red/Pale Blue

Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Physical and Health Education: Black/Red/White/Red

Bachelor of Commerce: Black/Green border

Bachelor of Computing: Black/Purple/Gold

Bachelor of Education: Black/Pale Blue

Bachelor of Fine Art: Black/Emerald Green

Bachelor of Laws: Queen's Blue/White

Juris Doctor: Queen's Blue/White

Bachelor of Applied Science: Black/Yellow

Bachelor of Music: Sapphire Blue/Sky Blue

Bachelor of Nursing Science: White/Red

Bachelor of Physical and Health Education: Black/Red/White

Bachelor of Science (Arts and Science): Black/Red/Gold

Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education: Black/Red/Gold/Pale Blue

Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Physical and Health Education: Black/Red/White/Gold

Bachelor of Theology: White/Purple

The Coat of Arms of the university that hangs behind the Chancellor's dais is based on that of Edinburgh University, the institution after which Queen's was modeled.

The Coat of Arms consists of a gold shield with red edges, divided into four triangular compartments by a blue, diagonal St. Andrew's Cross, which represents the university's Scottish origins.

A golden book, symbolizing learning, sits open at the centre of the cross.

In each of the four compartments is an emblem of the university's Canadian and British origins: a pine tree for Canada, a thistle for Scotland, a rose for England, and a shamrock for Ireland.

The red colour of the border is a mark of cadency, indicating that Queen's is younger than Edinburgh University.

The border is decorated with eight gold crowns, symbolic of Queen Victoria and the university's Royal Charter.

The official heraldic description of the coat of arms is: "Or on a Saltire Azure between in chief a Fir tree eradicated in base a Thistle stalked and leaved in fesse a Red Rose barbed, seeded, stalked and leaved all proper and a Trefoil Vert, an open Book of the First, a Bordure also Gules charged with eight Ancient Crowns Gold."

The shield is underlined by the Latin phrase "Sapientia et Doctrina Stabilitas" which is translated as "Wisdom and Learning shall be the stability of thy times."

Although the Coat of Arms has been in use throughout the 20th century, it was not until 1953 that it was sanctioned by the College of Arms of England and subsequently registered through Letters Patent, dated 27 November 1981, and recorded in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, that is the Court of the Lord Lyon, Edinburgh, Scotland.

On 30 September 1991, during Queen's Sesquicentennial Celebrations, the Coat of Arms was registered in the Canadian Registry of Flags, Arms and Badges.

Reference:

The Queen's Encyclopedia

With its tall limestone clock-tower, this assembly and concert hall, completed in 1905, is Queen's best-known landmark.      

Fittingly, it is named after Queen's most important principal, The Rev. George Monro Grant, a national figure in his own right who gave Queen's, for the first time, a national mission and profile.      

The hall seats 900 people and is used for public lectures and meetings, concerts, convocation ceremonies, dances, and exams. During the First World War it was used as a military hospital.

The building was originally supposed to be funded by the Frontenac County Council, and named Frontenac Hall. Abstemious county councillors, however, became angry with Grant for his public opposition to their plan to ban the sale of alcohol in the county. In 1901 they withdrew their support – despite an emotional plea by the now weak and ailing Principal.

Such was the devotion that Grant inspired in his students that they stepped into the breach themselves, raising the necessary $30,000 over the winter of 1901-1902 and planning to name the building Grant Hall to honour the 25th anniversary of his principalship in December 1902. Grant died in May, several months short of that anniversary, and the building was named for him posthumously on its completion in 1905.

It was designed in the Victorian Romanesque style by Symons and Rae, an architectural firm from Toronto that also designed Kingston Hall and Ontario Hall. The original tower clock was designed by Dr. Nathan Fellowes Dupuis, a professor of mathematics and other sciences, who served as Dean of Applied Science around the turn of the century. After years of unreliable service, the old clock was replaced in 1993 with an electrical mechanism designed in England and – like the building itself – paid for by students. The old clock mechanism is on display in Stirling Hall.

Grant Hall is located at the south end of University Avenue.

The Rev. George Monro Grant (1835-1902) is the most important of all Queen's Principals. More famous in his day that any Queen's Principal before – or since – Grant transformed the university in his 25 years of leadership (1877-1902) from a struggling denominational college into a dynamic national institution.

He was born into a farming family in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. At the age of eight, he lost his right hand in an agricultural accident, which guaranteed that his future would lie in mental rather than physical labour. He was educated at Pictou Academy, the West River Seminary, and Glasgow University, where he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1860. From 1863 to 1877 he served as Minister of St Matthew's Church in Halifax; one of his parishioners there was Sandford Fleming, who in 1871 was appointed Chief Engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1872, Fleming invited Grant to join him as a member of the CPR's survey party for the trans-Canada railway, and Grant wrote an account of the gruelling cross-country journey in his popular book Ocean to Ocean. That trip deepened Grant's ardent nationalism which, along with his profound religious convictions, formed the basis of his vision for Queen's.

He was selected Principal of the university in 1877. Queen's mission, he believed, should be to join moral and scientific education, sacred and secular knowledge, to produce graduates who would build the growing country in a spirit of dedicated service rather than material gain. To achieve these aims he first had to put the chronically poor university on a firm financial footing. This he did with a series of spectacularly successful fundraising campaigns. Queen's flourished under his leadership. It attracted first-rate faculty and increasing numbers of students; it began a program of graduate studies; and it added new buildings, faculties, and departments – the most important being the Ontario School of Mining and Agriculture, the precursor to the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Grant also wrote and spoke frequently and forcefully on the main political questions of the day and was one of Canada's most influential shapers of opinion. In his 25 years at Queen's he inspired deep devotion in students, who affectionately called him "Geordie, Our King." In his final years, as his health was deteriorating, they spearheaded a drive for a new stone building to be named in his honour. Grant Hall opened shortly after his death and, with its tall limestone tower, is Queen's best-known landmark.

Several of Grant's descendants have also made their mark on Canada. His son, William Lawson Grant, taught history at Queen's from 1909 until the First World War, and co-authored his father's biography 'Principal Grant' with alumnus F.C. Hamilton. His grandson, George Parkin Grant, was one of Canada's most distinguished philosophers and the author of the influential book Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism. The Principal's great-grandson, Michael Ignatieff, is well known in Canada and Britain as an author, television host, former Member of Parliament and Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, as well as an expert on international affairs.

Reference:

The Queen's Encyclopedia

Queen's Chronicles Honorary Degree Recipients

by Kay Langmuir

Queen's Gazette, April 24, 2006

This spring marked the 148th year that Queen’s has awarded honorary degrees. The history of this honour however, was, until recently, in danger of being lost amidst the dust of time.

When Dean of Arts and Science Bob Silverman realized one day in conversation with University Registrar Jo-Anne Brady that the university lacked a complete and accurate record of its honorary-degree recipients, they decided to rectify the situation. It proved to be a substantial task of detective work. A student hired as a researcher for the project spent one summer full-time and two semesters working part-time on the list before it was recently completed – two dozen pages and hundreds of names covering the 148 years between 1858 and today.

The university does a fairly broad call for nominations, says University Secretary Georgina Moore. Through newspaper notices and email postings sent throughout campus, the call goes out asking members of the Queen’s community to reflect on which individuals embody the values and actions they most admire.

Any two people can put forward a name. Some suggestions come from the university at large. Others originate with the Senate Committee for Honorary Degrees, which makes the final recommendations to the Senate. Some come regularly from a special think-tank on honorary degree recipients, currently chaired by Principal Emeritus Bill Leggett, which searches for particularly prominent individuals.

The nominating committee looks for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to society on a national or international scale. Nominations can contain up to 15 pages of supporting information on the merits of an individual, Ms. Moore says.

In the early years of awarding honorary degrees, the recipients were almost exclusively male clergymen. Little is known about these people, says Dean Silverman. “Hopefully, some day we will know.”

From time to time in the latter part of the 19th century, prominent political figures took home the honour. Gradually over time, the dominance of clergy was balanced with other figures from public life. Sir John A. Macdonald (1863) appears to have been the first lay person, and one of the few politicians to receive the honour during an active career. Today, the guidelines wisely discourage honoring politicians before the end of their public service.

In the early days, the university also recognized the British royalty with The Prince of Wales (1919) and King George V (1901) donning robes in Kingston. A generous number of dukes, lords and ladies, earls and countesses, viscounts and rear admirals and knights were also honoured. Prominent politicians who collected honorary degrees and lectured to graduating classes over the years include Sir Oliver Mowat, Sir Wilfred Laurier, Sir Robert Borden, William Lyon Mackenzie King and Pierre Trudeau.

More recently, Jean Chrétien passed through the doors of Jock Harty Arena in June 2004. Even American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt collected an honorary degree in 1938 during a trip he made to the area to officially open the Thousand Islands Bridge on Aug.18 that year. Ten years later, his wife Eleanor Roosevelt, an early champion of human rights and social causes, became one of the first women to receive the honour.

The very first woman to be awarded an honorary degree from Queen’s, as well as from any Canadian university, was Lady Aberdeen, wife of then Governor General Lord Aberdeen, in 1897. Lady Aberdeen was a prominent social reformer, founder of the VON and feminist.

There were also captains of industry, Colonel Sam McLaughlin of Oshawa (1946) and Andrew Carnegie (1901), eminent doctors such as pioneering brain surgeon Wilder Penfield (1957) and outstanding scientists such as Alexander Graham Bell and Sir Frederick Banting.

The first representative of the arts appears to have joined the distinguished field in 1919 when writer and humorist Stephen Leacock received the honour. Further recipients from the field of the creative arts continued to be few. Hollywood actor Raymond Massey collected a degree in 1949, portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1960 and author Ernest Buckler in 1964.

Beginning in the late 1960s, artists and writers were frequently honoured at convocation. They include Margaret Atwood, Oscar Peterson, Antoine Maillet, Peter Newman, Gordon Pinsent, Farley Mowat, Carl Sagan, Donald Sutherland, Carol Shields and Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak.

“We’re not setting out to find glitzy, starry people,” says Ms. Moore. “A person who has made an outstanding contribution to something may also be celebrated for that, but it’s the merit of this contribution that counts.”

The number of recipients varies each year, but usually ranges between several to a dozen or more people for both spring and fall convocations. The number of recipients increases in special years such as the Royal Convocation in the university’s sesquicentennial in 1991, when Prince Charles and 24 others received honorary degrees.

The nomination and selection process for honorary degree candidates is overseen by the University Senate.

For more information regarding the policies that pertain to honorary degrees at Queen's, please visit the University Secretariat's website.

Adelle Blackett, LLD

Dr. Adelle Blackett has been at the forefront of international and national human rights law for the past 25 years.

A prolific, world-class scholar in labour law and its interface with trade, she is a key thinker behind the emerging field of transnational labour law, foregrounding decolonial approaches.

She joined the McGill Faculty of Law in 2000, becoming McGill’s first Black law professor. A Tier 1 Canada Research Chairholder in Transnational Labour Law and Development, she was the lead architect of an historic international treaty, the 2011 ILO Domestic Workers’ Convention. Her recent book, Everyday Transgressions: Domestic Workers’ Transnational Challenge to International Labor Law (Cornell University Press, 2019) earned the 2020 Canadian Council on International Law’s Scholarly Book Award. An elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, she has worked closely with the ILO, governments, employers and trade unions to prepare a draft Haitian labour code. She offers expert advice on trade-labour interface, and is on dispute-resolution rosters for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Professor Blackett is also a cherished educator and mentor, who has throughout her career brought innovative, contemplative approaches to teaching, and shared them in award-winning scholarship. She has been a leader in fostering equity in law, and in Canadian higher education. Notably, she founded and convened the Dr. Kenneth Melville McGill Black Faculty and Staff Caucus, chaired professorial recruitment that yielded pathbreaking hires, and was the principal drafter of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education, signed by approximately 60 universities and colleges across Canada.

Professor Blackett’s human rights engagements include her unanimous appointment by the National Assembly of Quebec to the Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission. She subsequently chaired the federal Court Challenges Program’s Human Rights Experts Panel. The Quebec Superior Court has recognized her as an expert witness on forced labour. She is currently chairing the 12-member federal Employment Equity Act Review Task Force, the first review of its kind since the Hon. Rosalie Abella proposed employment equity legislation in the 1984 Royal Commission on Equality in Employment.

Professor Blackett’s numerous recognitions include the Barreau du Québec’s Christine Tourigny Award of Merit and the Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) designation; the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal; the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers’ Pathfinder Award; and the McGill Principal’s Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
 

Daniel Christmas, LLD

Daniel Christmas, a lifelong resident of the Mi’kmaw community of Membertou, has been active in a number of international, national, provincial and local organizations in a range of fields including Aboriginal and treaty rights, youth, justice, policing, education, health care, human rights, adult training, business development and the environment. 

He is the first Mi'kmaw individual to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and sits as an independent and made sure to open a constituency office, a step not normally taken by those appointed to the upper house.  Senator Christmas reasoned that he wanted to ensure he was available year-round, in his community, for those with questions, concerns, ideas, and issues.

Senator Christmas is also a consultant with Membertou Quality Management Services, providing services to a number of Mi’kmaw organizations. He has served with or chaired many provincial and national boards, advisory committees, and organizations. For 18 years, he chaired a local charitable organization, Educational Program Innovation Charity, which was recognized as the best run non-profit organization in Canada by the Donner Canadian Foundation in 2010. He has received numerous awards and distinctions for his work.

While working with the Union of Nova Scotia Indians, which represents multiple Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw First Nations, Senator Christmas helped organize a political and legal strategy to defend Mi'kmaw rights.  This work then contributed to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling (Simon v. The Queen, 1985) in a case associated with a 1752 treaty concerning hunting rights, which recognized the validity of the treaty and confirmed that it continued to provide a right to hunt for Mi'kmaw peoples.
 
Senator Christmas' priorities for his time in government include using his experience and position to assist the federal government in rebuilding its relationships with the Indigenous peoples of Canada.  He was the Senate sponsor of Bill C-68, which proposed amending the Fisheries Act to require the government to consider any adverse effects a decision made under the Act may have on the rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada.  Senator Christmas also plans to press for the involvement of Indigenous peoples in major energy sector projects and for more work to be done against sexual exploitation and modern slavery.
Senator Christmas has been active in a number of international, national, provincial, and local agencies in a wide range of fields, including Indigenous and treaty rights, justice, policing, education, health care, human rights, adult training, business development, and the environment.
 
Senator Christmas spent his time with the Membertou First Nation focusing on how to recover from a financial situation close to bankruptcy, with 95% unemployment, eventually resulting in the recovery of the community to a profitable status with a ten-fold growth in labour force and revenue.
 

Evelyn Forget, DSc

Evelyn L Forget is an economist whose research has been dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to the tools and resources they need to live full lives. She has advocated for a basic income guarantee that would offer financial support to those living below the poverty line, without shame and without making resources conditional on meeting arbitrary regulations.

Born and raised in Scarborough Ontario, she first came across the idea of a basic income guarantee as a psychology undergraduate at Glendon College when she accidentally found herself in an economics class trying to fulfill a university requirement. One day, her economics professor came to class with a story about a massive Canadian social experiment on guaranteed income then underway. She was so intrigued that she changed her major to economics and nothing was ever the same again.

Professor Forget went on to do a PhD in economics at the University of Toronto, and then moved to Winnipeg where she was Professor of Economics at the University of Manitoba until 2000. She published many books and articles in various areas of economics, but poverty was always central to her analysis. In 2000, she was hired as Professor of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Anyone working in healthcare recognizes very quickly that we spend a lot of time and money treating the effects of poverty in our healthcare system. Our Emergency Departments are full of people who have lived hard lives, showing the effects of poor housing, inadequate diets and poor working conditions at far too young an age.

Professor Forget’s research into this important and too-often neglected aspect of health policy has transformed international research, and helped move discussion from the political margins to serious policy consideration. She has advised policymakers and researchers around the world. Her work has received international media coverage, and featured in a documentary that opened at the Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in 2018.
Professor Forget has received many awards and prizes from academic societies. She is Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, past president of the History of Economics Society and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her most recent books are Basic Income for Canadians: from the COVID-19 emergency to financial security for all (Lorimer and Co., 2020) and (with Hannah Owczar) Radical Trust: Basic Income for Complicated Lives.
 

Helen Humphreys, LLD

Helen Humphreys is the award-winning author of four books of poetry, nine novels, and six works of creative non-fiction. She has won the City of Toronto Book Award, the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize, a Lambda Award for fiction, the Canadian Author’s Association Award for poetry, and the Harbourfront Festival Prize for Literary Excellence. Her work has also been nominated for the Governor General’s Award, the Trillium Book Prize, the B.C. Non-Fiction Prize, the Commonwealth Prize, and has been a finalist on CBC Canada Reads. Her books have been translated and published all over the world and have been adapted for stage, screen, TV, and opera. She has been a writer in residence at many institutions, including the University of Toronto and Queen’s University, and has been a resident artist at the arts colonies Yaddo and McDowell. From 2014 to 2018 she was the Poet Laureate for the City of Kingston. She lives and writes in Kingston. Her most recent books are the novel, Rabbit Foot Bill, the non-fiction “Field Study”, and the memoir, “And A Dog Called Fig.” 
 

Suzanne Lacasse, DSc

Dr. Suzanne Lacasse was born in Noranda, Québec, did a Bachelor of Arts at Université de Montréal and her civil engineering degrees at École Polytechnique de Montréal and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

She was first Lecturer at École Polytechnique (1973-1975) and then on the faculty of the Civil Engineering and Environmental Department at MIT (1975-1984), where she also was Head of the Geotechnical Laboratory. Dr. Lacasse then went to the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), and became NGI’s Managing Director in 1991, a position she held until 2012. She served as President of the Canadian Geotechnical Society in 2003-2004.

During the early part of her career, Dr. Lacasse concentrated her work on geotechnical laboratory techniques, soil behaviour studies and in-situ investigation methods. Subsequently, she worked on foundation engineering and design for structures on land and offshore, slope stability and development of calculation procedures. In her work, Dr. Lacasse concentrated on combining mathematical and numerical analyses with practical geotechnical engineering design considerations. She was a key member of the NGI-team developing practical design analysis procedures for offshore platforms subjected to storm loading. She then worked extensively on geotechnical risk and reliability with implementations for offshore and onshore foundations, landslides, tunnelling and both water-retaining and tailings dams.

Dr. Lacasse was honoured with several awards, including doctorates honoris causa from Scotland, Norway and Canada, the Robert Legget Medal of the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS), the Kennedy and K.Y. Lo Medals of the Engineering Institute of Canada, the Effective Teaching Award in Civil Engineering at MIT and the Robert Schuster Medal from the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists and the CGS. She is elected member of the National Academy of Engineers in the US, Canada, Norway and France. She is Honorary Professor at Tongji University in Shanghai and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, and Advisory Professor at the Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. She published over 380 papers. She gave the Terzaghi Lecture in 2001, the Terzaghi Oration in 2013 and the Rankine Lecture in 2015 and will give the Nabor Carrillo Lecture in 2022. The ISSMGE established in her honour the ‘Suzanne Lacasse Lecture’ on risk and reliability in geotechnical engineering. She is a Knight of the 1st Order of the Falcon in Iceland and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
 

Wesley Hall, LLD

Wes Hall came from very humble beginnings in Jamaica to become one of the most influential businesspeople in Canada. He has established himself as the preeminent leader in shareholder advisory services and contested investor situations. The Globe and Mail, has called him one of the nation’s “most influential powerbrokers,” Canadian Business magazine named him one of the “most powerful business people” in 2016, Toronto Life magazine voted him among the “50 most influential Torontonians in 2020, ”the International Association of Business Communicators (Toronto) named him their “2020 Communicator of the Year,” and Maclean’s magazine ranked him number 18 on their 2021 Power List of the “50 most powerful people in Canada.”

As the Founder of Kingsdale Advisors, Wes has delivered an unparalleled track record of success for North America’s biggest names including Air Canada, Barrick, BHP Billiton, Citigroup, CN, CP, Ovintiv, Goldcorp, Talisman, and Suncor. He has been sought out to lead some of the highest profile deals and activist campaigns in North America. They include Enbridge’s $37 billion merger with Spectra Energy, Agrium and Potash Corp.’s $36 billion merger, Tim Hortons’ $12.5 billion merger with Burger King, Pershing Square Capital Management’s campaign to replace the board of Canadian Pacific Railway, and Petro Canada’s $19 billion merger with Suncor Energy.

Wes is also the owner of QM Environmental, a leading national environmental and industrial services provider with over 450 employees; Titan Supply, a top manufacturer and distributor of rigging and wear products serving industries in the oil and gas, construction, and transportation sectors; and Harbor Club hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, one of St. Lucia’s premier resorts. He is an instructor at the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto (Rotman), where he teaches Black Entrepreneurship & Leadership in Canada, a first-of-its-kind course in North America that provides students with a deep understanding of the systemic anti-Black racism faced by Black entrepreneurs, the cultural impacts and how to navigate the system. In 2020, he was appointed to the Ontario government’s Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce, an advisory group of experts tasked to review and modernize the province’s capital markets regulations.

In June 2020 Wes launched the BlackNorth Initiative. BNI challenges Canadian businesses to end systemic racism head on in a business centric approach. Hall and his highly esteemed team of experts are collaboratively improving the lives of millions of black Canadians by opening doors that otherwise would have been shut.

You can find Wes on the upcoming 16th season of CBC’s Dragons Den as the first black Dragon, making an impact and conscious effort to award opportunities to up and coming BIPOC entrepreneurs. Wes is also the Executive Producer for the Dionne Warwick documentary: “Don’t Make Me Over” which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2021, Wes received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Awards for his exceptional leadership in business. Wes also received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa, Ryerson University, as well as the recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Award and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West Indies.

Wes’ first ever biography “No Bootstraps When You’re Barefoot”, published by Penguin Random House will hit bookshelves everywhere in Fall of 2022.
Wes sits as a board member of the SickKids Foundation, Pathways to Education, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and The Black Academy. He is also a Member of the Board of Governors at Huron University College, and is Founder and Chairman of The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism. He has also changed the lives of thousands of children in the Caribbean and Canada, donating both his money and time.
 

Clarence Louie, LLD

Clarence Louie was elected Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) in 1984 at the age of 24 and has held the position for more than 12 terms. The OIB Development Corporation (OIBDC) was formed in 1988 under Louie’s leadership. As CEO, he has developed over eleven successful on-reserve, OIB-owned
businesses and five joint ventures in pursuit of economic self-sufficiency for the community. 

For over 30 years, Chief Clarence Louie has been a champion for the Osoyoos Indian Band’s working culture, inspiring generations not only within the ban but around the world with his message about self-empowerment through employment, hard work, and community building. Louie is quoted widely in media and is a highly sought-after speaker for his strong and straightforward views on the link between economic development and First Nations self-reliance. Known for doing business in a modern First Nations context, Chief Louie wants to build an ‘indigenous economy’ where First Nations business people and leaders not only participate in the mainstream of Canada’s business economy, but more and more, take a stronger leadership position to shape environmentally and socially responsible outcomes that still feed the bottom line.

As Chief, he negotiated settlement of three specific land claims with the B.C. government, the settlement of more than 1,000 acres of lease land development, and the expansion of the OIB reserve by hundreds of acres of land. In 2000, Louie joined the Governor General of Canada on a leadership tour, and in 2001, he was appointed to the board of Aboriginal Business Canada, becoming chair in 2007. In 2003, the U.S. Department of State invited Louie as one of six First Nations representatives to participate in a two-week tour of Indigenous tribes in the US, and in 2008 he consulted with federal finance minister Jim Flaherty on matters of economic development in Canada. In 2014, he served as a mentor for doctoral students with the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation. He is a past member of the B.C. Region Indian Affairs committee, the board of directors of First Nations organizations Denendeh Investments (2007), Sts’ailes Development Corporation (2009), the board of directors for Destination B.C. (2015) and the B.C. Provincial Health Services Authority (2015). In 2020, he was on the selection committee for the Governor General’s Innovation Awards.

In 2003, MacLean’s magazine named him in Top 50 Canadians to Watch. In 2004, he won the Business and Community Development award from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, and in 2008, he received the “Partnership with Community Special Citation” award from Ernst & Young – the first First Nations person to receive such an award. He won the Aboriginal Business Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business in 2011.

Recipient of the Order of Canada in 2017 and two years later, inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, Chief Clarence Louie is an internationally acclaimed leader dedicated to the economic and social prosperity of his people. 
 

Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue, LLD

Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue is a Labrador Innu environmental and cultural activist who has been featured in numerous documentaries, books, and articles. She was born near Churchill Falls, Labrador; however, in the early 1960s, her family and community was relocated to Sheshatshiu, Labrador with the promises of a better, more easier life.  By the time they expressed a desire to return, development of Churchill Falls and the creation of the Smallwood Reservoir had destroyed the traditional hunting grounds off which they lived.  Her campaigns have inspired countless to advocate for legal and environmental rights, both in Canada and internationally.
 
Tshaukuesh's high profile work began with leading the Innu community's campaign against NATO's low-level flying and bomb testing on Innu land in the 1980s and 1990s.  She stayed the course despite going to jail with nine others as a result of their actions.  She then moved on to a role as a key respondent in a legal case related to the "colour of right", in which a judge held that the Innu could occupy a Canadian Forces base in Goose Bay, Labrador.
 
One of Tshaukuesh's primary goals has always been to pass along what she learned from her elders and own experiences to others.  She has taught people from around the world about Innu culture for over two decades, often during multi-day or multi-week canoe trips and walks in the Mealys Mountains and surrounding bush during summer and winter.
 
Her book, Nitinikiau Innusi: I Keep The Land Alive (2020), was composed based on her diaries from 1987 to 2016 and describes in detail her day-to-day life and thoughts on Innu politics, culture, land, and history.

Alexis Puentes, LLD

Alexis Puentes is a multiple Latin Grammy/Grammy/Juno winning singer-songwriter/producer/musician, born Alexis Puentes in Artemisa, Cuba. He was immersed in music at a very young age, joining his father’s (guitarist and teacher Valentin Puentes) group of 24 guitarists. Alex then went on to study electric and upright bass and touring and recording nationally and internationally. His sound is the unique confluence of tradition and global influences in articulate arrangements that convey emotions through melody and lyric.

Though raised in Artemisa, an hour outside of Havana, Alexis Puentes’ artistry is as far-flung as the place he has set- tled and lived for over ten years: Smithers, BC, 14 hours north of Vancouver. His music at once incorporates his Cuban roots and is a unique amalgam of styles from funk, pop to soul. Collaborating with peers ranging from Nelly Furtado and Jason Mraz to Ron Sexsmith and Jim Cuddy to Pablo Milanes and Lionel Garcia.

A forward-thinking, indie-minded artist, Alex has amassed a steadily growing following among critics and fans, garnering over 20 awards and nominations to his name, including a Grammy Award and 4 Latin Grammys and two Junos Awards. Over the course of 8 albums Alex has explored and expanded on his Cuban and international influences. Uplifting and bright to soulful and philosophical, his songs will speak to the listener though melody as well as lyrics. In 2022 Alexis Puentes’ 8th studio release, Mendó, won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album where he won as artist, producer and engineer.

Overcoming obstacles of politics and cliché, Alex’s music rises above commonly held notions of Cuban music and makes a space to understand more about bringing together different genres to create something new, about being accepted on your own terms and forging a path for others to follow. His journey has included being at the forefront of independent artists entrepreneurs, concurrent with raising a family of three wonderful children.

Romek (Robbie) Waisman, LLD

Romek (Robbie) Waisman was born in 1931 in Poland.  He was raised in a very close family and community according to the traditions of the Orthodox Jewish faith.  
 
When the Nazi army invaded Poland in September 1939, Waisman was to stay with friends who were not of the Jewish faith.  He soon returned to his family, but was relocated to his city's Jewish ghetto in 1941.  He was subsequently put to work in the city's munitions factory for two years, but was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1944.  The camp was liberated by the American military in April 1945; however, the children of the camp were required to stay for an additional three months given many had become orphans and had no homes.
 
In 1949, after time spent in various French villages where the Buchenwald orphans were housed with families, Waisman chose to emigrate to Canada, first to Calgary, then Saskatoon where he met his wife, and finally Vancouver in 1978.
 
In 1983, charges were laid against a public school teacher in Alberta for spreading antisemitism in his classes.  This incident caused Waisman to reflect on his experiences during the Holocaust and to confront the threat of Holocaust denial.  He chose to take an active role in Holocaust education, speaking to the public at various events and publishing a book, "None is Too Many".  He became highly involved in the work of the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society, serving as its Treasurer, Vice-President, and President since the 1980s.
 
In the early 2000s, Waisman became involved in work with Indigenous communities and acted as a key figure in conversations between the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Assembly of First Nations, eventually traveling across British Columbia and to the Northwest Territories to speak to residential school survivors about shared experiences of persecution, violence, and ongoing trauma.  Waisman was declared an honorary witness by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2011 and has spoke alongside its Chairman, Justice Murray Sinclair, in a summit on historical trauma and injustice in 2012.  Having survived the horrors of the Holocaust and discovered the importance and healing power of sharing one’s painful experiences, he became involved in helping residential schools survivors find the strength to speak up about the horrors they experienced and the impact these have had on their lives and families. Together with TRC head Justice Murray Sinclair, Waisman traveled the country for two years, meeting with many of the estimated 80,000 surviving residential school students to share his story and to listen to theirs.
 
Waisman made a crucial recommendation that was adopted by the commission. The Holocaust survivor told Sinclair that he had not been able to speak about his wartime experiences to his own children — and that it wasn’t until they overheard him speaking later to school groups that they learned what he had gone through.  “Based on that, when we go to a community, we bring all the [residential school] survivors in and we always make a point to bring their children in so that when the survivors are talking to us, the children are hearing them,” Sinclair told the Jewish Independent. “That proved to be an exceptionally strong piece of advice for us to open the lines of communication within families. From the perspective of residential school survivors, often the most important process of reconciliation that they wanted to engage in, that they needed to engage in, was to apologize to their own families for how they behaved after residential schools and to be given an act of forgiveness by their children, their spouses, their family members,” he said.

Daniel Bader, LLD

Daniel Bader, President and CEO of Bader Philanthropies, is a respected corporate leader, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, whose leadership of the Bader Foundation has transformed the lives of some of society’s most vulnerable. A philanthropic force, Bader’s efforts have provided more than US$377 million in funding to more than 8,500 causes around the world. An active and engaged member of the Queen’s Board of Trustees, including serving as the vice-chair of its advancement committee, he has expanded and deepened the philanthropic legacy of his parents, Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader, to Queen’s with the 2019 donation of Rembrandt van Rijn’s Head of an Old Man with Curly Hair – the fourth painting of the Dutch master donated to the university. He has also supported the revitalization of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre with a generous gift of $54 million, establishing the Bader Collection, the greatest university collection of European Art in Canada. Bader played a key role on securing the resources needed to complete the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.

Hakima El Haité, DSc

Ms. Hakima El Haité is a ground breaker, globally recognized for her work in environmental sustainability and climate change. But she is also a role model and leader, tirelessly championing the rights of women in leadership roles, and collaborating with others to advocate for human rights, fair trade and development. She is an engineer, an entrepreneur, a former politician and a dedicated individual working towards a sustainable, fair and prosperous future for all. 

Ms. El Haité began her career working in territorial administration in Fez, Morocco before founding her company, EauGlobe, in 1994. The company specializes in engineering and environmental consulting, providing a wide range of international services, including sanitation solutions, engineering studies, industrial de-pollution and the development of related information systems. In 2013, she was appointed Minister of the Environment for the Kingdom of Morocco, and served in that position until 2017. Her role included overseeing environmental policies to ensure that a sustainable development component was included in every policy initiative. 

The tri-lingual Ms. El Haité has been recognized globally for her vast knowledge in climate change and contributions to sustainable development, and she is internationally sought after for her expertise. She participated in the 2013 and 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conferences before taking on a leading role in the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In 2016, she was appointed a “High Level Climate Change Champion” by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 2016, she gave a keynote address at the opening event of Climate Week in New York City, calling on world leaders to advance their climate action plans beyond the Paris Agreement. She was the host of the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In 2008, Ms. El Haité was recognized by U.S. President Obama for her innovation in entrepreneurism, and in 2016, she received the insignia of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor from French President Francois Hollande for her national and international commitment to the environment. She has also published two textbooks, which are used in universities around the world. 

Ms. El Haité is an extraordinary champion for women who aspire to be leaders. Along with being an exceptional role model as an entrepreneur, scientist, former politician and president of an international association, she has been extensively active in several associations and networks that advocate for greater representation of women in global affairs. In 2007, she became president of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Morocco, and in 2012, she became president of the International Network of Liberal Women. In 2014, she was awarded the Freedom Prize by the Spanish Foundation Women for Freedom and Democracy. Her work supporting women in leadership roles aligns well with her environmental advocacy – in an article in the Pacific Standard magazine (March 2017), she is quoted as saying “Who, other than us, mothers and grandmothers, understand better the challenges of providing food, water and security to our children? Let it be clear, the fight for gender equality is not a matter of feminism, it is a societal matter.” 

Ms. El Haité was the founding president of International Network of Communication Association in Morocco, and is currently the President of Liberal International, the international organization of liberal parties and groups around the world. Queen’s honorary degree recipient Lord John Alderdice (LLD 2017) is a past President. Human Rights and Free Trade and Development are considered core areas of focus for the organization, and Ms. El Haité is its 14th president – the second female president in the organization’s history, and the first from the Middle East – North Africa region. 

Ms. El Haité has dedicated her career and life to making real change for our planet. Through her work as an entrepreneur, scientist and politician, she is contributing to innovative policies and practices to address climate change and develop sustainable solutions. As an individual, she is an outstanding role model -- not just for the next generation of women, but for all who seek positive change in the world.
 

Raymond Mason, LLD

A survivor of the residential school system, Mason is being recognized for his efforts in seeking justice and compensation for residential school survivors from the federal government. He founded Spirit Wind Inc., an organization which gathered testimonies and started the process that led to the largest class action settlement in Canadian history and the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Mason has served as the Chair of the Elder Advisory Commttee and Chair of the Governance Committee of the Peguis First Nation, Director of Operations and Program Development for the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council, as well as a Technical Advisor to the Chief and Council of the Swan Lake First Nation.

His autobiography, “Spirit of the Grassroots People: Justice for Indigenous Survivors of Canada’s Colonial System”, which recounts a life of determined and principled struggle, has transformed countless lives and given hope to a new generation of Indigenous peoples – a chronicle that has been described as “an important story for all Canadians”;

Bruce H. Mitchell, LLD

Born and raised in Western Canada, Bruce attended Ridley College in St. Catharines and Neuchâtel Junior College in Switzerland. He graduated from Queen’s University with an honours Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard.

A noted businessman, Bruce is the founder, sole owner and CEO of Toronto based Permian Industries, a management and holding company. Over his career, he has acquired over 30 businesses, diversifying Permian’s investments across a number of industries in Canada and the US, and consolidating several industry sectors. He has had significant or controlling ownership positions in companies in the automotive parts manufacturing, oil and gas, water purification devices and advertising industries.

Today, Bruce’s holding company has three wholly owned subsidiaries, which include one of Canada’s largest edible nut and confectionary companies and two US based computer software businesses. Having sold down from a controlling ownership position, he also retains a significant shareholding in North America’s largest grower, marketer and distributor of greenhouse grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Together, these four businesses generate annual sales in excess of $2 billion and employ 5,000 across North America. 

Bruce has been active on a number of public company, private corporation and not-for-profit Boards. Among these, he was a Trustee and councillor of Queen’s University and served as Vice-Chair of its Board of Trustees and on several of its Committees. He served on the Board of Directors of UNICEF Canada, as Vice-Chair, on the Board of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research as Vice-Chair and Chair of its Finance and Audit Committee, on the Board of Ridley College, the Executive and Board of Young President’s Organization, and on the Board of the Bank of Montreal where he chaired its Governance and Nominating Committee and its Risk Review Committee. 

A long-time member of The Toronto Golf Club, he served as its President, and chaired various Committees. He was a Trustee of Windermere Golf and Country Club and served as a Co-Chair of its Board. A member for over 30 years of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, Bruce was elected its Captain in 2017 and is the first Canadian to hold this position and the ninth Captain from outside the United Kingdom in the Club’s 265 year of existence. Today, he is an active member of the Foundation Boards of St. Michael’s Hospital and Ridley College. He has established and funded The Bruce H. Mitchell Foundation and works with his wife Vladka, on various philanthropic initiatives. 

Bruce resides in Toronto and has four children and nine grandchildren. In addition to his business and not-for-profit Boards, he has a passion for golf, is an avid skier, and enjoys adventure travel and biking trips.

Bruce developed the following mission for himself. It is simply – “To build, to give and to live with purpose, perspective and passion”. He lives this every day.
 

Kimberly Prost, LLD

Graduating as a gold medallist from the University of Manitoba Law School, Ms.Prost worked for the Canadian Department of Justice for eighteen years appearing before all levels of the Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court. For 7 years she served as Director of the International Assistance Group which is responsible for extradition and mutual legal assistance matters for Canada. She participated in the negotiation of over 40 extradition/mutual legal assistance treaties and was a member of the Canadian delegation for the negotiation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and related documents, as well as the UN Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and Corruption.

Ms. Prost also held managerial positions with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime delivering a range of programs for States on international cooperation, money laundering and asset forfeiture, counter terrorism, implementation of the Rome Statute, and combating organized crime and corruption.

After election by the General Assembly, in July 2006, she was appointed to sit as an ad litem judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on a multi-accused trial (Popovic et al) related to events at Srebrenica and Zepa. Judgement was delivered in that case in June 2010. She also served as and pre-trial judge and presiding judge in the pre-trial phase of a related case.

In June 2010 Ms. Prost was appointed by the Secretary General as the first Ombudsperson for the Security Council Al Qaida Sanctions Committee. She completed her five year term in that role in mid July 2015. She subsequently served as Chef de Cabinet for the President of the International Criminal Court for a two year term, prior to her election as a judge of the ICC.
 

Heather Ross, DSc

Heather Ross, MD, MHSc, FRCP (C), FACC, FCCS is the Head, Division of Cardiology at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at UHN and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the Site Lead for the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, and holds the Loretta A. Rogers Chair in Heart Function and the Pfizer Chair in Cardiovascular Research. She received her BSc (Honours Biology) from Queen’s University, her MD from the University of British Columbia, her Cardiology training at Dalhousie University, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Cardiac Transplantation at Stanford University, California. She earned her MHSc in Bioethics from the University of Toronto.

Dr. Ross has had numerous leadership roles including President of the Canadian Society of Transplantation in 2005, Executive of the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation (ISHLT 2002 – 2005) and ISHLT Secretary Treasurer 2007-2010.   She has served 11 years over two terms on the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Council, and is a past president of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. She spent 6 years on the Board of the CCS Academy. She served 4 years on the Executive of the Heart Failure Society of America. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. She is the past Ted Rogers and Family Chair in Heart Function 2010-2017. She has published over 320 peer reviewed articles and won numerous teaching awards including the University of Toronto Teacher of the Year (2017), and the UHN Department of Medicine Michael Hutcheon Mentor Award (2017). She is the founder of www.TestYourLimits.ca dedicated to improving heart health and research in heart failure. In 2015, she was named by Canadian Geographic as one of the top 100 modern day explorers.
 

Nasrin Sotoudeh, LLD

Nasrin Sotoudeh – a brave human rights lawyer, defender of women's rights, children's rights and journalists – symbolizes the Iranian regime's systematic pattern of persecution and prosecution. First imprisoned in 2010 sentenced to 11 years in prison – later released after three years due to international outcry – for defending the vulnerable, including those arrested during the Green Movement uprising, in 2009. Fortunately, her sentence would eventually be reduced – in large part due to international public outcry – to three years. In June 2018, she was once again arrested and 10 months later was charged with numerous “national security-related” offences, resulting in a cumulative sentence of 38 years and 148 lashes – a virtual death sentence for a 56-year-old woman. 

The criminalization of her innocence continued more recently as she was, in Kafkaesque fashion, convicted in absentia on trumped up charges for her defense of the courageous women who took part in the Girls of Revolution Street protest, unveiling and waving their headscarves in defiance of the compulsory hijab dress code.

Since her imprisonment, Nasrin languishes in prison alongside the political prisoners she readily defended before becoming one herself. 
 

Terrence Sullivan, DSc

Terrence Sullivan is a behavioral scientist, Professor and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and adjunct professor in the Department of Oncology at McGill University. His research interests span Cancer Control, Quality and Performance Strategies and Disability Policy. 

Governance roles include immediate past chair of the board of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (2011-2018), current chair of the Quality and Safety committee of the Hospital for Sick Children board, chair of Governance and Nominations committee of Exactis Innovation (a business-led federal NCE focused on precision oncology) and chair of Audit and Finance committee on the Board of Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. He also chairs the International Advisor Committee for the Rossy Cancer Network (McGill University), the Advisory Group for the EXTRA Fellowship program for the Canadian Foundation for Health Care Improvement and is a steering council member for the Diabetes Action Canada SPOR network.

From 2001 to March 2011 he occupied leadership positions in at Cancer Care Ontario (CCO), the final seven years as President and CEO during which period the organization transformed its business model to a cancer control organization with a strong focus on commissioning services, performance measurement, public reporting and quality improvement.  While at CCO, at the request of the government, he also played formative roles in the creation, design and governance of Public Health Ontario and Health Quality Ontario. Founding president of the Institute for Work & Health (1993-2001), he previously played senior roles in the Ontario Ministries of Health, Cabinet Office and as Assistant Deputy Minister, Constitutional Affairs and Federal-Provincial Relations during the Charlottetown negotiations (1992-3).  He served two successive First Ministers of Ontario as Executive Director of the Premier's Council on Health Strategy (1989-1992). From 1986-1989, he served as senior policy advisor in the Children’s Services Branch during a period of major restructuring. He played leadership roles in two Children’s Mental Health organizations as a director at Youthdale Treatment Centers (1977-1981) and Clinical Director of Central Toronto Youth Services (1982-86). He worked from 1974-1976 as neuropsychologist in the Dept. of Clinical Neuroscience, Victoria Hospital, London (Ont).

He continues to provide a range of consulting and advisory services to governments, health care and cancer organizations in Canada and internationally, contributing most recently to an evaluation of the pCPA and the just released WHO 2020 Report on Cancer.
 

Brenda Trenowden, LLD

Brenda Trenowden CBE, Global co-chair of the 30% Club, is a Partner in PwC UK within the Workforce Strategy and Culture consulting practice. Brenda helps clients to improve business performance with a particular focus on diversity, inclusive culture and purpose. She is a strong advocate for women’s economic empowerment and has been recognised with several awards for her global campaigning for greater gender balance across organisations as a voluntary, business-led imperative. She is also an advisor to the UK Government’s Hampton-Alexander Review for increasing the representation of women in the executive level of the FTSE 350. Brenda was listed as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Women in Finance’ in 2016, 17 and 18, she was No. 1 in the FT HERoes list 2018 and she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2018 for services to the financial sector and gender equality.

Prior to joining PwC, Brenda had a successful career in both investment and corporate banking with a strong track record of building international businesses and teams, and managing complex client relationships across the globe. She has lived and worked in a number of different countries in Asia, Europe and North America for some of the world’s largest banks including Citi, BNP Paribas, Lloyds Banking Group, BNY Mellon and most recently ANZ.

Brenda graduated with an honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Canada and has a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Brenda is a non-Executive Director on the England and Wales Cricket Board, a Trustee for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, a Member of the Global Council of Queen’s Smith School of Business, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers.

A Canadian by birth, Brenda now considers herself a ‘citizen of the world’ and lives in Kent, UK with her husband, ‘Trend’, her two children, Teddy and India and their dog, Bonzo.

Neil Turok, DSc

Neil Turok is Director Emeritus and holds the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Niels Bohr Chair at Perimeter. He is also Director of the Centre for the Universe at Perimeter and inaugural Higgs Chair at the University of Edinburgh. Previously he was Professor of Physics at Princeton University, USA and Chair of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Neil is a leader in developing and testing theories of the universe. His team’s predictions for polarization-temperature correlations in the cosmic background radiation (CBR) and for galaxy-CBR correlations induced by dark energy were confirmed at high precision. He pioneered investigations of many theoretical proposals, including cosmic strings, “single-bubble” inflationary universes – the basis of the multiverse paradigm - and cyclic universe pictures. Recently, he and his collaborators have developed a new, foundational approach to path integrals, with applications ranging from quantum cosmology to particle physics and radio astronomy. They also proposed a new picture of the cosmos – the CPT-invariant universe – giving the simplest yet explanation for cosmic dark matter.

Neil founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), a network of centres of excellence for maths and science training, research and public outreach spanning the African continent. In 2016 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the UK Institute of Physics and the John Torrence Tate Medal of the American Institute of Physics for International Leadership in Physics. He is author of The Universe Within, a popular science bestseller in Canada.
 

Perry James Bellegarde, LLD

Perry Bellegarde was re-elected for a second term as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in 2018. Originally from Little Black Bear First Nation in Treaty 4 Territory, he has spent the past thirty years putting into practice his strong beliefs in the laws and traditions instilled in him by many Chiefs and Elders. Perry has served in several elected leadership positions in First Nations governments. In 2018, the Province of Saskatchewan recognized Perry with the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, one of several recognitions.

National Chief Perry Bellegarde remains committed to building on the momentum created since his election in 2014. His national platform and agenda remain a top priority and have directly influenced the federal government’s planning and priorities to date.

John Joseph Borrows, LLD

John Borrows B.A., M.A., J.D., LL.M. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Osgoode Hall Law School), LL.D. (Hons., Dalhousie, York & Law Society of Ontario) F.R.S.C., is the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Victoria Law School in British Columbia. His publications include: Recovering Canada The Resurgence of Indigenous Law (Donald Smiley Award for the best book in Canadian Political Science, 2002); Canada’s Indigenous Constitution (Canadian Law and Society Best Book Award, 2011); Drawing Out Law: A Spirit’s Guide (2010); Freedom and Indigenous Constitutionalism (Donald Smiley Award for the best book in Canadian Political Science, 2016); The Right Relationship (with Michael Coyle, ed.); Resurgence and Reconciliation (with Michael Asch, Jim Tully, eds.); Law’s Indigenous Ethics (forthcoming); all from the University of Toronto Press. He is the 2017 Killam Prize winner in Social Sciences, and the 2019 Molson Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts. John is Anishinaabe/Ojibway and a member of the Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario, Canada.

George A. Cope, LLD

Mr. Cope leads Canada’s largest communications company with a strategy of unparalleled investment and innovation in broadband networks and Wireless, TV, Internet and media growth services. Focused on leading growth in Canadian broadband and delivering sustainable value to shareholders, Bell’s goal is to be recognized by customers as Canada’s leading communications company.

A 2018 Canadian Business Hall of Fame inductee and Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2015, Mr. Cope has earned a reputation as a strategic leader in Canadian communications and as a builder of high performance teams in public-company chief executive roles over the past 30 years. Appointed President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada in July 2008, Mr. Cope also led the launch of the Bell Let’s Talk initiative, the largest-ever corporate commitment to Canadian mental health, and now one of the country’s most prominent community investment campaigns.

A graduate of the Ivey School of Business at Western University (HBA ’84), Mr. Cope was named Ivey Business Leader of the Year in 2013 and serves on the school’s advisory board. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by his alma mater, the University of Windsor and Trent University, was Chair of United Way Toronto’s record-breaking 2013 campaign, and received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work on Bell Let’s Talk. Mr. Cope was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2014.
Mr. Cope serves as a Director of the Bank of Montreal and as a Director of Brain Canada. 

Terence Dickinson, DSc 

Terence Dickinson was born in Toronto in 1943 and became interested in astronomy at age 5 when he saw a brilliant meteor one evening from the front lawn of the family home. In grade 3, he discovered a book about the stars in the school library. He took the book home and read it cover to cover. A few weeks later, his mother received a phone call from his teacher asking when he was going to return his overdue library book.

Dickinson is a prolific science writer specializing in astronomy. More than one million copies of his 15 astronomy books are in print in several languages. His book NightWatch is widely regarded as the essential guidebook for beginning stargazers, and Hubble’s Universe is promoted at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., as recommended reading for the Hubble Space Telescope.

Because of Dickinson’s ability to simplify astronomical concepts and explain the universe in easily understood terms, hundreds of thousands of would-be stargazers and naturalists have found a new appreciation for the wonders of the universe. As an accomplished astrophotographer, his photographs have appeared in publications as wide-ranging as Australian Geographic and Reader’s Digest, and in 2000, the U.S. Postal Service featured one of his photographs of the Moon on a stamp.

Dickinson’s professional career began in 1968 when he became a staff astronomer and teacher at the McLaughlin Planetarium of the Royal Ontario Museum. In 1970, he became assistant director of the planetarium in Rochester, New York. By 1974, he was recruited to move to Wisconsin to become editor of Astronomy magazine, now the largest magazine on the subject in the world. He returned to Canada in 1976 to the then-new Ontario Science Centre, in Toronto. The following year, he moved to eastern Ontario and became a full-time astronomy writer and editor. Around this same time, he began a series of CBC radio interviews with host David Suzuki that continued periodically into the 1990s. In 1994, he became editor of SkyNews, Canada’s national astronomy magazine. When the Discovery Channel began broadcasting in Canada in 1995, he reported on significant astronomical events for over a decade.

Among his numerous awards are the New York Academy of Science’s Children’s Book of the Year, the Royal Canadian Institute’s Sandford Fleming Medal and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Klumpke-Roberts Award. In 1995, he was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to public understanding of astronomy.

Ann Dowsett Johnston, LLD

Ann Dowsett Johnston is the bestselling author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, named by the Washington Post as one of the top 10 books of 2013. Part memoir, part journalistic exploration of the closing gender gap on risky drinking, the book explores the “pinking” of the alcohol industry. Dowsett Johnston has been honoured for her work on Drink; she is the recipient of a Transforming Lives Award from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the American Research Society on Addiction’s Media Award, plus the T. A. Sweet Award from the Ontario Psychiatric Association for helping address stigma related to mental health and addiction.

Winner of seven National Magazine awards, Dowsett Johnston spent the lion’s share of her journalistic career at Maclean’s magazine, where she is best known as the chief architect of the university rankings. Founding editor of the Maclean’s Guide to Canadian Universities, Dowsett Johnston oversaw all educational coverage at the magazine for 14 years. During that time, she developed a prominent voice as an advocate for higher education, speaking both nationally and internationally.

Dowsett Johnston started her journalism career straight out of Queen’s University, beginning as a researcher at Maclean’s as the magazine went weekly. Over almost three decades, she held a wide variety of roles at Maclean’s, including that of columnist and editor of the magazine’s first book. She is the recipient of both a Southam Journalism Fellowship and the prestigious Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. For the latter, she wrote a 14-part series in the Toronto Star on women and alcohol.

Dowsett Johnston has also held the position of Vice-Principal of McGill University, overseeing development, alumni, and university relations.

Last year, Dowsett Johnston decided to switch career paths and went back to school. She is currently enrolled at Smith College where she is working on her Master’s in Social Work. She lives in Toronto and is the mother of Queen’s graduate Nicholas Johnston, who lives in Los Angeles.

Sir Richard John Evans, LLD

Sir Richard John Evans was born in 1947 in London E17 to Welsh parents. He was educated at Jesus and St Antony’s College, Oxford, where he obtained his doctorate in 1973.

He has been Professor of European History at the University of East Anglia, Scotland, and subsequently Professor of History, Vice-Master and Acting Master at Birkbeck, London University’s college for adult, part-time students. In 1998 he became Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. He was appointed Regius Professor of History in 2008, retiring in 2014. From 2010 to 2017 he was President of Wolfson College, Cambridge. He is currently Provost of Gresham College in the City of London, which has been offering free lectures for the general public since 1597.

He is Deputy Chair of the Spoliation Advisory Panel, a non-departmental public body advising the UK government on claims for the return of cultural objects looted during the Nazi era. In 2000 he was principal expert witness for the defence in the defamation action brought by the Holocaust denier David Irving against the American historian Deborah Lipstadt over allegations of historical falsification in his work, an action which she won. The trial was subsequently portrayed in a Hollywood motion picture, Denial, starring Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall.

Richard J Evans is the author of more than twenty books, including Death in Hamburg: Society and Politics in the Cholera Years 1830-1910 (1987), winner of the Wolfson History Prize, and Rituals of Retribution: Capital Punishment in Germany 1532-1987 (1996). His three-volume history of Nazi Germany (The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, and The Third Reich at War) has been translated into fifteen languages. He has published a number of influential works of historical theory and method, including In Defence of History (1997) and Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History (2015). His most recent publications are The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914 (2016), a volume in the Penguin History of Europe, and Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History (2019). From 2013 to 2019 he led a multi-disciplinary research project on conspiracy theories and democracy; his book The Hitler Conspiracies will be published by Penguin in 2020.

Richard Evans is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and holds honorary degrees from the universities of London and Oxford. In 2012 he was knighted by the Queen for services to scholarship.

Margaret Murphy, DSc

Following the death of her son as a result of medical error, Margaret Murphy has been actively involved as a patient safety advocate. Margaret is the External Lead Advisor of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Patients for Patient Safety (a network of 400 patient safety champions from 52 countries with 19 collaborating organizations).

The focus of her work relates to seeing adverse events as having the potential to be catalysts for change as well as being opportunities for learning, identifying areas for improvement, and preventing recurrence.

She promotes this viewpoint at local, national, and international levels as an invited presenter to conferences, hospital staffs and students. Her area of particular interest is education as a vehicle to achieve sustainable culture change. Viewed as a resource for including the patient perspective in a variety of initiatives and a range of fora, Margaret has been invited to partner and collaborate in the areas of policy-making, standard-setting, regulation, education and research. Designated as one of seventy International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) Experts in 2012, Murphy has been a sought-after speaker to conferences and lectures in Ireland and internationally, including the Global Health Policy Summit at Doha.

Margaret Murphy is a member of Ireland’s Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance; a member of the Health Services Executive (HSE) National Risk Committee; the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) working group; a lay member of the Irish Medical Council, member of the Board of Directors of the South/South-West Hospital Group; as well as a member of the HSE’s Executive Risk Committee.

Shelagh Rogers, LLD

Shelagh Rogers, OC, is a Canadian broadcast journalist based in British Columbia. She is the host and producer of CBC Radio One’s The Next Chapter, a program devoted to writing in Canada, and the 11th Chancellor of the University of Victoria.
Ms. Rogers began in broadcasting at CFRC, the campus radio station of Queen’s University, where she earned a BA in Art History, in 1977. In 1980, Shelagh was quickly picked up by CBC Radio, where she worked on a variety of CBC shows including The Arts Tonight, Basic Black, and Morningside alongside Canadian legend Peter Gzowski.

In 2011, Ms. Rogers was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for promoting Canadian culture and for her advocacy work in the fields of mental health, adult literacy, and reconciliation. She was inducted as an Honorary Witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in June 2011, and continues to champion reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. She is the co-editor of Speaking My Truth: Reflections on Reconciliation and Residential School (2012), Reconciliation and the Way Forward (2014) and Speaking My Truth: A Journey to Reconciliation (2018).

Ms. Rogers is the recipient of numerous awards, including the inaugural Margaret Trudeau Award for Mental Health Advocacy, the ACTRA Award for Best Host / Interviewer, the John Drainie Award for contributions to broadcasting in Canada, and a multiple Bronze Radio Winner at the New York Festivals Best Radio Programs Awards; recipient of the Queen’s University Alumni Humanitarian Award, the Transforming Lives Award from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, as well as honorary degrees from Western, Mount Allison, Memorial, Nipissing, Vancouver Island, and Carleton Universities.

Fiona Amaryllis Sampson, LLD

Fiona Sampson is a human rights lawyer with a PhD in women’s equality law who has dedicated her 20+ year career to seeking justice for society’s disadvantaged: disabled persons, refugees, Indigenous persons, and victims of violence. She founded the equality effect, an NGO that uses international human rights law to make girls/women’s rights real; a main area of focus for the equality effect is the protection of women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa from rape. As its CEO, she led her team to the landmark 160 Girls High Court victory in Kenya. Fiona has been called one of the world’s “women revolutionaries” alongside notables that include Gloria Steinem, Hillary Clinton, and Isobel Coleman. As one of the last thalidomide victims born in Canada, Fiona has an affinity with other disadvantaged persons that inspires her human rights work.

In addition to her full-time role with the equality effect, Fiona recently completed a 7-year term as a Commissioner with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. An experienced litigation lawyer, she has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada representing various women’s NGOs in equality rights cases. Fiona has published widely relating to women’s and girls’ equality. Fiona has received many awards and much recognition for her human rights work. Fiona has been appointed an Ashoka Fellow, awarded the 2014 Distinction in International Affairs Award by the New York State Bar Association, named a YWCA 2015 “Woman of Distinction”, named one of Canada’s Top 25 Lawyers (Top 5 on the “World Stage”), awarded the Law Society of Ontario 2018 Human Rights Award, and named one of 50 “Global Heroes” working to end violence against children, along with Queen Noor of Jordan and Hillary Clinton, amongst others. In 2015 Fiona was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest honour a Canadian civilian can be awarded. “Persistent” is the adjective most commonly used to describe Fiona (or at least the adjective she most prefers!).

Calvin Murray Sinclair, LLD

Senator Sinclair served the justice system in Manitoba for over 25 years. He was the first Indigenous Judge appointed in Manitoba and Canada’s second. He served as Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in Manitoba and as Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). As head of the TRC, he participated in hundreds of hearings across Canada, culminating in the issuance of the TRC’s report in 2015. He also oversaw an active multimillion-dollar fundraising program to support various TRC events and activities, and to allow survivors to travel to attend TRC events.

Senator Sinclair has been invited to speak throughout Canada, the United States and internationally, including the Cambridge Lectures for members of the Judiciary of various Commonwealth Courts, in England.

He served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Manitoba. He was very active within his profession and his community and has won numerous awards, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1994, now called the Indspire Awards) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) from Indspire, the Manitoba Bar Association’s Equality Award (2001) and its Distinguished Service Award (2016). He most recently received the President’s Award from the Canadian Bar Association (2018), the SSHRC Impact Award (2019) and will be the 2019 recipient of the Symons Medal.

Senator Sinclair has received Honorary Doctorates from a dozen Canadian universities. He was appointed to the Senate on April 2, 2016.

While in the Senate, he has served on the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, as well as the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. He is currently a member of the Senate Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senator’s Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and Rights of Parliament.

Gerald Dudley Sutton, LLD

Gerald Dudley Sutton was born in Uckfield, Sussex, England in 1925 and attended grammar school on a scholarship in the historic county town of Lewes. He watched the Battle of Britain being fought overhead in 1940. In 1941, despite the danger of U-Boat attacks, his mother brought him to Canada to join his father in Chatham, Ontario.

At age 16 he joined the Bank of Montreal, and was given leave to enlist in the RCAF in 1943, at the age of 17. He was commissioned as a pilot. Following his service, he enrolled in the Commerce program at Queen’s where, in his final year, he met Margaret. They had strong mutual attraction, and five days later, he proposed and she accepted. Both graduated in May 1948 and were married that evening in the Queen’s chapel by Padre Laverty with the whole of Commerce’48 in attendance, adjourning afterwards to the graduation dance in Grant Hall. Later, in 1948, he enrolled in a Master of Commerce program, an innovation at the time, and graduated in 1949.

Moved to Head Office by the Bank of Montreal, he became Assistant Economic Adviser, but left in 1958 to be Director of Research at Nesbitt, Thompson and Company Limited (now BMO Nesbitt Burns). While there he organized, in 1961, Canada’s first venture capital company, Canadian Enterprise Development Corporation Limited, with the participation of the highly successful and innovative American Research and Development Corporation, led by Professor Doriot of the Harvard Business School, and investment by some 22 Canadian insurance companies, banks, investment dealers and other companies.

He was appointed General Manager in 1964 and subsequently President of CED. Other venture capital firms were created and Gerry saw the need to have an association that could do things collectively better than individually and in 1974 he organized the Association of Venture Capital Companies and was elected its first President. After CED, he joined a private company of investors in Calgary to pursue venture capital in the oil patch.

Throughout his career in business he was also a pioneer in organizing and supporting not for profit organizations to improve the lot of developmentally handicapped people, including six years as a director, and two as President, of OASIS - Ontario Agencies Supporting Individuals with Special Needs – and two terms as President of Community Living Oakville, where he lives. In 2003, he formed a foundation to support agencies throughout Ontario.

In 2006, he received an Ontario Senior Achievement Award, recognizing his commitment to his community after age 65. Mr. Sutton and Margaret are also enthusiastic supporters of Queen’s and have established a number of bursaries, awards and scholarships. Two rooms in Goodes Hall bear their names.

The Suttons have four children, eight grandchildren and seven great grands. His older brother, with whom he had a close relationship, was a Royal Marine killed in the Sicily Landing in 1943.

Deborah Anne Turnbull, DSc

Deborah Turnbull is a single adoptive mother of twins from Cambodia, business woman, university instructor, community leader, international development expert, mentor, career counselor, philanthropist, and friend. Ms. Turnbull is a graduate of the Executive Development Program at the University of Calgary, is a Certified International Trade Professional, has a Master’s Degree in Oceanography from McGill and an undergraduate degree in Biology (Honours) from Queen’s (Arts ’75). While at Queen’s, she swam for the Queen’s Swim Team and was on Queen’s first women’s water polo team. As a student, she worked as a part-time librarian at the Queen’s Biology Library and worked as a research assistant to the late Dr. Allan Keast during the summers of 1974 and 1975 at the Queen’s Biology Station. After graduation, she was a member of the Queen’s University Council (1990-2002) and has organized events for her graduation class, as well as financially supporting Queen’s. Following in her footsteps (as she was the first in her family to go to Queen’s), her siblings (Greg, Arts ’76; Tim, Arts ’79; Ruth, Arts ’82), nephews (Tyler, Arts ’06; Matthew, Arts ’11), and son (George, Arts’16),as well as many of her cousins, have gone to Queen’s. For her more than 40 years of distinguished voluntary and professional service, she was the recipient of the 2018 Queen’s Alumni Toronto Branch Award.

Ms. Turnbull had a career in international development. She worked with the International Development Research Centre (Information Officer), Agrodev Canada (Vice President and General Manager, and then President), Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) (Vice President, International Trade) and taught international development studies courses at the University of Toronto. During her career, Ms. Turnbull managed and implemented more than 200 projects in Canada and in more than 60 developing countries and countries-in-transition funded by the International Financial Institutes, the Canadian Government, as well as many other public and private agencies.

Always wanting to give back to her community, she is, or has, been on the board or chaired many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including: Aquaculture Association of Canada (founding member); Canadian Council on Africa (founding member); Canadian and African Business Women’s Alliance (founder) (a NGO she established in 2000 based on the identified needs of African business women); Stone Soup Network; Fiera Capital Foundation; Canadian Exporters’ Association; Humber Valley United Church; among many others. She also was a volunteer at the 2015 Pan Am Games and chaired school reunions at her primary, middle and high schools. In addition, she has, and continues to, financially support such organizations as: Queen’s University; the Trillium Hospital Foundation; the Yonge Street Mission; Out of the Cold; the Canadian Red Cross; the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada; the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation; and Sleeping Children Around the World.

Daniel Robert Woolf, LLD

Daniel Woolf was born in London, England and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is a Professor of History at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He recently stepped down after ten years (2009-19) as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s. A graduate of Queen’s University (BA Hons, 1980) and Oxford University (DPhil, 1983), he is a specialist in early modern British intellectual and cultural history, and in the global history of historical writing. He is the author of five books, most recently A Concise History of History (Cambridge University Press, 2019); a previous book, The Social Circulation of the Past: English Historical Culture c.1500-1730 (Oxford University Press, 2003) was awarded the John Ben Snow Prize by the North American Conference on British Studies in 2004 for the best book on British History pre-1800.

The editor, or co-editor of several other books, and the author of many academic articles, his previous administrative and academic appointments took him first back to Queen’s (SSHRRC postdoctoral fellow in history, 1984-86), then to Bishop’s University (Assistant Professor, 1986-87), Dalhousie University (1987-99; promoted to full professor in 1994), McMaster University (1999-2002 as Professor of History and Dean of Humanities), and the University of Alberta (2002-2009 as Professor of History and Dean of Arts). He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Canada, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), on which last-mentioned body he served as a member of the RSC Council and executive committees for several years.

The current or past supervisor of many Master’s and Doctoral students, several of whom occupy faculty positions at North American and Asian universities, he is the father of three adult children. As Principal of Queen’s, Dr. Woolf led the largest fund-raising campaign in the university’s history, initiated significant reforms to university governance and financial administration, improved town-gown relations, oversaw several major capital projects, and worked to make the university a national leader in student mental health. Dr. Woolf and his wife, Julie Gordon-Woolf, live in Yarker, Ontario, with their two cats.

John Russell Baird, LLD

John Baird is a Senior Advisor to various enterprises and a former Senior Cabinet Minister in the Government of Canada.

An instrumental figure in bilateral trade and investment relationships, Mr. Baird has played a leading role in the Canada-China dialogue and worked to build ties with ASEAN countries. In addition, Mr. Baird has worked closely with international leaders to strengthen security and economic ties with the United States and Middle Eastern countries.

A native of Ottawa, Baird spent three terms as a Member of Parliament and four years as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as President of the Treasury Board, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. In 2010, he was selected by MPs from all parties as Parliamentarian of the Year. Prior to entering federal politics, Mr. Baird spent ten years in the Ontario Legislature where he served as Minister of Community and Social Services, Minister of Energy, and Government House Leader.

Currently, Mr. Baird serves as a Senior Business Advisor with Bennett Jones LLP, a premier Canadian law firm. In addition, Mr. Baird sits on the advisory board of Barrick Gold Corp., the corporate boards of Canadian Pacific, Canadian Forest Products (Canfor), the FWD Group and PineBridge Investments. He also serves as a Global Strategic Advisor to Hatch Ltd, a Canadian global multidisciplinary management, engineering and development consultancy, and is a Senior Advisor at Eurasia Group, a global political risk consultancy.

Mr. Baird also volunteers his time with Community Living Ontario, an organization that supports individuals with developmental disabilities, the Prince's Charities, the charitable office of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and is a board member of the Friends of Israel Initiative. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from Queen’s University at Kingston.

Isabel Bassett, LLD

Now retired, Isabel Bassett is known as a facilitator, using her know-how and connections, as she continues to work for gender parity, to speak out for more diversity on boards as well as in senior management, and to get young people more involved in politics.

Professionally, Isabel Bassett was former Chair and CEO of TVO, MPP and Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation for the Ontario Government, and host and producer of award-winning documentaries on CFTO TV which focused on social issues such as sexual abuse, mental health, and teen gangs.

She is now adding her voice in support of the McMichael Gallery to awaken the public to Canada's little- known treasure house of Canadian Art.

Douglas Cardinal, LLD

Born in 1934 in Calgary, Alberta, his architectural studies at The University of British Columbia took him to Austin, Texas, where he achieved his architectural degree and found a life experience in human rights initiatives.

Douglas Cardinal’s architecture springs from his observation of Nature and its understanding that everything works seamlessly together. His work has defined contemporary Canadian, Indigenous, and organic architecture. Throughout his career he has been forerunner of philosophies of sustainability, green buildings and ecologically designed community planning.

In recognition of such work, Douglas Cardinal has received many national and international awards including: 20 Honorary Doctorates, Gold Medals of Architecture in Canada and Russia, and an award from United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) for best sustainable village. He was also titled an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the most prestigious awards given to a Canadian, and he was awarded the declaration of being “World Master of Contemporary Architecture” by the International Association of Architects.

Douglas Cardinal is one of the visionaries of a new world; a world where beauty, balance and harmony thrive, where client, architect, and stakeholder build together with a common vision.

Phil Gold, DSc

Dr. Phil Gold is the Douglas G. Cameron Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Physiology and Oncology, at McGill University. He has served as the Inaugural Director of the McGill (now Goodman) Cancer Centre, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at McGill and Physician-in-Chief at the Montreal General Hospital. He is presently the Executive Director of the Clinical Research Centre of the McGill University Health Centre at The Montreal General Hospital.

Dr. Gold’s early research led to the discovery and definition of the Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA), and the subsequent CEA blood test. This was the first blood test for cancer sanctioned by the FDA, and then internationally, and is still the most frequently used test in the diagnosis and management of patients with cancer. For this work, other studies, and his outstanding contributions as a medical educator, he has gained national and international recognition. He has been elected to numerous prestigious organizations and has been the recipient of such outstanding awards as the Gairdner Foundation Annual International Award (1978), the Isaak Walton Killam Award in Medicine of the Canada Council (1985), the National Cancer Institute of Canada R.M. Taylor Medal (1992), the Heath Medal of the MD Anderson Hospital (1980), the Inaugural Ernest C. Manning Foundation Award (1982), the Johann-Georg-Zimmerman Prize for Cancer Research (1978), Medizinische Hochschule, Germany (1978), the ISOBM Abbott Award in Japan, the Award of the Academy of International Dental Studies (1984), and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal (2002) and DSc degrees (honoris causa) from a number of universities.

He has been elected to Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the Association of American Physicians (AAP), and Mastership in the American College of Physicians. His outstanding contributions to teaching have been recognized by an award as a Teacher of Distinction from the Faculty of Medicine. He has been honored by his country, his province, his city, and his university by appointment as a Companion of the Order of Canada, an Officer of l’Ordre National du Québec, a member of the Academy of Great Montrealers (now a Member of the Order of Montreal); and a recipient of the Gold Medal of the McGill University Graduate Society, respectively. He has lectured internationally, received honorary degrees, and been the Sir Arthur Sims Traveling Professor to the British Commonwealth.

In 2006, the Phil Gold Chair in Medicine was inaugurated at McGill University, and the first incumbent was selected in 2009. He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2010. He received the Life Time Achievement Award from McGill University, October 2011 and the inaugural McGill University Faculty of Medicine Global Achievement Award. In 2012, Dr. Gold was inducted as an Honorary Member on the International Golden Key Society; he received the Gerald Bronfman Center Lifetime Achievement Award from the Department of Oncology, McGill University, and received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2013 he was the recipient of the Wilder-Penfield, Prix du Québec.

In 2015, Dr. Gold received Awards of Honors on the 50th Anniversary of the first publication on Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) from the International Society of Oncology and Biomarkers, Zakopane, Poland; the 25th Annual International CEA Symposium, Washington, DC; and the McGill Symposium on CEA.

In 2017, Dr. Gold received the Einstein Legacy Award - "Celebrating a Century of Genius" and given to 100 visionaries internationally, and from all disciplines, on the occasion of the centennial celebration of Einstein’s publication of the General Theory of Relativity. He was also honoured with the inauguration of the 'Phil Gold Distinguished Lectureship' at the Goodman Cancer Centre, McGill University.

Dr. Gold has been involved in Jewish community functions, at home and abroad, over many years. An Early Career Chair was established in his name at The Weizmann Institute, and he has been honoured at Boys Town, Jerusalem.

His major activities in Montreal have been with the Education Committees and Boards of various Jewish Day Schools. He has often been called upon to speak Jewish community organizations, on a variety of topics.

Dr. Gold has been married to the former Evelyn Katz since 1960. They have three children, Ian (b. 1962), Josie (b. 1965) and Joel (b.1968). They also have six grandsons, Zachary, Michael, Benji, and Matthew Ziegler; and Alexander Samuel, and Adam Gold, and, finally, one granddaughter Amalia Matilda Gold, all of whom are the conjoint apples of their eyes.

Sylvia Maracle, LLD

Sylvia Maracle (Skonaganleh:ra) is Mohawk from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and is a member of the Wolf Clan.

Sylvia is the Executive Director of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, and has been involved in the Friendship Centre movement for more than 45 years. She studied journalism at Ryerson University and holds Honorary Doctorates in Management and Economics from the University of Guelph, Education from York University and Indigenous Studies from Trent University.

Sylvia lectures nationally and internationally on women's issues, urban development, and the cultural revitalization of Indigenous people. She is a published author.

A passionate advocate, she is known for her leadership in the area of ending violence against Indigenous women. She is the Indigenous Chair of the Executive Committee to End Violence against Indigenous Women and Girls and a member of the North American Liaison process to address needs, solutions and prevention to support Native American Indigenous Women and Girls.

Ms. Maracle continues to work in traditional knowledge transfer, education, justice and cultural management. She has been on numerous boards and agencies over her career to date including Indigenous Headstart, Indigenous Justice, employee development, and economic development.

Sylvia Maracle has served as Chair of the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, providing a broad base of housing and delivery processes to the rural and urban Indigenous people over the last 20 years.

Sylvia was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017, in recognition of her significant contributions to improving the lives of Indigenous people. She is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and an Indspire Achievement Award in Public Service.

Reeta Roy, LLD

Reeta Roy is the President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation. Today, with US $24 billion in assets, the Mastercard Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the world. Its vision is a world where all people have the opportunity to learn and prosper. Under Reeta’s leadership, the Foundation has focused its work in Africa and committed more than US$2.1 billion to advance education and financial inclusion across the continent. Its programs have improved the lives of more than 27 million people and their families.

Reeta is regularly called upon by the United Nations, the World Bank, USAID, and international agencies to represent the philanthropic sector and contribute to global development strategies.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Reeta was the Divisional Vice President of Global Citizenship and Policy at Abbott and was Vice President of the Abbott Fund, its corporate foundation. She led Abbott’s public-private initiatives related to HIV/AIDS in Africa and a range of global health programs. Before Abbott, Reeta held a number of leadership positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, working on global health policy issues. Prior to joining the private sector, she worked at the United Nations.

Reeta received a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts from St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

She holds Honorary Doctorate degrees from EARTH University, McGill University and the University of Toronto. She has received several awards, including The Resolution Project’s Champions Circle Award for Supporting Young Leaders, the C3 Women Empowerment Achievement Award, The Class of 1947 Memorial Award from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and the Women of Distinction Award from YWCA Toronto. During Reeta’s tenure, the Foundation also has been recognized with a number of awards, including the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education Friend of Education Award, the Global Education Award of the World Affairs Council, the Women’s Leadership Award from Opportunity International, and the Global Foundation for Peace Award from International House at Berkeley.

Indira Samarasekera, DSc

Dr. Indira V. Samarasekera served as the 12th President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Alberta, from 2005-2015, one of Canada’s most respected research-intensive universities. She also served as Vice-President (Research) at the University of British Columbia from 2000-2005. She is currently a Senior Advisor for Bennett Jones LLP and serves on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Nova Scotia, Magna International and TransCanada. She serves on the boards of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, the Rideau Hall Foundation, and the selection panel for Canada’s outstanding CEO of the Year sponsored by Caldwell Partners and Bennett Jones. Dr. Samarasekera was appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as a Federal Member to the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, until 2017.

Dr. Samarasekera is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s leading metallurgical engineers for her ground-breaking work on process engineering of materials, especially steel processing. She held the Dofasco Chair in Advanced Steel Processing at the University of British Columbia. She has consulted for over a hundred steel companies worldwide solving problems and offering short courses on the continuous casting of steel. Dr. Samarasekera has also devoted her career to advancing innovation in higher education and the private sector, providing national and international leadership through invited lectures and participation on national and international boards and councils. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002 for outstanding contributions to steel process engineering. In 2014 she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in the US, the professions highest honour.

Dr. Samarasekera was Chair of the World-wide Universities Network, consisting of nineteen universities from around the world and has served on several boards and committees including the Prime-Minister’s Advisory Committee for Renewal of the Public Service, a Presidential Visiting Committee at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Conference Board of Canada, Canada’s Science, Technology, Innovation Council, the Minister’s advisory committee on Canada’s Global Commerce Strategy and the Public Policy Forum.

Dr. Samarasekera received the E.W. R. Steacie Memorial fellowship in 1991, awarded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to the top 4 researchers under 40. Dr. Samarasekera is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIMM) and an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Mining, Materials and Petroleum Engineering. She has received honorary degrees from the Universities of British Columbia, Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal, and Western in Canada, and Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland. She received the Peter Lougheed Leadership Award from the Public Policy Forum in Canada in 2012.

As a Hays Fulbright Scholar, she earned an MSc from the University of California in 1976. In 1980, she was granted a PhD in metallurgical engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Hugh David Segal, LLD

The fifth elected Principal of Massey College, Mr. Segal has spent his career in public service roles, as Associate Cabinet Secretary (Federal-Provincial Affairs) in Ontario and Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister. In Ontario, he was involved in the negotiations to patriate the Canadian constitution and create the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He chaired the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Special Senate Committee on Anti-Terrorism between 2005 and 2014. He also served as Canada's Special Envoy to the Commonwealth and a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on reform and modernization, human rights and rule of law.

A former President of the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Montreal, a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs, and a Distinguished Fellow of the Munk School of Global Affairs, the Queen's School of Policy Studies and the Smith School of Business at Queen's University, Hugh holds honorary doctorates from the Royal Military College of Canada and the University of Ottawa.

He is Co-Chair of the Democracy-10 Strategy Group based at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Chair of the NATO Association of Canada, and is now the Honorary Captain of the Canadian Forces Staff College in Toronto. He has written books on public policy, politics, and international affairs, of which the most recent, "Two Freedoms: Canada's Global Future" was published last year by Dundurn Press.

He is a strategic advisor at the law firm of Aird and Berlis, LLP, and has been a director of public and private companies in the alcohol, food, construction, financial and energy sectors. He is married to Donna Armstrong Segal, Queen’s University Nursing Science ‘73.

Valerie Tarasuk, DSc

Valerie Tarasuk is a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Val grew up in a military family, moving every 2-3 years throughout her childhood and frequently passing through CFB Trenton on the way to and from postings in Germany. She holds a BA from Mount Allison University, a BEd from Ottawa University, a BASc from the University of Guelph, and MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Toronto. She has been on faculty at the University of Toronto since 1994.

Val’s research extends to Canadian food policy and population-level dietary assessment, but much of her career has focused on income-related problems of food access in Canada. Her initial studies of food banks and food bank users explored what lay behind the public face of ‘hunger’ in Canada, revealing shocking levels of chronic deprivation and laying bare the limitations of community responses. She played a pivotal role in the implementation of food insecurity monitoring in Canada and has helped spearhead efforts to use monitoring data to inform programming and policy decisions. Val’s research has elucidated the scope and nature of food insecurity in Canada, charted the public policy underpinnings of this problem, and established that food insecurity has a direct impact on health and health care costs in Canada, independent of other social determinants of health.

Since 2011, Val has led PROOF, an interdisciplinary research program launched with funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and designed to identify effective policy approaches to reduce household food insecurity in Canada. Working with stakeholders in civil society and public health nutrition, Val and her colleagues have worked to raise awareness of the problem of food insecurity in Canada and shift the discourse from a focus on food charity to the recognition of food insecurity as measure of profound material deprivation and a potent social determinant of health, responsive to policies affecting household finances.

In 2017, Val was honored by the Canadian Nutrition Society with the Earle Willard McHenry Award for Distinguished Service in Nutrition.

Lord Alderdice, LLD

As Leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland for eleven years, John Alderdice played a significant role in the development of the Irish Peace Process and the negotiation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. He then stepped down as Alliance Leader and was appointed Speaker of the new Northern Ireland Assembly. Retiring as Speaker and Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2004, he was appointed to the four-man Independent Monitoring Commission tasked by the British and Irish Governments with closing down terrorist operations and overseeing security normalization in Ireland. In 2015 he was appointed to a three person panel by the First, Deputy First and Justice Ministers of Northern Ireland to report on ways to deal with the remaining paramilitaries.

Formerly Vice-President of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and from 2005 to 2009 President of Liberal International (the world-wide network of more than 100 liberal political parties) he was from 2010 to 2014 Chairman of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords during the Conservative/Liberal Coalition Government.

For many years a Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Lecturer in Psychotherapy at Queen’s University Belfast, he established the Centre for Psychotherapy in Belfast. He was also a Visiting Professor in the School of Medicine, and Joint Chair of the Critical Incidents Analysis Group at the University of Virginia.

He continues as an active member of the House of Lords, but has stepped back from front-line party politics to focus on his academic and practical involvement in situations of violent political conflict. He is a Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford and Founding Director of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict there. He has research appointments with the Department of Politics and International Relations and the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnology in Oxford and is also a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, USA.

He is the founding Chairman of the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building in Belfast and lectures and consults around the world on terrorism, violent political conflict and the psychology of religious fundamentalism. He also takes an interest in conflicts between First Nation people and majority populations in various parts of the world and continues his involvement in international liberalism as Présidente d’Honneur of Liberal International.

Donald Bennett Bayne, LLD

Originally from Winnipeg, now resident of Ottawa and Wolfe Island, Ontario, Don Bayne is a partner with Bayne, Sellar, Boxall, a firm practising exclusively criminal law, Ottawa, Ontario: Trial and Appellate Advocacy. He received his LL.B. from Queen’s University, an L.L.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an M.B.A. from Queen’s University.

Mr. Bayne has practised criminal law exclusively for the past 45 years. He has been designated a specialist in criminal litigation by the Law Society and has conducted trial and appellate advocacy at all levels of courts in Canada and at public inquiries (Somalia, Arar, Iacobucci). He has defended all manner of criminal charges including murder, complicated conspiracies, war crimes cases (in Canada, the Soviet Union, Ukraine) and charges against corporations.

Mr. Bayne was the 2006 recipient of the G. Arthur Martin award for “an individual in Canada who has made a significant contribution to criminal justice,” the 2011 Ottawa Advocate Honouree awarded by the Advocates Society of Ontario, the 2016 Catzman Award for Professionalism and Civility and the 2016 William Carroll Award for Case of the Year.

Mr. Bayne has lectured at: Faculty of Law, Queen’s University; Supreme Court of Canada education program for visiting Judges; Ontario Court of Appeal appellate advocacy program; Criminal Lawyers Association programs; Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa-Carleton programs; Canadian Bar Association programs; Ontario Provincial Judges’ education programs; Law Society of Upper Canada continuing education programs; Ontario Centre for Advocacy Training programs (Advocates Society) and the Bar Admissions Course, Law Society of Upper Canada.

Mr. Bayne is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the Advocates Society, a past Director of the Criminal Lawyers Association, a Director of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, as well as a past member of the Board of Trustees of Queen’s University. Mr. Bayne was counsel to and a Director of Homestead Land Holdings Limited from 1991 to 2013.

Pierre David Bouchard, LLD

A writer, poet, father, former school principal, traveller, musician, and one-time candidate for Parliament, David Bouchard has certainly had a full life.

A Métis, David grew up knowing nothing of his roots. But through the process of writing, David has learned more about his Métis heritage. “Our grandmothers and grandfathers were made to feel less than those around them,” David says of his ancestors. “So that their children might have a chance in Canadian society, they lied or purposefully hid our bloodlines. The irony in this is that it is now incumbent upon us, this new Métis generation, to prove our ancestors’ liars in order to regain our heritage.” Many of his books centre around Indigenous issues and the journey of discovery.

David believes strongly in the positive power of reading. “I speak to educators, parents and students about the importance of reading,” he says. “I work to inspire educators and parents to share the most valuable gift we can give our youth, the gift of reading.” His love of reading and writing fills his daily life. He writes wherever he happens to be at the time. It is not uncommon for him to stray from his cozy shack behind their 110-year old heritage house to go sit in a Tim Horton’s and write, where, he claims, he produces some of his best work.

About the art of writing itself, David says: “I think of a good novel or a captivating series as a bouquet of roses. I don’t write bouquets. I write single flowers. My hope is that my reader will take a deep breath after reading one of my books, breathe out and with a gentle smile on their face, say, ‘nice.’

Gururaj and Jaishree Deshpande, DSc

Gururaj “Desh” and Jaishree Deshpande are Trustees of the Deshpande Foundation. Desh is also the President and Chairman of Sparta Group LLC, a family investment office, while Jaishree serves as its Treasurer.

Gururaj Deshpande holds a B. Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, an M.E. from the University of New Brunswick in Canada, and Ph.D. from Queen’s University in Canada.

Dr. Deshpande has pursued an entrepreneurial career for the last three decades. He was involved either as the founder, a founding investor or chairman of several companies including Cascade Communications, Sycamore Networks, Coral Networks, Tejas Networks, Cimaron, Webdialogs, Airvana, Sandstone Capital, A123 Systems and Curata. Dr. Deshpande co-chaired the National Council to support President Obama's innovation and entrepreneurship efforts.

Jaishree Deshpande received a Master of Science in Physics in 1975 from the Indian Institute of Technologies (IIT), Madras, India. She also received a Master in Computer Science in 1989 from Boston University.

Jaishree currently serves as a Trustee for the Museum of Science and is involved with HESTIA Fund – a fund established to support after school programs for low-income children in Massachusetts. Jaishree Deshpande worked for the Indian Space Research Organization in Bangalore, India until 1980 before moving to Canada. After moving to Massachusetts in 1984, she worked for several companies and taught courses in computer.

The Deshpande Foundation strengthens ecosystems that create significant social and economic impact through entrepreneurship and innovation. The Foundation set up a Technological Innovation Center at MIT in 2002.

Leveraging the experience gained at the MIT Center, the Deshpande Foundation has facilitated the setup of five other centers; Deshpande Center for Social Entrepreneurship in India, EforAll in Lowell/Lawrence Massachusetts, Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Canada, Dunin-Deshpande Centre at Queen’s University in Canada and the Gopalkrishnan-Deshpande Centre at Indian Institute of technology in Chennai, India. Deshpande Foundation also provided the founding grant for MassChallenge in Boston, National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps™), and the UPOP program at MIT.

The Deshpandes reside in Boston where Gururaj serves as a life-member of the MIT Corporation.

Deborah Gillan Docherty, DSc

Debbie and her four terrific siblings were raised in Toronto. Studying at McMaster University led to a very fulfilling career, most of it spent at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston. Late in her career she completed her Master of Social Work degree at McGill University, thanks to a shared space arrangement with Queen’s University. She learned how enriching higher education can be, based on life experience.

The experience of living with Multiple Sclerosis from age 38 and retirement at age 55 opened unexpected opportunities. Affiliation with Queen’s Health Sciences began during her professional work but retirement allowed more time to engage in mentoring students in Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Medicine and Physiotherapy. Queen’s Glaxo Wellcome Clinical Education Center provided one of the forums for mutual learning. The Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice included Debbie in the planning and delivery of a wide range of significant educational events for all Faculty of Health Science students. Here Debbie learned what the mantra “with, from and about each other” really meant.

An important and enriching opportunity emerged allowing Debbie to participate in international development work with Queen’s International Center for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation. Through this work she met many wonderful and committed people who were eager to learn, share, and then go on to use their knowledge to help their own citizens in both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This was truly life-changing for Debbie and reinforced in her mind the power of collaboration.

Thriving in both her professional career, her post-retirement activities in Kingston and her international work, she is continually reminded that regardless of one’s goal, it is more likely to be achieved through open, respectful conversation, consultation, and collaboration.

Debbie now spends as much time as she can with her family including her amazing daughter and son, their respective wives and her three (very soon to be four) fabulous grandchildren.

Debbie is deeply honoured to receive this degree (though her Grade 11 Science teacher would be shocked!). She shares this honour with friends around the World, many of whom live with significant health challenges but all of whom know that “together we are better.”

Oliver Theophilus Jones, LLD

Montréal born Oliver Jones made his debut as a pianist at age five at Union United Church, and by the time he had his first nightclub appearance, he was nine. In his 77-year career he has released an impressive 25 albums (and one DVD). He has been recognized with numerous awards including the Order of Québec; he was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada and is also the proud recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr award. In 2013 Dr. Jones was honored with a stamp in his likeness as part of the Canada Post stamp program paying tribute to black history. A veteran of life on the road – he has toured extensively throughout Canada, appearing at festivals, concerts and clubs, either as a solo artist or with his trio. His travels also took him to the United States, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and his tour of Nigeria was the subject of a 1990 National Film Board of Canada documentary, Oliver Jones in Africa.

In early 2016 Oliver announced his plans to retire from performing professionally after one last cross country tour of Canada. His very last show was in Barbados in January 2017 as a tribute to his parents.

"It's been seventy-seven years and I guess that's more than enough time working any job, but it's always been my contention I should play until that feeling is gone but the feeling is still there," says Jones but he can no longer play at the same capacity, though Jones says he still plans on performing a few times a year. In September 2017 the documentary Oliver Jones | Mind Hands Heart premiered at the Montreal International Black Film Festival. The documentary goes behind the scenes at his final concert at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in July 2016 as well as the Barbados show. Mr. Jones reflects on his memorable life and career, and some of the people who know him best share what he has meant to them and to the Canadian jazz scene.

His retirement plans include travelling, dusting off his saxophone and helping to promote Canadian jazz artists who are just getting started.

In a career filled with superlative achievements, Oliver Jones remains one of Canada's finest musicians.

Arthur Bruce McDonald, DSc

Arthur McDonald is a native of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. He graduated from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1964 with a B.Sc. (Hon. Physics) and 1965 with a M.Sc. (Physics). He continued his studies at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, graduating in 1969 with a Ph. D. in Nuclear Physics. From 1969 until 1981 he worked at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories of Atomic Energy of Canada, performing fundamental nuclear and particle physics experiments with accelerators and reactors. In 1981 he accepted a Professorship in the Physics Department at Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. and continued his research program there as Co-Principal Investigator of the Princeton Cyclotron. In 1989 he moved to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario as Professor of Physics and Director of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) project. In 2002 he was awarded a University Research Chair at Queen’s University, in 2006 became the Gordon and Patricia Gray Chair in Particle Astrophysics and in 2013, Professor Emeritus. He was Director of the SNO Institute from 1991 to 2003 and 2006 to 2009 and Associate Director of the SNOLAB Institute 2009-2013.

Professor McDonald's early research involved the use of the nucleus as a laboratory for the investigation of fundamental symmetries and interactions in nuclear and particle physics. He has also participated in nuclear astrophysics research since his early work in William Fowler's laboratory at Cal Tech. Professor McDonald is a Co-recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics, Companion of the Order of Canada, Member of the Order of Ontario, Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of the UK and Commonwealth and the Royal Society of Canada, Foreign Associate of the US Academy of Sciences, Governor General's Undergraduate Medal winner at Dalhousie, Rutherford Fellow at Chalk River Laboratories, Killam Research Fellow (1998-2000), recipient of the Bonner Prize from the American Physical Society (2003), the Canadian Association of Physicists Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics (2003), the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering (2003), Sigma Xi Fund of Canada Award for Scientific Achievement (2004), Bruno Pontecorvo Prize in Particle Physics (2005), co-recipient Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics (2007), member of the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame (2009) and the Nova Scotia Discovery Centre Hall of Fame (2010), recipient of the Killam Prize (2010), Henry Marshall Tory Medal (2011), co-recipient of the European Physical Society High Energy Physics Division Giuseppe and Vanna Cocconi Prize (2013), recipient of LL.D. (Honoris Causa) from Dalhousie University, the University College of Cape Breton and Saint Francis Xavier University, D. Sc. (Honoris Causa) from the Royal Military College, the University of Chicago, the University of Waterloo, the University of Alberta, Mount Allison University and the University of British Columbia.

Professor McDonald has served on numerous Advisory Committees to U.S. and Canadian Scientific Agencies and Laboratories and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR) and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Perimeter Institute, Waterloo and the Canadian Federal Advisory Panel on Fundamental Science. He is the author of more than 150 papers in physics. He continues an active research program in particle astrophysics in addition to his remaining duties as the Director of the SNO Scientific Collaboration. SNO is a major international experiment that has clearly observed flavour change for solar neutrinos, new physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particles. The SNO results also show that the total flux of neutrinos is in agreement with solar model calculations, thereby solving the long-standing Solar Neutrino Problem. For this work, the SNO Scientific Collaboration received the first John C. Polanyi Prize from NSERC in 2006 and the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Professor McDonald is actively involved in the DEAP-3600 and SNO+ experiments at SNOLAB that will address other fundamental questions in particle physics and astrophysics.

Professor McDonald's wife Janet is also a native of Sydney. They have four children and eight grandchildren.

Frank Joseph McKenna, LLD

Frank McKenna was appointed Deputy Chair of TD Bank Group on May 1, 2006. He is responsible for supporting the Bank in its customer acquisition strategy, particularly in the area of Wholesale and Commercial Banking.

Frank has held numerous leadership positions in both the public and private sector. For a decade (1987–1997) he was Premier of New Brunswick, having earned three consecutive majority governments, including the historic victory in 1987 of all 58 seats in the legislature. The McKenna government significantly improved the province’s standard of living and quality of life. Among its accomplishments, it balanced budgets, pioneered e-government services, attracted innovative industry clusters and improved educational outcomes. Frank also played a central role on the national stage, where among other initiatives, became a lead advocate for the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement.

Prime Minister Martin nominated Frank as Canadian Ambassador to the United States of America in 2005, where he was charged to navigate contentious bilateral issues related to trade and security. In 2006, Frank resigned this position upon change of national government.

In the private sector, Frank is in wide demand as a corporate director. Currently he is the Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management and is on the board of Canadian Natural Resources. He has also been Chairman of the Board of CanWest Global and served on the Boards of Noranda, Shoppers Drug Mart and General Motors.

Frank is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University as well as Queen’s University, where he completed his post-graduate degree in political science and the University of New Brunswick Law School. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2008 and is the recipient of ten honorary degrees.

Frank and his wife Julie have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

Fredy Armando Peccerelli Monterroso, DSc

Since his return to Guatemala in 1995, Fredy Peccerelli has dedicated his life to upholding human rights and dignity through the application of forensic sciences. Peccerelli is an internationally renowned and recognized Human Rights Defender and Forensic Anthropologist, and founding member of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG). Today, as the organization’s Executive Director, he leads the development and implementation of a Multidisciplinary Human Identification System that applies victim investigation, forensic-archaeology, -anthropology, and -genetics to uncover the identity of victims of mass human rights abuses, and the truth behind their disappearance. Applied in over 1,800 cases throughout the country, this System supports the search for and identification of victims from Guatemala’s internal armed conflict (1960 – 1996). FAFG is the sole organization the family members trust to search for their loved ones, and these trusting relationships now reach internationally as FAFG is sought after in other post-conflict countries. Working within and supporting the Public Ministry (Ministerio Publicos, MP) in Guatemala, they use the evidence uncovered by the FAFG to hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes against humanity from the conflict, therefore they are often called upon to testify and present expert reports in emblematic cases in the Guatemalan judicial system. To name a few, Mr. Peccerelli has testified as expert witness in the 2013 Genocide case against Ríos Montt in Guatemalan National Court, expert witness in the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Some of his international recognitions include the Queen’s University 2015 Chancellor Dunning Trust Lecturer, presented Special Honors Medal from the Canadian Governor General David Johnston, Award for Human Rights Activist presented by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) and the Puffin Foundation, 2008 Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Science award, first recipient of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) Human Rights Award, as well as recognized as Time Magazine and CNN’s 50 Latin American Leaders for the New Millennium.

Otto Naumann, LLD

Dealing in fine art for over thirty years, Otto Naumann is the leading name in Old Master paintings in the United States and is one of the most respected figures in the international art scene. With a Master's degree from Columbia University and a doctorate in Art History from Yale, Otto is renowned for his exceptional "eye" for quality and for his skills in connoisseurship.

Having made a name for himself specializing in Dutch and Flemish art, Otto has handled more Rembrandts than any other living dealer and is the only dealer alive who has sold a painting by Vermeer. He wrote the authoritative monograph on Frans van Mieris (1635 - 1681) and helped organize the 2005 exhibition on the artist at the Mauritshuis, The Hague and in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The scholarly savant is also an astute and bold businessman whose reputation for candid honesty is as surprising as it is reliable. Otto expanded the breadth of his trade in 2007 to include Italian, French, Spanish and British works as well as 19th century European paintings. The gallery's clientele is comprised of serious collectors and museums worldwide, including the Getty, the National Gallery, Washington, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rijksmuseum, and the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.

Justice Kin Kee Pang, LLD

Justice Kin Kee Pang, Arts’70, was born in China and raised in Hong Kong, where he graduated from Diocesan Boys’ School in 1966. He received his B.A. from Queen’s in 1970 and was elected to the University Council in 1994 and served 2 terms until 2006. He is also a long-time Queen’s volunteer, having served as the president of the Hong Kong Branch of the Queen’s University Alumni Association (QUAA) for the past several decades.

Justice Pang is highly accomplished in his field. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by Lincoln’s Inn in 1978, in Hong Kong in 1979 and in Victoria, Australia in 1983. Since then, Justice Pang has had a long and distinguished legal career. He joined the Hong Kong Judiciary in 1985 as a Magistrate and retired in 2012 as a Judge of the High Court. He also served for some time as Commissioner in the High Court of Brunei. During his term with the Judiciary, Justice Pang pioneered the use of Chinese as the language of trial in judicial proceedings in Hong Kong which has an English Common Law heritage. He also chaired a number of high profile public and statutory bodies including the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mental Health Review Tribunal, Advisory Committee on Post Service Employment of Civil Servants and Criminal Court Users Committee. Moreover, Justice Pang has held memberships in the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission and Law Reform Commission (Juries) Sub-committee.

On his retirement in 2012, Justice Pang was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for his services to the Judiciary. Justice Pang continues his civic duties by serving as the President of the Society for the Rehabilitation of Offenders and Crime Prevention and Long Term Prison Sentences Review Board.

Justice Pang’s most memorable moment at Queen’s was cheering in the Toronto Stadium for the Golden Gaels to defeat Waterloo to win the Vanier Cup in the 1968 season.

John A. Rae, LLD

Born in Paris, France in 1945, John Rae is a Special Advisor to Power Corporation of Canada, where he has served in various roles, including Executive Vice-President and Board Director.

A graduate of Queen’s University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Studies and Economics. During this time, he served as the Editor of the Queen’s Journal, earning a reputation as a reasoned, yet sensitive, voice and helping to establish a conciliatory tone for campus life during a period of great social change.

Mr. Rae served as an Executive Assistant to the Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs and Northern Development, from 1967 to 1971. During this time, Mr. Rae helped facilitate work between government and indigenous peoples, as well as aiding in the expansion of the National Parks system across Canada,

In his career with Power Corporation, Mr. Rae’s vision and talent has helped guide one of Canada’s preeminent corporations, strengthening its global footprint while promoting ethical practices both at home and abroad.

Chairman for the Leadership Campaign of the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien (March - June, 1984 and June 1989 - June 1990), Mr. Rae also served as National Campaign Coordinator for the Liberal Party of Canada during the Federal General Elections of 1993, 1997 and 2000. He also served as the representative of the Liberal Party of Canada on the ‘No’ Committee during the National Referendum of 1995.

Mr. Rae is a Director on the Boards of Fednav Limited and the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation. He is the Chair of the Best Care for Life Capital Campaign of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), as well as Chair Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of Queen's University, having served as its Chair from 2000 to 2006.

For his many contributions to business and political life, as well as charitable work, Mr. Rae was named to the Order of Canada in 2006, and awarded Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from McGill University in 2011. In 2006, he was named by the Queen’s University Council as a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.

A resident of Montreal, he is married to Phyllis Walter, who has been a partner in supporting the city’s numerous charitable and not-for-profit organizations.

James Thomas Rutka, DSc

Born in Toronto, and educated at Princeton University (1975-1977), and Queen's University Medical School (1977-1981), Dr. Rutka did an internship at McGill University (1981-1982) before entering the University of Toronto Neurosurgery Training Program in 1982. His training included a research fellowship at the Brain Tumor Research Centre, the University of California San Francisco where he obtained his PhD in Experimental Pathology (1984-1987).

Dr. Rutka assumed his appointment in the Division of Neurosurgery, the Department of Surgery, at the University of Toronto in 1990. He is a Pediatric Neurosurgeon whose clinical practice has been at the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Rutka's primary research and clinical interests relate to the science and surgery of human brain tumors and epilepsy. He has over 450 peer reviewed publications.

In 1999, Dr. Rutka was promoted to Professor in the Department of Surgery, the University of Toronto, and was appointed to the Dan Family Chair in the Division of Neurosurgery -- a position he held until 2011. In 2009, he was the Honored Guest at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons’ Annual Meeting. In 2010 - 11, Dr. Rutka served as President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. In 2011, he became President of the World Academy of Neurological Surgery, President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. That same year, he was appointed as the RS McLaughlin Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. In 2013, he became the first Canadian to be appointed as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery, and was inducted as a Member of the Order of Ontario. In 2015, he received the Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize from the University of British Columbia, the Robert L. Noble Award from the Canadian Cancer Society, and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Dr. Rutka is married to Mari Rutka. Together they have three children: Daniel, Hana and Marissa.

David Christopher Graham Skegg, DSc

Sir David Skegg is an epidemiologist and public health physician. After growing up in Auckland, New Zealand, he went to the University of Otago in Dunedin for his medical education. A Rhodes Scholarship took him to the University of Oxford, where his DPhil supervisor was the renowned epidemiologist, Sir Richard Doll. Later he became a lecturer in Professor Doll’s department at Oxford. In 1980, at the age of 32, he returned to the University of Otago to take up the Chair of Preventive and Social Medicine.

Under Professor Skegg’s leadership, his department grew to become one of the strongest of its kind in Australasia. His own research has been focused mainly on the causes and control of cancers (especially breast and cervical cancer), and the use of epidemiological methods to study benefits and risks of medicines. In particular, he played a key role in international efforts to clarify the relationship between hormonal contraceptives and cancer risk.

David Skegg has held many leadership positions in New Zealand, including as Chair of the Health Research Council, the Public Health Commission, the BSE Expert Science Panel, and the Science Board. Until recently he was the President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, which is the national academy for science, technology and the humanities.

His career has also involved a major commitment to global health, through his work with the World Health Organization. Since 1984 he has been a consultant to the WHO Special Programme of Research in Human Reproduction, which has often required him to make several trips to Geneva each year. From 2011 to 2016, he chaired the Scientific Advisory Group for this large programme of research and development on sexual and reproductive health and rights, with particular emphasis on the needs of developing countries.

As Vice-Chancellor (equivalent to Principal) of the University of Otago from 2004 to 2011, David Skegg also took a strong interest in opportunities for international collaboration. He promoted discussions that led to the establishment of the Matariki Network of Universities. This is an international group of research-intensive universities which are focused on providing a high-quality student experience and on contributing to international progress. Queen’s and Otago are both founding members of the Matariki Network.

Stephen John Richard Smith, LLD

Stephen Smith is one of Canada’s leading entrepreneurs in the financial services industry. He is renowned for innovation in information technology and financial structuring in the Canadian mortgage industry. He earned a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University (’72) and a Master of Science (Economics) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Stephen is currently the Chairman and CEO of First National Financial Corporation (TSX: FN), Canada’s largest non-bank lender of residential and commercial mortgages, a business which he co-founded in 1988 and now has over $90-billion of mortgage loans under administration. He is also the Chairman and co-owner of Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance. Formed in April 2010 after he acquired AIG’s Canadian mortgage insurance business in partnership with the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, Canada Guaranty is currently the country’s third largest mortgage insurance provider. Stephen is also the largest shareholder in Equitable Bank, Canada’s ninth largest bank and one of the country’s leading alternative lenders. Stephen received Ernst & Young’s “Ontario Financial Services Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2007 to recognize the success of First National.

Stephen is an avid supporter of post-secondary education. He began his philanthropic relationship with Queen’s in 1997, when he established a financial award to support students in Electrical Engineering and Economics. Since then, more than 250 students have received financial support through this bursary. In 2013, Stephen funded a Chair in Public Policy in the Department of Economics.

Having spent his career in the mortgage finance and insurance industry, Stephen believes business has a social responsibility. Successful businesses fuel a healthy economy, and a healthy economy is critical to a strong and well-functioning social infrastructure. Through his $50-million investment in business education at Queen’s, Stephen aims to equip the leaders of tomorrow with the skills to sustain Canada’s business, economic and social development.

With a passion for the arts and history, Stephen is Chair of Historica Canada, a Governor of the Royal Ontario Museum, and member of the Advisory Council of the Royal Conservatory of Music. In 2014, Stephen and his wife donated $3-million to help establish the “Myseum of Toronto,” which chronicles the evolution of one of Canada’s oldest cities.

Stephen also holds a variety of leadership positions in corporate and public governance. He serves as a director of The Empire Life Insurance Company, a board member at the C.D. Howe Institute and a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. In 2012, Stephen was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to Canada.

Originally from Ottawa, Stephen currently lives in Toronto with his wife, Diane Blake, and their three children.

Carol Ann Budd, DSc

Carol Ann’s winding path to her current role as a financial consultant at Investors Group started in a mining community north of Sudbury, Ontario called Levack. After two and a half years in applied science at Queen’s, slated to be a Science’85, she was missing the north and left Kingston for Biscotasing, Ontario to marry and have two children.

She was welcomed to return to finish her Engineering Chemistry degree in 1987 and graduated as a Science’89. Upon graduation, Carol Ann spent 20 years in Research and Development as a professional engineer solving customer technical issues and leading global R&D projects. During this time, she enjoyed volunteering as a Board Member, then Chairperson for the Canadian Aboriginal Science & Technology Society (CASTS) from 1996 to 2010. Her Research and Development career was halted early when her position was terminated in 2009. Drawing on her love of working with numbers and helping people, she soon transitioned to her current career as a Certified Financial Planner.

A past member of the Circle of Advisors, comprised of Indigenous faculty members and alumni, she offered input during the development of Aboriginal Access to Engineering at Queen’s, now called Indigenous Futures in Engineering, a program to attract and retain more Indigenous students. She was also recently a member and co-chair of the Board of Directors of the Ban Righ Centre at Queen's. The Ban Righ Centre, unique to Queen's, provides mature and returning women students, both undergraduate and graduate, with financial, academic and social support. Carol Ann continues to support the university as a member of the Queen’s University Indigenous Council which was established “to ensure that for generations hereafter Aboriginal peoples will have access to higher education at Queen's University, and that the institution will be responsive to the broader needs of Aboriginal peoples."

Carol Ann is a proud member of the Sagamok Anishawbek reserve in Northern Ontario and has a track record of devoting a portion of her time towards supporting education and prosperity for First Nations people. With a busy family life that includes 4 grown children, and a much welcomed new grandson, Carol Ann derives great satisfaction from helping other busy families and professionals manage their personal and corporate finances.

She firmly believes education and financial skills can help alleviate the social problems facing Indigenous communities. Building pride and prosperity will benefit all of us who hail from this beautiful land we call Canada.

Wendy Jane Crewson, LLD

One of Canada’s most celebrated actresses, Wendy Crewson continues to garner critical and popular acclaim for her extensive body of work in film and television.

Her career includes many awards and more than 100 titles, including credits like: Sarah Polley’s “Away from Her;” “The Santa Clause” trilogy opposite Tim Allen; and her role as the First Lady in “Air Force One” with co-star Harrison Ford.

 This year she appeared in the Oscar-nominated film “Room.” And on the small screen, Wendy continues her award winning role as Dr. Dana Kinney in the CTV hit medical drama “Saving Hope.” When she’s not on the “Saving Hope” set, she has become a regular co-host of CTV’s “The Social.”

Throughout her illustrious career, Wendy has gravitated to roles that have given her the privilege and opportunity to play Canadian women who have fought for human rights in this country. These remarkable women include Sue Rodriguez, “Jane Doe” and Louise Arbour.

This year marks a career highlight for Wendy, as she received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. She is also this year's recipient of the Earle Grey Award for her outstanding contribution to the Canadian screen based industry.

In her not for profit work Wendy is serving as Vice President, ACTRA Toronto for her fourth consecutive term and tenth year as an ACTRA Toronto and National Council member. She continues her work as an activist and vocal advocate for Canadian culture.

After her portrayal of Sue Rodriguez, Wendy dedicated time and energy to support awareness and fund raising for ALS. She is proud to be, for the eighteenth year, patron for Betty’s Run, this country’s largest fundraiser for ALS.

After graduating from Queen’s University, where she appeared in many productions in Convocation Hall, Wendy went on to study theatre in London and has worked all over the world. Canada has always been home and she now lives in Toronto. Her daughter Maggie has just started her MSW at Smith and son Jack graduated from this fine institution in economics last year.

Andrew Jay Feustel, DSc

In 1991, Dr. Feustel moved to Kingston, Ontario, Canada, to attend Queen’s University, where he worked as a Graduate Research Assistant and Graduate Teaching Assistant. Feustel’s PhD thesis investigated seismic wave attenuation in underground mines and measurement techniques and applications to site characterization. For three years, he worked as a Geophysicist for the Engineering Seismology Group, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, installing and operating microseismic monitoring equipment in underground mines throughout Eastern Canada and the United States.

In 1997, Dr. Feustel began working for the Exxon Mobil Exploration Company, Houston, Texas, as an Exploration Geophysicist, designing and providing operational oversight of land, marine and borehole seismic programs worldwide. Andrew J. Feustel was selected by NASA in 2000. The Lake Orion, Michigan native is a veteran of two spaceflights.

In 2009, Dr. Feustel served on STS‐125. This mission launched on Atlantis and was the fifth and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope that improved the observatories capabilities through 2014. Dr. Feustel also served on STS‐134, launching on Endeavour to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPress Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Dr. Feustel has logged more than 25 days in space with over 42 hours in spacewalks.

Dr. Feustel has participated in many of NASA’s Astronaut Training activities including: Field Medical Training, Field Maintenance Training, NEEMO X in the Aquarius Habitat in Key Largo, Florida; CAVES in Sardinia, Italy; NOLS in Alaska and Mexico; Winter Survival Training with the Canadian Armed Forces in Valcartier, Quebec; Desert Rats in Flagstaff, Arizona; Geotechnical Studies, Dry Valleys, Antarctica; and Deepworker Submersible Pilot Training, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dr. Feustel is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station on the Soyuz 54 launch vehicle in March of 2018. During his 6 month mission he will serve as Commander of the ISS during Expedition 56.

Piers Handling, LLD

Piers Handling has been the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) since 1994, responsible for leading both the operational and artistic growth of the organization. Now an internationally renowned cultural institution, Handling led the $196 million fundraising campaign for TIFF’s permanent home, TIFF Bell Lightbox, which presents year-round, daily programming. TIFF has a $44 million annual operating budget, employs more than 200 full-time staff, and for nine years has been named one of the Canada's Top 100 Employers.

Handling has curated numerous film retrospectives, presented programmes of Canadian cinema, and sat on festival juries all around the world, and has published extensively on Canadian cinema.

He holds three Honorary Doctorates from Ryerson University, York University and OCAD University, and has been honoured with a number of awards and recognitions, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal; the “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres,” France’s highest cultural insignia; and was invested into the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest official honour, by Lieutenant Governor David Onley.

Eileen Katherine McNally Hutton, DSc

Dr. Eileen Hutton, RM, PhD, is Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of Midwifery at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario where she is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Professor Hutton holds a Bachelor of Nursing Science (1974) from Queen’s University, a Master’s Degree from, School of Nursing and her PhD Clinical Epidemiology from the Institute of Medical Science from The University of Toronto.

Professor Hutton has held a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Investigator Award (2004-2009) and was a recipient of a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar award. She has held numerous CIHR funded grants both as Principle Investigator and as Co-investigator. She has expertise in clinical trial methodology, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, clinical epidemiology, and implementing evidence-based practice. Her particular interest is in clinical trials with a focus on normal childbirth. She has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals on a variety of topics relevant to midwifery and obstetrics including twin birth, external cephalic version, late and early clamping of the umbilical cord in term neonates, vaginal birth after caesarean section, sterile water injections for labour pain relief and home birth. Dr. Hutton has been a member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Clinical Trials Committee, the Fellowship Awards Committee, and is currently on the Clinical Investigations (A) Review Committee. She was the founding editor of The Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada and the ICM Midwifery Journal. She was the first midwife member of the Council of the Society of Obstetrician and Gynecologist of Canada and is remains a member of the ALARM International Committee of the SOGC. She has been recently elected to the inaugural board of the Canadian Association of Midwifery Educators. In 2010 Dr. Hutton was appointed Professor of Midwifery Science at Vrije University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands with a part time endowed chair position from 2010-15. In taking this position she is the first midwife ever to hold a professorship in the Netherlands.

Professor Hutton began her practice of midwifery prior to regulation of the profession in Ontario and she played an active role in seeking legislative recognition of the profession. She was President of the Association of Ontario Midwives in 1993 when legislation pertaining to midwifery regulation was enacted. The Association of Ontario Midwives awarded her the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her role in education, research and contribution to the profession.

Michelle MacLaren, LLD

Michelle MacLaren is a graduate of Queen’s University with a BAH majoring in Film. Michelle began her professional career as a production assistant, worked in locations, assistant directing, and production managing, eventually becoming a Producer and Director. Michelle has produced 11 made for television movies, becoming an Executive Producer when she co-wrote a movie for CBS TV. Michelle has been an Executive Producer on multiple TV series.

While Executive Producing Breaking Bad, Michelle directed 11 episodes of the Emmy winning series. Michelle began directing on The X-Files and has directed shows for NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, TNT, Starz as well as multiple episodes of AMC’s The Walking Dead, HBO’s Game of Thrones, The Leftovers and Westworld.

Recently Michelle directed the soon to be released HBO pilot The Deuce created by David Simon and George Pelecanos.

As one of the Executive Producers on Breaking Bad, Michelle has been awarded two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two PGA awards, a Peabody, as well as several other nominations including two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.

Michelle has served on the board of Brentwood College School, currently sits on the Creative Rights committee of the DGA, mentors through the Sundance Women in Film program and speaks at various schools including the American Film Institute.

Ronald C. McCallum, LLD

Emeritus Professor Ron McCallum AO studied law at Monash University, graduating in 1972. In 1974, he completed a Master of Laws Degree under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan at Queen’s University. It was at this point that Ron developed his interest and expertise in labour and employment law. After teaching law at Monash University for eighteen years, he moved to Sydney in 1993 where he was appointed to a full professorship at the University of Sydney. This appointment made Ron the first totally blind person to be appointed to a full professorship at any Australian or New Zealand university. He served as Dean of the University of Sydney Law School between 2002 and 2007. His expertise in labour law and occupational health and safety saw him appointed as chair or member of various federal and state inquiries. The most recent was the 2012 inquiry into the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Professor McCallum was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2006 for his services to tertiary education, for industrial relations advice to governments, for assistance to visually impaired persons and for social justice. In October 2007 at Queen’s University, Professor McCallum received the Queen’s University Alumni Achievement Award. In January 2011, Prime Minister Ms. Julia Gillard designated Ron as Senior Australian of the Year for 2011.

Professor McCallum served as an inaugural member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from 2009 to 2014 and he was its Chairperson from 2010 to 2013. The primary function of this Committee is to monitor the implementation in ratifying countries of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He also served as Chairperson of the meetings of the Chairpersons of the United Nations human rights committees from July 2011 to June 2012.

On 21 August 2013, Professor McCallum was sworn in as a part time member of the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which hears appeals from various classes of decisions of the Australian Government.

Ron’s interests include reading, listening to music and meditation. He is married to Mary Crock who is Professor of Public Law, University of Sydney. They have one daughter and two sons.

Debra June Pepler, DSc

Dr. Debra Pepler received her BA / BPHE and BEd from Queen’s University and her PhD from the University of Waterloo and is a Registered Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. Dr. Pepler is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University, where she has been since 1988. She was Director of the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution from 1994 to 2002.

Dr. Pepler’s research has changed the way we think about bullying, aggression and the importance of healthy relationships. Her research focuses on children and youths’ relationships within peer and family contexts. Her research identifies bullying as a relationship problem that transforms to other problems over the lifespan. Dr. Pepler has conducted research with the Child Development Institute for over 30 years with the SNAP® (Stop Now and Plan) programs. She has conducted research for over 20 years with Breaking the Cycle – a program for substance using mothers and their young children. Dr. Pepler has also conducted research with Pine River Institute for substance addicted adolescents, UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools Program, and the Canadian Red Cross Walking the Prevention Circle – a program developed by and for Indigenous communities.

Dr. Pepler has co-authored over 240 journal articles, book chapters, reviews, and reports. She speaks widely to professional and community audiences and has been tirelessly involved in community-based research and policy development on pressing social issues related to children and youth. She served on the Ontario Minister of Education’s Safe Schools Action Team from 2004 to 2012 and continues to serve on advisory committees related to children and youths’ mental health, parenting, and violence. Together with Dr. Wendy Craig, Dr. Pepler has been awarded two Networks of Centres of Excellence grants for PREVNet (Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network). PREVNet’s mission is to promote safe and healthy relationships for all Canadian children and youth.

Dr. Pepler has been honoured for her research with the Canadian Psychological Association Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science and its award for Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service, the Pickering Award for Outstanding Contribution to Developmental Psychology in Canada, Telus Wise Outstanding Canadian (post-secondary institution), Contribution to Knowledge Award from the Psychology Foundation of Canada, the Educator of the Year Award from Phi Delta Kappa (Toronto), the University of Waterloo Arts in Academia Award, and the Humanitarian Award from the Queen’s University Alumni Association.

Stephen H. Safe, DSc

Stephen Safe was born in Belleville, Ontario where he attended Albert College prior to enrolling as an undergraduate at Queen's University with a major in chemistry and minor in mathematics. After graduating from Queen's in 1962 with a BSc, he completed an MSc in Chemistry in 1963 (with Dr. Bob Moir), and he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to study for his doctorate at the University of Oxford in England. After completing his D.Phil. in bioorganic chemistry (with Sir Ewart Jones) in 1966, he accepted a postdoctoral position at Oxford and then a Research Associate position at Harvard University (1967-1968) in the Chemistry Department (with Dr. Konrad Bloch). In 1968, Dr. Safe accepted an Assistant Research Officer position at the Atlantic Regional Laboratory of the National Research Council in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He then joined to the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the University of Guelph (1973-1981) before accepting a position at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, as a Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Safe was promoted to Distinguished Professor (1985) in the College (Department of Physiology and Pharmacology) at Texas A&M where he holds the endowed Sid Kyle Chair.

Under Dr. Safe's leadership, the Toxicology program was developed and expanded to become one of the most well recognized and successful programs in the United States. His scientific career has covered several different areas of research which include his early studies on the chemistry and toxicology of halogenated environmental pollutant such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dibenzo-p-dioxins ("dioxins"). He and other colleagues worldwide developed the toxic equivalents approach for risk assessment of PCBs, dioxins and related compounds and this has helped to regulate and subsequently reduce levels of these compounds in wildlife, humans and food. Dr. Safe subsequent research focused on molecular toxicology problems and studies on mechanisms of hormone (estrogen)-induced gene expression in breast cancer and other hormone-responsive cells/tissues. Dr. Safe's current research is focused on development of novel mechanism-based anticancer agents and also characterization of specific classes of microbiota metabolites and their roles in colon inflammation and cancer.

Dr. Safe is co-author of over 730 peer-reviewed publications. He holds 10 patents and has supervised over 90 graduate students and 30 postdoctoral trainees. He has received several awards for research, training and innovation and these include the Burroughs Wellcome Toxicology Award, Society of Toxicology Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award, Mentoring Award for Women in Toxicology, Excellence in Innovation Award (Texas A&M University) and an honorary doctorate of science from the University of Guelph.

Donald Creighton Rae Sobey, LLD

Donald Creighton Rae Sobey graduated from Queen’s University in 1957 with a B. Comm.

Donald joined the family business in 1958. He joined the Board of Empire Company Limited in 1963, was appointed President in 1969 and in 1985 attained the position of Chairman. In September 2004, he retired as Chairman of Empire Company Limited and retired from the Board in September of 2015.

Empire Company Limited is a diversified Canadian company headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. In 1999, Donald established The D & R Sobey Atlantic Leadership Scholarships at Queen’s University, which are awarded to Atlantic Canadian students who demonstrate academic achievement and leadership.

Mr. Sobey was President of the Sobey Art Foundation, which announced the creation of the Sobey Art Award in 2002, with a 1st prize of $50,000 to be awarded annually to an emerging Canadian Artist, 39 years of age or under, who has exhibited his or her work in a public or private art gallery within Canada during the past 18 months. Mr. Sobey served as Chair of the Board of The National Gallery of Canada for two consecutive terms, ending in 2009. In 2003, Mr. Sobey received the Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership by the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

In 2000, Donald and his brothers were inducted into the Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame. In May of 2007, Donald R. Sobey and his brother, David F. Sobey, were both inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.

Mr. Sobey serves as a member of the Advisory Council of Queen’s University. He is past Chair of Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Company Limited and served on various Boards over the years for many companies and non-profit associations.

Mr. Sobey has been actively involved in many fund raising activities over the years. He acted as Chair of Dalhousie University Fund Raising ($44 million) and Chair of the Camp Hill Medical Foundation.

P. Kim Sturgess, DSc

Kim Sturgess is the founder and CEO of Alberta WaterSMART, a services organization committed to improving water management through better technologies and practices. WaterSMART has been widely recognized for its work in collaborative watershed management and contributions to key issues of flood and drought management. A professional engineer, Kim graduated from Queen’s University with a degree in Engineering Physics. She earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario. As the CEO of several technology based companies over her career, she has extensive experience in technology start-ups and technology management, as well as in oil and gas, pipelines, and industrial products and services. In addition to serving on the boards of her own companies, she serves on the boards of CCI Thermal Technologies, the Alberta Chamber of Resources and the Alberta Land Institute.

Formerly she served as a director of the Alberta Water Council, the Calgary Airport Authority, the Council of Canadian Academies, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the National Research Council, APEGA, the Alberta Economic Development Authority, and Queen’s University. She served as President of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. She has been recognized with the YWCA Women of Distinction Award, the Global Woman of Vision Award, the Distinguished Service Award and the Alumni Achievement Award from Queen’s University, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Alberta Centennial Medal. In 2007, she was named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, and in 2012 she was named Business Woman of the Year in Calgary by the Consumers Choice Awards. In 2015 she was awarded the SCI Canada Medal and was recognized by the Alberta Science and Technology Foundation for Outstanding Contribution to the Alberta Science and Technology Community. Kim is a Member of the Order of Canada.

Judith Clare Thompson, LLD

Judith Thompson is a playwright, director, actor, Professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph, and the artistic director of RARE Theatre, a company with a mandate to give voice to those who are seldom heard. She is the author of 18 plays, two feature films, two television movies, and numerous radio plays.

She is an Officer of the Order of Canada, recipient of two Governor General's Awards for Drama, the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, the Dora, the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Her plays are performed in many languages around the world.

'The Tragically Hip', LLD

The Tragically Hip were formed in 1984 by five friends from Kingston, Ontario – Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair. The Hip have sold millions of records worldwide, managing to enjoy both mass popularity and critical acclaim. The group released their first album, ‘The Tragically Hip,’ in 1987 and have since released thirteen studio albums, earning two diamond certifications and over twenty #1 hits. They have won 14 Juno Awards and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The Tragically Hip have also received honorary degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. Known for their powerful, energetic live performances, The Hip have established a demanding concert itinerary, touring extensively in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. The Tragically Hip continue to support numerous charitable organizations, lending their name to help raise and donate millions of dollars for various social and environmental causes. The band will be releasing their 14th studio album, Man Machine Poem, on June 17, 2016.

Ali Velshi, LLD

Ali Velshi was most recently the host of “Ali Velshi On Target” a nightly prime-time show on Al Jazeera America that spoke truth to power through debate, interview and on-the-ground reporting. Velshi has reported from the U.S. Presidential campaign trail, as well as covering ISIL and the Syrian refugee crisis from Turkey, the days leading up to the nuclear deal from Tehran, the tensions between Russia and NATO from Eastern Europe and the High Arctic, the debt crisis in Greece, and the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He was previously the host of “Third Rail” & “Real Money with Ali Velshi” on Al Jazeera America.

Velshi joined Al Jazeera America as its first on-air hire from CNN where he was the channel’s chief business correspondent, anchor of CNN International’s “World Business Today” and the host of CNN’s weekly business roundtable “Your Money”. Velshi also co-hosted CNN’s morning show, “American Morning.”

In 2010, Velshi was honored with a National Headliner Award for Business & Consumer Reporting for “How the Wheels Came Off,” a special on the near collapse of the American auto industry. Additionally, CNN was nominated for a 2010 Emmy for Velshi’s breaking news coverage of the attempted terror attack by Umar Farouq Abdulmuttalab on Northwest flight 253 into Detroit.

Velshi has reported extensively on the global financial crisis; the struggles of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and Lehman Brothers; the U.S. government’s bailout plan; the battle over the fate of the American big three automakers; and the U.S. debt ceiling and budget debate. Known for his trademark exposition and explanation, Velshi appeared as a guest economics analyst on shows like “Oprah”, “The View”, and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” at the height of the global financial crisis, explaining the causes of the meltdown in plain terms.

Velshi is the author of “Gimme My Money Back” (Sterling and Ross, 2008) and co-author with CNN’s Christine Romans of “How to Speak Money” (Wiley, 2010).

Born in Nairobi and raised in Toronto, Velshi graduated from Queen’s University with a degree in Religion. Velshi splits his time between New York City and Philadelphia. Active in the community, Velshi serves on the Board of Trustees of the X-Prize Foundation, Seeds of Peace, and the Chicago History Museum. He volunteers with the New York City's Center for Urban Community Services homeless outreach program one morning per week.

Brian Yealland, DD

Brian Yealland was born and raised in Belleville, Ontario, where playing keyboards in rock bands and racing sailboats were his favourite pastimes.

A passion for social justice took hold in his teen years, along with a desire for ordained ministry. Brian graduated from U of T in 1969 with a BA in Philosophy, followed by an M. Div. from (then) Queen’s Theological College in 1972, and was ordained a United Church minister in June 1972.

A fascination with prison work had emerged and Brian was given leave from settlement in a pastoral charge to pursue work in the federal prison system. He spent 11 years, 1972 to 1983, with Correctional Services Canada as a parole officer, Director of the Portsmouth Centre (federal half way house), program coordinator, policy analyst, and finally Regional Manager, Offender Programs for the Ontario region.

Following the retirement of Padre Marsh Laverty, Brian took on that challenge and worked as Queen’s University Chaplain from 1983 to 2013. Continuing in the Padre’s legacy of serving as friend, supporter, counsellor, and advocate to students staff and faculty, Brian sought to expand support to an increasingly diverse religious and cultural community, establishing the Interfaith Council in 1985 and years later, securing the part time employment of a Muslim Imam. He also taught a course in Canadian religious pluralism for several years in the School of Religion.

In the 1990’s, with the new heavy government investment in casino development, he became spokesperson for Gambling Watch Network, and spent 10 years drawing attention to the risks to the public good inherent in the proliferation of government sponsored gambling.

He is the recipient of the Queen’s University Distinguished Service Award, the John Orr Award of the Toronto alumni, and the Queen Elizabeth ll diamond jubilee medal.

Brian also served on a part time basis as minister at Zion United Church for 8 years, retiring in 2014.

In retirement, he stays fit playing racquetball, rides his motorcycle, sails a Hobie catamaran, plays keyboards in the rock band RoarShack, renovates his own and other people’s houses, cooks dinner for his spouse, Susan, who is Chaplain at Joyceville Institution minimum unit and spends as much time with grandchildren as possible.

BGen J. Jean-Robert Bernier, DSc

A 1982 RMC graduate, Brigadier-General Jean-Robert Bernier served with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry before studying medicine at McMaster University and in Toronto. He served as a Regimental and Hospital Medical Officer in Germany, commanded MacPherson Military Hospital in Calgary, trained in medical chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defence with US research institutes, completed post-graduate environmental and public health programs at the US Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and served as a US Defense Intelligence Agency analyst. He was later responsible for Canadian medical defensive capabilities against operational threats, chaired several related allied committees, headed the military Occupational and Environmental Health program, and led the Canadian Forces public health agency as Director of Force Health Protection.

As Director Health Services Operations, he chaired the multi-national steering group coordinating NATO health resources in southern Afghanistan and was responsible for support to all Canadian missions, including the combat hospital in Kandahar which achieved history’s highest casualty survival rate and earned Canada NATO's highest honour for medical support. As Deputy Surgeon General, he also chaired the medical research committee of NATO's Science and Technology Organization, the world's largest research network.

He was appointed Surgeon General, Head of the Royal Canadian Medical Service, Commander of Canadian Forces Health Services Group, and Honorary Physician to Her Majesty the Queen in 2012. He subsequently oversaw Canadian missions to establish Afghanistan’s medical professional and post-graduate programs, to treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, and the health components of other humanitarian, development, and combat missions.

A graduate of advanced military leadership programs and the Queen’s Public Executive Program, he is a recipient of the Royal Military College History Prize and the US Army Medical Department Center and School Commanding General's Award, an Officer of the Order of Military Merit, a Knight of Malta, an elect of the US public health honour society, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, an Honorary Graduate of the US Interagency Institute for Federal Healthcare Executives, and serves on the boards of the Foundation for Civic Literacy and the Dorchester Review. The first alumnus of the US federal health sciences university to be appointed a Surgeon General, he is also the first person from outside continental Europe elected to chair the committee of Surgeons General of NATO and partner nations beginning in November 2015.

Richard Battarbee, DSc

Rick Battarbee is Emeritus Professor of Environmental Change at University College London, and was the director of the Environmental Change Research Centre at UCL from 1991 to 2007. He has also held research positions at Uppsala University (Sweden), Ulster University (Northern Ireland), Joensuu University (Finland) and the University of Minnesota (USA).

Throughout his career he has been interested in the way lake sediment records can be used to reconstruct lake ecosystem change through time. In particular, he has pioneered the use of diatoms as indicators of water quality, developing techniques that are now used routinely throughout the world.

With his colleagues in the ECRC he has successfully applied those techniques to problems of eutrophication, surface water acidification and climate change. In the 1980s he and his group demonstrated that “acid rain” was responsible for causing the acidification of surface waters in the British uplands, research that was instrumental in persuading the UK government to sign up to international agreements on the reductions of sulphur dioxide emissions from power stations. His research on “acid rain” has continued, and now focuses on lake ecosystem recovery especially the role of climate change in modifying recovery processes.

He received the Back Award from the Royal Geographical Society in 1989, was elected a Foreign Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 1991, awarded the Rector’s Guest and Research Medal of the University of Helsinki in 1994, recognized by Queen Elizabeth II as a “pioneer of the nation” in 2003, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006. He was awarded an Honorary DSc by the University of Ulster in 2007, the Ruth Patrick Award from the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography in 2009, and the Victoria Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 2010. In 2012 he became an Einstein Professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he was awarded the James Croll Medal of the UK Quaternary Research Association in 2013, and was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Paleolimnology Association in 2015.

Alan Broadbent, LLD

Alan Broadbent is Chairman and Founder of Maytree, and Chairman and CEO of Avana Capital Corporation.

He co-founded and chairs the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement, Diaspora Dialogues, and the Institute for Municipal Finance and Governance at the Munk Centre, University of Toronto. In addition, Alan is a Director of Sustainalytics Holdings B.V., Senior Fellow and Governing Board member of Massey College, Member of the Governors’ Council of the Toronto Public Library Foundation, and Member of the Order of Canada and recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Alan is the author of Urban Nation: Why We Need to Give Power Back to the Cities to Make Canada Strong, and co-editor of Five Good Ideas: Practical Strategies for Non-Profit Success, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Ryerson University in 2009.

Nellie Cournoyea, LLD

Nellie Cournoyea is Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC). The corporation was established in 1985 with the mandate to receive the Inuvialuit lands and financial compensation resulting from the 1984 land claim settlement. Today it has assets in excess of $492 million.

Before her election as Chair of IRC, Ms. Cournoyea was Premier of the Northwest Territories for four years beginning in November, 1991. She represented the riding of Nunakput from 1979 to November 1995.

Born in Aklavik in 1940, Ms. Cournoyea was educated through the Federal Aklavik Day School by Alberta correspondence courses. She worked at CBC Inuvik for nine years as an announcer and station manager and was a land claim fieldworker for the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK). Ms. Cournoyea was a founding member, and later administrator and land rights worker, of the Committee of Original Peoples’ Entitlement (COPE).

Ms. Cournoyea was the first managing director of the Inuvialuit Development Corporation after being part of the land rights negotiating team. She also held the position of implementation coordinator for the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) for several years, and served on the Board of Directors of Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation, Inuvialuit Development Corporation, and the Enrolment Authority and Arbitration Board.

Having decided not to run in the 1995 NWT election, Ms. Cournoyea returned to the Beaufort-Delta where she was elected Chair and CEO of IRC in 1996. In January 2010, she returned for an eighth two-year term. In January, 2012 she returned for her second three-year term.

Appointments include Chair of the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Authority, 1996 to 2004; and Chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Working Group, 2000 to 2002, where she still remains on the Executive Committee.

Ms. Cournoyea’s many awards include: Woman of the Year Award (NWT Native Women’s Assn.), 1982; Wallace Goose Award (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation), 1986; National Aboriginal Achievement Award, 1994; Honorary Doctorates in Law (Lakehead University, 1995; Carleton University, 1996; University of Toronto, 1996; University of Lethbridge, 2001; University of Alberta, 2004; and the University of Calgary, 2015); Canadian Energy Person of the Year (Energy Council of Canada), 2004; Northern Medal Award (Governor General of Canada), 2008; and Officer of the Order of Canada (Governor General of Canada), 2008.

James Cuddy, LLD

With sales of more than four million records and eleven JUNO Awards, Blue Rodeo has established itself as one of Canada’s leading contemporary rock bands. Founded in 1984 by lead singers, guitarists, and songwriters Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, the band’s success and longevity are widely attributed to their love of touring, their active connection with their fans, and their unwavering commitment to pushing their creative limits. Blending country, blues, folk, and rock influences, Blue Rodeo deliver a consistently recognizable, engaging sound while reinventing themselves with every new album and project.

The band played their first show in 1985 at The Rivoli in Toronto and quickly developed a loyal following on the Toronto music circuit. Their debut album Outskirts (1987), featuring the hit single “Try,” went double platinum and launched a three-decade-long career of headlining almost every club, theatre and arena in the country. Blue Rodeo continue to tour extensively across Canada and the United States, and perform regularly at benefit concerts and charity events in support of causes ranging from school music programs to community health initiatives and disaster relief.

To date, Blue Rodeo has released thirteen full-length studio albums, three live recordings, one greatest hits package, and five DVDs. In 1998, Jim released the first of three solo albums, All in Time, that went on to sell Gold and garner him the Best Male Vocalist JUNO Award. His next album, 2006’s The Light That Guides You Home, won the Juno for Adult Alternative Album of the Year. In 2011 Jim released Skyscraper Soul, his 3rd solo album, to critical acclaim. His voice, always a voluptuous instrument, has never sounded better and Cuddy proves once again that his songwriting ranks with the best Canada has to offer.

Blue Rodeo’s awards and honours include eleven JUNO Awards, the Governor General’s Award for Performing Arts, a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, membership in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, 15 SOCAN Classics Awards and National Achievement Award, and the keys to the City of Toronto. Jim Cuddy has received two JUNO Awards for his solo work and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013.

Lyse Doucet, LLD

Lyse Doucet is the BBC’s award winning Chief International Correspondent and senior Presenter who anchors news programmes for BBC World TV and World Service Radio. She is regularly deployed to present special news coverage from the field, interview world leaders, and report across the BBC’s domestic and global outlets.

Before joining the BBC’s team of presenters in 1999, Lyse spent 15 years as a BBC foreign correspondent with postings in Amman, Jerusalem, Tehran, Islamabad, Kabul and Abidja

Lyse’s TV documentary “Children of Syria” has been nominated for a BAFTA award this year. Her most recent awards include an Emmy and a Peabody in the United States in 2014 for her team’s reporting from Syria. Her broadcasting also won her the Women in Film and Television Studio award. Her report from the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk outside Damascus was honoured with the 2014 Prix Bayeux Calvados for war reporting. In 2013 she was awarded Britain’s James Cameron Award, in 2012 an Edward R Murrow award for radio reports from Tunisia, and a Peabody and David Bloom Award in 2010 for television films from Afghanistan. Earlier awards include Gold and Silver Sony Awards for News Journalist of the Year, International Television Personality of the Year from the Association for International Broadcasting and the News and Factual Award from Women in Film and Television.

Last year Lyse was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honours list for her services to Broadcasting.

Born in Canada, Lyse has a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Queen’s University in Kingston.

Lyse is an honorary patron of Canadian Crossroads International, and a member of Friends of Aschiana UK which supports working street children in Afghanistan.

Hon. Michael Kirby, LLD

When he retired from the High Court of Australia on 2 February 2009, Michael Kirby was Australia’s longest serving judge.

He was first appointed in 1975 as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation & Arbitration Commission. Soon after, he was seconded as inaugural Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84). Later, he was appointed a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, then President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and, concurrently, President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands. His appointment to the High Court of Australia came in 1996 and he served thirteen years. In later years, he was Acting Chief Justice of Australia twice.

In addition to his judicial duties, Michael Kirby has served on three university governing bodies being elected Chancellor of Macquarie University in Sydney (1984-93). He also served on many national and international bodies. Amongst the latter have been service as a member of the World Health Organisation’s Global Commission on AIDS (1988-92); as President of the International Commission of Jurists, Geneva (1995-8); as UN Special Representative Human Rights in Cambodia (1993-6); as a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (1995-2005); as a member of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Judicial Reference Group (2007-) and as a member of the UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights(2004-).

Following his judicial retirement, Michael Kirby was elected President of the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia from 2009-2010. He serves as a Board Member of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. In 2010, he was appointed to the Australian Panel of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (World Bank). He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Laws of Australia. He has been appointed Honorary Visiting Professor by twelve universities. He participates regularly in many local and international conferences and meetings. He has been awarded a number of honorary doctorates at home and abroad.

In 2010, Michael Kirby was awarded the Gruber Justice Prize. He served 2011-12 as a member of the Eminent Persons Group investigating the future of the Commonwealth of Nations. He was appointed as a Commissioner of the UNDP Global Commission of HIV and the Law. In March 2011, he was appointed to the Advisory Council of Transparency International, based in Berlin. In 2013, he was appointed Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations in North Korea. He was also appointed in 2013 as a Commissioner of the UNAIDS Commission on moving from AIDS to the Right to Health (2013-2014).

John MacGregor, DSc

Dr. MacGregor obtained a B.Eng degree in chemical engineering from McMaster University, and MASc degrees in chemical engineering and statistics and a PhD degree in statistics from the University of Wisconsin.

After working in industry for several years as a process specialist with Monsanto Company in the USA, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University in 1972. His research interests included polymer reaction engineering, advanced process control and multivariate statistical methods in engineering. During that period he published more than 200 papers in refereed technical journals, and supervised more than 60 MASc and 40 PhD students, some of whom are now professors at Queen’s University.

He retired from McMaster as a Distinguished University Professor in 2008 and is now President of ProSensus, Inc., an engineering consulting and software company that was spun out of the McMaster Advanced Control Consortium. ProSensus works mainly with Fortune 500 companies. It develops and deploys powerful methods and software systems for extracting information from industrial data for use in the analysis, control and optimization of processes and products.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the American Statistical Association, he has received many awards for his work in applied statistics and systems engineering, among them: the Shewhart Medal from the American Society for Quality; the Herman Wold Medal from the Swedish Chemical Society; the Century of Achievement Award, the Industrial Practice Award, and the R S Jane Award all from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering; the Computing and Systems Technology Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; and the Guido Stella Award from the World Batch Forum.

Alexander (Otsehtokon) McComber, DSc

Alex is bear clan Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) from Kahnawake Territory near Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, son of a high steelworker and a housewife/ community organizer. He is married with three children of the wolf clan and they have seven grandchildren.

Alex received his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary School Teacher Training (1976) from Saint Francis College in Brooklyn, New York; holds a Master’s in Education Administration (1996) from McGill University in Montreal; and has been an adjunct professor with the McGill Faculty of Education. He received a Certificate in Indigenous Community Health Approaches (June 2008) from First Nations Technical Institute and St. Lawrence College.

Alex returned to Kahnawake in 1976 and began his career as a substance prevention worker and in 1978 was one of many who started the Kahnawake Survival School, a high school rooted in Mohawk values and controlled by the Mohawks of Kahnawake; he worked as a social studies teacher and later school principal for a total of eighteen years.

Alex began his work with the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project (KSDPP) in 1994 for twelve years as an intervention facilitator, executive director and training coordinator. He carried a leadership role in the development of the diabetes prevention model, and the development of the KSDPP Code of Research Ethics (©2007) through a thoroughly collaborate community-academic partnership, one of the first documents of its kind in Canada. Alex has facilitated community mobilization training with the KSDPP model and personal empowerment workshops across Canada with many Indigenous communities and continues to be involved with research projects that involve the sharing of Indigenous knowledge around health promotion.

Alex participated in the creation of the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative from 1997-2000 and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association from 1999 to 2006, including Chairperson from 2001-2005. He currently sits on the Motivate Canada Aboriginal Advisory Board.

Alex continues to participate with KSDPP on intervention projects, as a Community Advisory Board member and community researcher. He continues to deliver workshops in health promotion, Indigenous education and strategic planning in Kahnawake and across Canada. Alex considers himself an advocate for reconnecting with Indigenous world views, values and philosophies, for communities and individuals taking control of their lives through healing from the historical traumas and for being responsible for the future generations of Indigenous peoples.

David John Mullan, LLD

David John Mullan is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington (LLB (1968) and LLM (1970)) and Queen’s University (LLM (1973)). While a graduate student at Queen’s, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law in 1971. In 1973, he moved to the Faculty of Law at Dalhousie University where he remained until 1977 before returning to Queen’s as a Professor. At the time of his early retirement in 2003, he was the holder of the Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt Professorship in Constitutional and Administrative Law.

Mullan’s principal area of research and teaching is Administrative Law with particular emphasis on procedural design, the boundaries of judicial review of administrative action, and remedies. He has published many papers in these fields and is the author of a general text, Administrative Law, as well as one of the founding authors of Evans, Janisch, Mullan and Risk, Administrative Law: Cases, Text, and Materials, a pioneer in published teaching materials in Administrative Law and now in its 7th edition. Both during and following his career at Queen’s, Mullan prepared reports for various governments, agencies, and Law Commissions, including a 2010 report for Correctional Service Canada on inmate grievance processes.

At both Dalhousie and Queen’s, Mullan was active in the Faculty Association and was President of the Queen’s University Faculty Association and a member of Senate.

Following his retirement from Queen’s, Mullan served as the City of Toronto’s first Integrity Commissioner from 2004 until 2008. He has been a member of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, and a part-time Vice-Chair of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, and remains on the roster of the NAFTA Chapter 19 Canadian Panel. For many years, he has been a frequent presenter at continuing legal education programmes for members of courts, tribunals, and agencies as well as a consultant to tribunals, agencies and law firms.

Among Mullan’s awards are the Queen’s Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Queen’s University Prize for Excellence in Research, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers Academic Excellence Award, and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators Medal. He also holds honorary doctorates from the Law Society of Upper Canada and Victoria University of Wellington. On his retirement, he was recognized by the publication of a collection of essays and the establishment of the David Mullan Entrance Scholarship in the Queen’s Faculty of Law.

David Reville, LLD

David Reville has been approaching mental health as a social justice issue for almost 50 years. He takes as his starting point his own experience as a psychiatric patient in Toronto and Kingston in the mid-sixties. In an era when people stayed quiet about such histories, David instead used these experiences to fight for system improvements . He started as a community activist in the 70s – founding chair of Neighbourhood Legal Services in 1973, founding member of the Ontario Mental Patients Association in 1977 - and that activism led him into politics.

As a politician, first on Toronto City Council (1980-1985) and then as a member of the Ontario Legislature (1985-1990), David worked on a wide range of mental health issues. His private member’s bill brought roomers and boarders under the protection of the Landlord and Tenant Act for the first time. He did important public policy work with the Canadian Mental Health Association in the late 80s. He stays connected to his community by serving as a director on boards such as A-Way Express Couriers (1999-2007) and Working for Change (2009-present).

David served as Special Advisor to the Premier of Ontario from 1990 until he was appointed Chair of the Ontario Advocacy Commission in 1994. When a new government shut the Commission down, David established David Reville and Associates. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has been a major client, seeking advice on its massive redevelopment project and on client empowerment and employment. One such employment initiative was the development in partnership with George Brown College of “augmented education,” a program designed to help people with mental health and addictions histories get their first jobs in the culinary and construction industries.

David spent the last decade as an adjunct professor in the School of Disability Studies at Ryerson University (2004 – 2014). He was delighted to have the opportunity to mentor a new generation of activists and scholars. He has been at the forefront of building Mad Studies as a disciplinary field, publishing, organizing and lecturing nationally and internationally.

David’s community service has been recognized by the Canadian Mental Health Association, the ARCH Disability Law Centre and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. In 2002, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal.

Eric Windeler, LLD

Eric Windeler is the Founder and Executive Director of Jack.org.

After graduating from Queen’s University in 1982 with a B. Comm (Hons.), Eric enjoyed nearly 30 years of business success, first as a consultant with Accenture, and then as an entrepreneur in the automotive and software sectors.

In 2010, Eric and his wife Sandra Hanington got a call that would change their lives forever. Their 18-year-old son, Jack, a first year student at Queen’s University, had died by suicide.

Following Jack’s death, Eric put aside his business interests to found and lead Jack.org, a Canadian charity dedicated to raising awareness and reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health.

Eric has spent the past five years working tirelessly to spread awareness and promote discussion about mental health, especially among young people.

In 2013, he was the recipient of the Champion of Mental Health Award from the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, celebrating his outstanding contributions to the field of Canadian mental health.

In January 2015, Eric was appointed to both the Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council and the World Bank – World Health Organization Advisory Group on Scaling Up Mental Health.

He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Partners for Mental Health, a national charity dedicated to improving mental health.

Carolyn Acker, DSc

Carolyn Acker began her career as a Registered Nurse at Saint Michael’s Hospital, and then became a Community Health Nurse with Saint Elizabeth Health Care. She later obtained a Bachelor of Administrative Studies from York University and a Master of Arts focused on Organization Development, from City University in Seattle, Washington. In 2008 she completed Strategic Perspectives in Non-profit Management at Harvard University, and in 2010, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of New Brunswick. On July 1, 2012 she was awarded Membership in The Order of Canada.

Acker began her professional career in the nursing and health-care industry, working her way up the ranks of executive leadership through an unmatched combination of world-class education, practical experience and, above all, a desire to give back. In 1992 she became the Executive Director of the Regent Park Community Health Centre in Canada’s oldest and largest public housing community, serving people who were disadvantaged or homeless through a range of health and social services, and community development programs. In 2000, there were nine murders in the community and a palpable sense of despair. Research revealed a high-school drop-out rate of 56% and for the children of single parents and immigrants it was more than 70%.

Acker used the experience she gained from serving Toronto’s disadvantaged to drive her entrepreneurial spirit. As a result, Pathways to Education was born out of her passion for helping young people to break the cycle of poverty, continue their education and find success in socially valuable careers. Five years after founding Pathways to Education, the drop-out rate fell from 56% to 13% and post-secondary attendance increased from 20% to 83%.

In 2006, Carolyn became the founding CEO of Pathways to Education Canada, a public foundation dedicated to helping youth in low-income communities across Canada graduate from high school and successfully transition into post-secondary education. The Pathways to Education program has grown since its founding in 2001, now serving more than 6,000 students and alumni in 13 communities across Canada and helping to successfully decrease high school drop-out rates by 70% and increase post-secondary participation by 300%.

Today, Acker is bringing her expertise, passion and decades-long reputation for social improvement to other worthy causes as a management consultant.

Hon. Annemarie Bonkalo, LLD

Annemarie E. Bonkalo holds a BA (Honours) from Queen’s University, an MA in Criminology from University of Toronto, and an LLB from Queen’s University. Called to the bar in 1978, she 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 in 1990. 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.

In 2007, Bonkalo was appointed Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice in 2007. The Ontario Court of Justice is one of Ontario’s two trial courts and deals primarily with criminal and family law cases as well as youth criminal justice matters. It is also the largest trial court in Canada and is currently composed of 284 judges and 345 justices of the peace, serving a population of more than 12 million in a province that has a surface area of over 1 million square kilometres.

Some of the Court’s key accomplishments during Chief Justice Bonkalo’s term include developing an internal discrimination and harassment policy, along with accompanying procedures and a panel of advisers; redesigning the education programming for newly appointed justices of the peace; creating simplified Criminal Rules that are brief, written in plain language and contain extensive commentary regarding their interpretation and application; creating a Joint Fly-in Court Working Group to identify ways to improve justice services in the far north and remote communities.

During her tenure the Court has also developed specialized courts that can provide augmented resources to vulnerable accused who are Indigenous or struggling with mental health or addiction issues; implemented the Integrated Domestic Violence Court to increase consistency between family and criminal court orders where the underlying issue is domestic violence; redesigned the Ontario Court website to make it more engaging, helpful and relevant to the public and also began posting criminal, family, and provincial offences court data on the Ontario Courts website quarterly; developed electronic court orders that are prepared and provided to the accused person in court; and developed procedural guides for unrepresented litigants using our family, criminal and provincial offences courts.

Hon. George E. Carter, LLD

George E. Carter was born in Toronto, the oldest of fourteen children. His parents, immigrants from Barbados, successfully managed their large family during the depression, all the while encouraging education and self-discipline.

His mother took care of the children and his father worked in a factory. “I think back to the wonderful good fortune I had in having two great parents,” he said. “They were just ordinary folks…at home, that’s where the real lessons were learned,” said Carter.

Although, economically life was difficult during this time, Carter excelled at school. He attended Harbord Collegiate Institute and graduate at the top of his class. Carter went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the Trinity College at University of Toronto in 1944.

He served in the Canadian Army from 1944 to 1945, returning home to pursue his dream of a legal career. Carter graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1948.

Carter articled in 1945 with B. J. Spencer Pitt, the only black lawyer practicing in Ontario. In 1947, he went to work for Sydney Harris, a Jewish Canadian. At the time, no other firm would accept black law students for training and Pitt, Harris and Carter were pioneers in opening doors for black lawyers.

After being called to the Bar in 1949, Carter opened his own firm on Bay Street in 1952. “I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to have my own practice and that I did, for 31 years,” he said.

Thinking back Carter says, “It was a great journey.” There was the challenge of solving problems and he was thrilled with the idea of getting up in court and presenting a case and argument. He also remembers the many fine people he met. “…and the rascals too,” he said.

Carter was appointed a Judge in the Ontario Provincial Court in 1979 and was later appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice, where he served for 16 years. “It was a great experience. I loved listening to people and their stories and all their problems.”

In addition to his distinguished legal career, Carter has an outstanding record of community involvement and service. He was a founding member of the Toronto Negro Veterans, a member of The Committee for the Adoption of Coloured Youngsters – a group that studied and promoted the adoption of black children, a founding member of The National Black Coalition of Canada, a founding member and past President of Toronto Negro Business and Professional Association and a Board member of the Ontario Black History Society. Carter was also instrumental in setting up Legal Aid in Ontario.

In 2005 he received the Harry Jerome Lifetime Achievement Award, The Osgoode Hall Law School of York University Award For Excellence, Honorary Life Membership to The Ontario Judges Assoc. in 1992, and honoured by CABL (Canadian Association of Black Lawyers) in 2000, plus a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Canada’s first native-born black judge is a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather whose love for life and respect for people are the hallmarks of his many accomplishments.

A documentary about his life called “The Making of a Judge,” can be seen on TV and film festivals. 

Holly Cole, LLD

There is an intelligence and sophistication to Holly Cole’s singing that sets her apart. She takes material everyone thinks they know and discovers new undercurrents, wrapping her honesty, compassion and sardonic wit around these creations. The results are smart, sexy, provocative, sometimes dangerous and never dull.

Born and raised in the Maritimes, Cole grew up surrounded by a musical family. She has charted a career that has included 11 studio recordings (selling well over a million units in Canada, the US, Germany and Japan), six of them gold or multiplatinum in Canada, a couple of anthologies, a gold album in Japan for 1991’s “Blame It On My Youth,” several television specials and some of the finest and most engaging vocal and arranging work in the world of contemporary pop.

Last summer during a sold out performance at the world renowned, Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, André Ménard, the Festival’s Artistic Director, presented Holly with their prestigious “Ella Fitzgerald Award.” This award says it all as it “celebrates the range, versatility and improvisational originality and repertoire of a jazz singer recognized on the international scene.” Holly is one of only two Canadians, (Diana Krall), to receive this celebrated honour, putting her in the company of other esteemed musicians including Tony Bennett, Sade, Aretha Franklin and Ella herself.

This commendation came 7 months after the release of “NIGHT,” Coles’ much lauded and first new studio recording since 2007’s self-titled gem.

Live, Cole exudes as much fun as feeling; treating concert goers to a rare performance that is always musically rewarding and refreshingly intimate. As quoted in the New York Times “Ms. Cole invented her own niche as a chanteuse.”

William MacDonald Evans, LLD

William MacDonald (Mac) Evans holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University (1964) and a MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Birmingham in England which he attended as an Athlone Fellow. While at Queen’s he was Class President for three years, President of the Engineering Society and a recipient of the Tricolour Award. Throughout his career he has been supported by his wife Barbara (Queen’s BA 1964) and their two daughters Holly (Queen’s BSc 1992 and MD 1995) and Lindsay (Queen’s BScE 1997).

Mr. Evans worked 30 years in the Canadian Space Program. His accomplishments include: development of Space Plans that obtained more than $3 Billion of funding for the Canadian Space Program; negotiation of Canada’s participation in the International Space Station; selection of nine Canadian astronauts; and the proposal for the creation of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). When the CSA was established in 1989 he became Vice-President responsible for Canada’s contribution to the International Space Station, the RADARSAT Program which produced Canada’s first remote sensing satellite, and the Canadian Astronaut Program. In 1994 he was appointed President of the Canadian Space Agency, a position he held for seven years. During his tenure, Canada launched more payloads and had more astronaut flights than at any other time in its history.

After retiring from the CSA in 2001, Mr. Evans has provided consulting services to the Canadian Space Industry. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of UrtheCast Corporation, a Canadian company dedicated to the commercialization of space-based earth imagery. He is Vice-Chair of the Defence Science Advisory Board that provides scientific advice to the Department of National Defence.

Mr. Evans is a Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) and the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He has received CASI’s C.D. Howe Award for leadership in Canadian aeronautics and space; special recognition by the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada for his exceptional contribution to the Public Service; NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal for his extraordinary efforts in support of US/Canadian cooperation in space; the Prime Minister's Outstanding Achievement Award for his contribution to the Public Service of Canada; and the CSA’s Chapman Award of Excellence for lifetime achievement in space sciences and technology. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Society of Satellite Professionals International.

Yash Pal Ghai, LLD

A citizen of Kenya, Yash Ghai born in Nairobi in 1938. He was educated at Oxford and Harvard, and called to the English Bar by the Middle Temple. Most of his professional life he has been law teacher. He has taught at the University of East Africa, Uppsala University, Warwick University, and the University of Hong Kong (where he the first Sir Y K Pao Professor of Public Law). He has held various visiting appointments, including at Yale, Toronto University, the National University of Singapore, Wisconsin and Harvard.

His research interests include constitutionalism and human rights, ethnic conflicts, sociology of law, and federalism and autonomy. He has published extensively on public law; his books include Public Law and Political Change in Kenya (1970, with Patrick McAuslan), The Political Economy of Law: Third World Perspectives (1987, edited jointly with Robin Luckham and Francis Snyder), Law, Politics and Government in Pacific Island States (1988), Heads of States in the Pacific: A Legal and Constitutional Analysis (1990, with Jill Cottrell), The Law, Politics and Administration of Decentralisation in Papua New Guinea (1992, with Anthony Regan), Hong Kong’s New Constitutional Order: The Resumption of Chinese Sovereignty and the Basic Law (1997, 1999 2nd ed), Hong Kong’s Constitutional Debate: Conflict over Interpretation (2000, edited with Johannes Chan and Fu Hua Ling), Public Participation and Minorities (2001 and 2003, Minority Rights Group, London), and as editor and contributor, Ethnicity and Autonomy: Negotiating Competing Claims in Multi-Ethnic States (2001), The Millennium Declaration, Rights and Constitutions (2011, with Jill Cottrell). His most recent publications include The Constitution of Kenya: An Instrument for Change (2012), Ethnicity, Nationhood and Pluralism: Kenyan Perspectives (2013) (both with Jill Cottrell), Autonomy: Practising Self-Government (2013), Constitution and Rule of Law in China’s Hong Kong: The Contribution of the Court of Final Appeal (2014), and The Legal Profession and the New Constitutional Order in Kenya (2014).

He has advised various governments and political parties on constitutional matters and has participated in the making of constitutions in number of countries, including Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cambodia, Fiji, Kenya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nepal, and the Maldives. He has been involved in peace making processes in Nepal, Kenya, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. He was the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for human rights in Cambodia 2005-2008. In 2011 he established a NGO in Kenya, Katiba Institute, to promote the implementation of its new constitution.

Shaf Keshavjee, DSc

Shaf Keshavjee is a Thoracic surgeon and Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program. He is Surgeon-in-Chief, James Wallace McCutcheon Chair in Surgery at University Health Network in Toronto, and Professor Division of Thoracic Surgery and Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Keshavjee completed his medical training at the University of Toronto in 1985. He subsequently trained in General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto followed by fellowship training at Harvard University and the University of London for airway surgery and heart-lung transplantation respectively. He joined the faculty at the University of Toronto in 1994 and was promoted to full professor in 2002. Dr. Keshavjee served as the Chair of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto from 2004 to 2010. He was also the inaugural holder of the Pearson-Ginsberg Chair in Thoracic Surgery.

Dr. Keshavjee’s clinical practice is in thoracic oncology, lung cancer, and lung transplantation. He has a passion for surgery and innovative research. He is a scientist in the McEwen Center for Regenerative Medicine at UHN. He leads a team of researchers in a leading research program and is widely published in the field. His specific research interest is in lung injury related to transplantation. His current work involves the study of molecular diagnostics and gene therapy strategies to repair organs and to engineer superior organs for transplantation.

Bernard Langer, DSc

Dr. Bernard Langer obtained his medical degree from the University of Toronto and completed his surgical training at the University of Toronto, M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, and at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1961, and joined the staff of the Toronto General Hospital in 1963. He was Chair of the Division of General Surgery, University of Toronto, from 1982 to 1989 and was the Colonel R.S. McLaughlin Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery from 1982 to 1992.

His clinical and research interests have focused mainly on diseases of the liver, biliary tract, and pancreas. He developed an internationally respected Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Unit and Liver Transplantation Program at the University of Toronto. He has authored or co-authored 174 papers and 29 book chapters, been visiting professor at university centres around the world on 67 occasions and has been on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals.

He was a member and Executive Committee member of the Medical Research Council of Canada. He was a member of the Board of Governors and a Regent of the American College of Surgeons. He is a Past President of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, the Canadian Association of Clinical Surgeons and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. He was Council member, Vice President and President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

He has had a long-standing interest in research training and the preparation of surgeons for academic careers. The very successful Surgeon-Scientist Training Program at the University of Toronto, which he initiated during his chairmanship, has become a model for Clinical-Investigator training in Canada and elsewhere. He has received numerous honours nationally and internationally, and in 2002 was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2004, the University of Toronto established an endowed chair, the Bernard and Ryna Langer Chair in General Surgery to support research and education in the Division of General Surgery.

From 2003 to 2007 Dr. Langer worked as a senior consultant in the Surgical Oncology Program at Cancer Care Ontario, developing and implementing a provincial cancer surgery quality improvement program.

He is still married to Ryna, his wonderful partner for sixty years. They have four terrific children, ten amazing grandchildren and two unbelievable great-grandchildren.

Ronald Lee, LLD

Ronald Lee is a Romani Canadian, born in Montreal where he spent most of his adult life. He moved to Toronto in 1997. He is a journalist and published author and from 2003 to 2008, he taught a spring seminar, the Romani Diaspora in Canada, at New College, University of Toronto (New 343 H1S), as part of the Equity Studies Program, Department. of Humanities. He is a founding member, former executive director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Roma Community Center, in Toronto, registered in 1998, which assists Romani newcomers to Canada with their social integration, it also serves as a cultural center which organizes ethnic Romani events for the local Romani community and to acquaint other Canadians with Romani culture, music, history and their situation in the refugee-producing countries in Europe. Its aim is also to assist with the social, self-empowerment of Romanies in Canada. This is a non-governmental, Romani organization whose members are mostly Roma. He is currently vice-chairman of RCC Toronto.

He has three published works to date, Goddam Gypsy, a semi-autobiographical novel about Romani life in Montreal and Canada in the 1960s, first published by Tundra Books of Montreal in 1971, and also published in Spanish, German, Czech and Japanese translations and now, republished under its original title, The Living Fire, by Magoria Books (Toronto), Learn Romani, an 18-lesson self-study course of Kalderash Romani, published in 2005 by University of Hertfordshire Press and Rromano-Alavari: Romani-English Dictionary, published January 2010 in two parts by Magoria Books. His current manuscript, The Gypsy Invasion: Romani Refugees in Canada 1997-2006, is currently being updated for publication. This is based on his experience in Toronto, working with Romani refugees, immigration lawyers and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) since the Czech-Romani refugees arrived in Canada in 1997 and with later refugee groups from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and elsewhere in central/eastern Europe.

He has also written numerous newspaper and magazine articles about Roma in Canada and more recently, about the Romani refugee situation in Canada, as well as scholarly articles in academic publications such as Chapter 9, of Gypsy Law: Romani Legal Traditions and Culture, 2001, which was originally published as an article in The American Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 103 (November 1993), pp.323-399 entitled “The Rom-Vlach Gypsies and the Kris-Romani.”

He has also lectured extensively for colleges and universities, both in Canada and in the US and also, in the Toronto area, for public and private elementary and high schools. As a folk musician, he also performs locally with other Romani musicians at Romani cultural events. In September 2012, he was awarded the Saip Jusuf Award for Literature and Language for his work as an author, journalist, and linguist.

Robert Prichard, LLD

J. Robert S. Prichard has been a leader in higher education, law, public service and business.

In higher education, Rob 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 to 1990) and President (1990 to 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).

He received the David Smith Award for contributions to public policy in higher education and the Champion of Public Education award from The Learning Partnership. Rob now serves as Chairman of Torys LLP.

In public service, Rob 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 has previously served as Vice-Chair of Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council, a member of the Ontario Law Reform Commission, and a member of the Task Force on the Future of the Greater Toronto Area (Golden Report).

In business, Rob served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Torstar Corporation from 2002 to 2009. He is also Chairman of the Bank of Montreal and a director of George Weston Limited and Onex Corporation.

Rob is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Rob is married to Ann Wilson, a lawyer and artist, and they have three children, Will, Kenny and Jay.

Regina Rosen, LLD

Regina Rosen was born in Bronx, New York in 1939, and came to Canada – and Kingston – as a new bride. Her husband, the late Irving Rosen, was President and owner of Kimco Steel. In 1972, Regina was proud to become a Canadian citizen.

A community activist inspired by a desire to affect positive change Regina Rosen’s activities include extensive fundraising and volunteer involvement in a broad spectrum of community based, national, and international organizations. Inspired by her faith and her family, she seeks out where she can be of most help in order to live life in a meaningful way.

Having achieved an early Education Teacher's degree and a BA in Drama and Religion from Queen's, she has remained a lifelong student, pursuing post-graduate education in any discipline that strikes her fancy. Her involvement at Queen's also extends to volunteering. Having successfully initiated a proposal for a Jewish Studies Program, she and her late husband successfully raised the necessary funds to launch the program. They have endowed the Irving and Regina Rosen Public Lecture Series which brings to Kingston speakers who reflect Jewish thought, identity, and culture in Canada and the world. In March 2010 she received the Queen’s University Padre Laverty award for: “volunteering energy, enthusiasm, and financial support to Queen’s, the arts, and the greater Kingston community.”

A love for the arts manifests itself in a variety of ways, including creator and performer of a portable marionette theatre for developmentally handicapped and disadvantaged children; co-founder, Vice-President Garrison Theatre, a professional theatre company; and board member of numerous arts related groups including the Grand Theatre, where the main auditorium is named for her.

The Community Foundation for Kingston and Area has been a prime focus of Regina’s since its inception almost 20 years ago. As Vice-President, President, member and honorary life member of the Board of Directors; and Editor of Ripples: CFKA’s semi-annual Report to the Community, she is proud to have had a role in framing CFKA’s vision. As chair of “Under the Big Top,” the event raised the most money of any single charitable project in Kingston. Some funds from it launched her current focal point: “The Regina Rosen Food First Fund.” She is responsible for its fund-raising as well as chair of the committee that oversees fund distribution to enhance Kingston’s food security network.

Her goal is to help people in ways that best use her capabilities, communicating contemporary ideas and information to a broad spectrum of people. Her hope is to benefit the wider community by creating an understanding of a whole community’s value to society.

Of her many accomplishments, Regina is especially proud of her family, including sons Gregg and Charles, daughter Andrea, their spouses, and her six grandchildren.

Carlos Varela, LLD

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.

In 1983, Carlos entered the Theater class at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) de Cuba (SIA, Superior Institute of Arts), where he graduated as an actor five years later. In 1986, he was invited by Silvio Rodriguez, Cuba’s famed singer and songwriter, on a tour through Spain. The same year, he shared the stage with renowned Argentinean musicians Mercedes Sosa and Leon Gieco at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana. Carlos then formed his own band together with musicians from the ISA and the National School of Art. Their music was an innovative fusion of pop, folk and rock music.

Through his original style of music, Carlos 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 5000 seats of the Karl Marx Theater for three consecutive nights. His music continued to gain international popularity, and Carlos gave concerts throughout Latin America and Europe. The continuing success of Carlos’s music, both: internationally and in Cuba, confirmed his place as a musical symbol of his generation, with an extensive, dedicated fan base that religiously attended each of his concerts.

Varela’s subsequent albums earned increasing national and international acclaim. The recording of Guillermo Tell from the album “Carlos Varela en Vivo” (1991), was selected to be included on the album “Clásicos de la Música Cubana” (Classics of Cuban Music). Varela received the most prestigious award in Cuban discography, the Cubadisco Award, for his album “Monedas al Aire” in 1992, and was honored with the National Culture Medal the same year. His music video Robinson, based on the same album, was aired throughout the region by the Latin Division of MTV.

Varela was granted the prestigious Ondas Award for Best Latin Artist Revelation in Barcelona in 1998 for his album “Como Los Peces”. Later that year, Miguel Bose’s recording of Varela’s song Muros topped the charts throughout Europe and Latin America. The song “Una Palabra”, from the acoustic album “Nubes”(2000), was featured in the short film “Powder Keg” and later achieved international recognition as it was featured in Tony Scott’s Hollywood blockbuster “Man On Fire.” The song has since appeared on various television shows and been remixed by DJs in the US and throughout Europe.

This same year Carlos and his band played several concerts in Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and the United States. The two concerts with a group of other popular Cuban musicians at the Opera House of the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of RED HOT+ Cuba on December 1st, was most definitely a cultural landmark.

To celebrate his career’s 30th anniversary, Carlos invited a group of renowned artists and friends to join him in two legendary concerts in the Teatro Nacional de Cuba on January (10 and 12) 2013. Jackson Browne, Ivan Lins, Luis Enrique, Eduardo Cabra (Calle 13), Juan Formell, Equis Alfonso, Alexander Abreu, Diana Fuentes, among others sang Carlos’ greatest hits backed by his band and a twelve piece strings orchestra.

These concerts were filmed and recorded to be part of a documentary, concert DVD and Live CD that will be released by the end of this year.

A book: Habáname: la ciudad musical de Carlos Varela (Habaname: The musical city of Carlos Varela), published by La Memoria Publishers, of the Pablo de la Torriente Brau Center, was presented at the XXIII International Book Fair in Havana on February 3rd, 2014.

The volume, with a foreword by Jackson Browne, includes eight fascinating essays written by Cuban, Canadian, British and U.S. researchers and musicologists. It also contains photographs of the singer and the lyrics to all the songs of his official discography, which adds value to this compilation and will make it transcend as de rigueur research material when analyzing Cuban music and songwriting. The book has also been translated into English and will be published this summer by the prestigious Toronto University Press in Canada.

Carlos Varela’s artistic career is constantly evolving and growing. His national and international concerts, extensive discography, and his dedicated fan base within and outside of Cuba reaffirm Carlos Varela as a genuine and revered heir of the Cuban Nueva Trova movement and a revered representative of Cuban music.

Pinchas Zukerman, LLD

World-renowned violinist, violist, conductor, and chamber musician;

Distinguished Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra;

Graduate of the Julliard School;

Widely recognized for his genius, prodigious technique and exceptional artistic standards and for his wisdom in removing his tennis racquet from his violin case and replacing it with a Stradivarius; and whose visionary and infectious ambitions guided an expanded orchestra in size, repertoire, technology and event touring to make the National Arts Centre Orchestra into one of the leading small orchestras in the world;

An impeccable concert violinist who is celebrated around the globe, who serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and who is welcomed as a guest conductor with the world’s finest orchestras;

A co-winner of the International Levintritt Competition at an uncommonly young age who received the National Medal of Arts from President Ronald Reagan and was the first recipient of the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence; whose discography as a recording artist numbers more than 100 titles including 21 Grammy nominations and two Grammys;

Acclaimed forever-young virtuoso, discerning talent scout and inspiring pedagogue who pioneered distance learning music programs and championed music video conferencing; and whose devotion to the next generation of musicians may be found in his many educational creations, including the National Arts Centre Summer Music Institute, the Institute of Orchestral Studies and his performance program at the Manhattan School of Music;

A marvellous maestro whose gifts generously given to the world and the musical life of Canada will continue to evolve and be treasured and performed, and whose many achievements as an artist and innovative conductor we honour as we proudly confer on him our highest award.

Izzeldin Abuelaish, LLD

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, MD, MPH, often known and referred to as “the Gaza Doctor,” is a Palestinian medical doctor and infertility specialist who has spent his life working to create peace as a researcher, educator, and leader in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Dr. Abuelaish received his early education in the refugee camp school system in Jabalia, Gaza. He studied medicine in Cairo, Egypt and later obtained a diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology with the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of London. He completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Saroka Hospital in Israel, followed by further studying fetal medicine and genetics at V. Buzzi hospital in Italy and Erasme hospital in Belgium. He went on to earn his Master in Public Health degree in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University, and later worked as a senior researcher at the Gertner Institute in Sheba hospital in Israel. Currently, Dr. Abuelaish is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Abuelaish’s life has not been without considerable hardship. Between 2008-9, he lost his wife to acute leukemia, followed by losing his three daughters and niece when his home was shelled during the Israeli incursion into Gaza. He sought to act positively following these tragedies, in hopes that the lives lost during this time would be the last. He directed his energy toward spreading the doctrine that from tragedy can come good; from conflict and hardship can come peace and well-being.

His excellence and accomplishments have been recognized through a number of awards, including the 2009 Stavros Niarchos Prize for Survivorship, the 2009 Search for Common Ground Award, the 2009 Middle East Institute Award, the 2010 Uncommon Courage Award from the Centre for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding and the 2010 Mahatma Ghandi Peace Award of Canada. He has also been named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2009 -10 by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre and was nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. He is the author of the best-seller “I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey” which is being translated into 15 languages. He has also established The Daughters For Life Foundation in memory of his three daughters and niece whose lives were lost in 2009. The foundation aims to promote health education and leadership for women throughout the Middle East.

Bruce Alexander, LLD

Bruce was born in Montreal in 1938 and attended Hillcrest Public School in Toronto and Oakville-Trafalgar High School. He graduated from Queen’s with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1960, after which he attended the London School of Economics and Dalhousie Law School as a Dunn Scholar. After marrying Andrea Lough, he transferred to University of Toronto Law School where he obtained his LL.B. in 1965. Bruce and Andrea’s son Christopher was born in 1968. Bruce attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program from 1984 to 1985.

Bruce has extensive experience in both government and the private sector. He began his career in 1967 as an associate lawyer at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt and moved to the Ontario provincial government where had a 13 year career, which included being Chair of the Ontario Highway Transport Board and serving in Assistant Deputy Minister capacities in both the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Ministry of Community and Social Services. He moved back to the private sector in 1987, when he was appointed Managing Director of Fraser Beatty (now Fraser Milner Casgrain). During the negotiation of the Charlottetown Accord, he was Special Adviser to the Right Honourable Joe Clark, the Minister for Constitutional Affairs (Canada). He returned to the private sector in 1993 as a Principal in GlobeInvest Capital Management, and was subsequently Vice-President of McCutcheon Steinbach Investment Management. Since 1999 he has been Vice-Chair of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal.

Bruce’s contributions to Queen’s since he was a student have been substantial. He was President of the Alma Mater Society and recipient of the A.E. MacRae Award in 1960. He has been a member of the University Council since 1968 and was a member of the Board of Trustees from 1970 to 1982. He chaired the John Orr dinner in 1970, 1984 and 1985 and was co-founder of the Kingston and Queen’s Rowing Clubs and the Queen’s Public Sector Management Program. He received the Queen’s Distinguished Service Award in 1988, the National Alumni Award in 1991, the Toronto Branch Award in 1995, and the John Orr Award in 2001.

Bruce has had extensive involvement in the volunteer sector. He was founding Director of the John Howard Society of Toronto and the Oriole Park Community Association, co-founder of the John Brooks Community Foundation Scholarship Fund, recipient of the John Brooks Community Foundation Award, Deputy Director of the United Way Government Campaign; Member, International Observer Group - Sri Lanka Elections, 1993; and Director, Canadian Scottish Heritage Foundation. In 2009, he created the Shadow Cabinet as a way of formalizing a lifelong interest in mentoring young Canadians.

Bruce has a passion for sport and recreation, has been active in cycling, cross country skiing, and white water canoeing and is a member of the Boulder Buster Canoe Club. He was a member of the Legacy Committee of the Toronto Olympic Bid, created the Les Amis fund for amateur athletes, and served on the Boards of Cross Country Canada and True Sport Canada.

Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, LLD

National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo is a Hereditary Chief from the Ahousaht First Nation. In July 2009, A-in-chut was elected to a three-year mandate as National Chief to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

Advancing a vision of supporting and enabling the success of every First Nation on the basis of their rights and responsibilities, National Chief Atleo and the National Executive have taken forward a bold plan of action and engagement with all sectors of Canadian society. First Nations from across Canada supported A-in-chut in confirming education as a top priority for the Assembly. Since then, A-in-chut has been a tireless advocate for First Nations by spending time in First Nations in every region of the country, with federal, provincial, and territorial leaders and with national and international audiences.

Previously, A-in-chut served two terms as Regional Chief of the BC AFN. Committed to the principles of working together through inclusion and respect, he forged the historic Leadership Accord among First Nations leadership in BC in 2005.

A-in-chut graduated in 2003 with a Masters of Education in Adult Learning and Global Change from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (in partnership with University of British Columbia, University of the Western Cape South Africa, and University of Linkoping Sweden). In 2008, A-in-chut’s commitment to education was recognized in his appointment as Chancellor of Vancouver Island University, becoming BC’s first Indigenous Chancellor. He received an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree in Education from Ontario’s Nipissing University in June 2010. In February, 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his advocacy work on behalf of First Nations across Canada.

A-in-chut is supported by and gains strength from his partner of 25 years Nancy and their two adult children, Tyson and Tara. Traditional teachings have guided A-in-chut to serve First Nations as a leader, facilitator, mediator, planner, and teacher.

Dame Pamela Gordon Banks, LLD

Dame Pamela Gordon Banks is the first woman, and youngest person, to have served as the Premier of Bermuda. As head of government, Dame Pamela led a cabinet that fostered the continued growth of international business and educational advancement, during which Bermuda experienced unrivalled prosperity.

Knighted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, for service to the country, Dame Pamela spent 14 years in the political arena in various senior leadership roles before deciding to retire from active politics.

As a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, Dame Pamela participated in the Inaugural Summit. She was inducted as a member of the Global Leaders for Tomorrow at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Dame Pamela has also served as the Chair of a Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee.

To promote democratic governance, Dame Pamela has debated politics everywhere from CNN to the Oxford Union to the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. As a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy’s School of Government, Dame Pamela has extensively lectured students keen to practice “the art of the possible.”

Her special affinity for Queen’s began in the 1970’s, when she enrolled in the University’s innovative undergraduate Distance Learning courses. In later years, despite the demands of her political office, Dame Pamela took great pleasure in earning her MBA from Queen’s School of Business.

Currently, Dame Pamela is actively involved with several international charitable organizations including the ISIS Foundation (which focuses on maternal and child care in Nepal & Africa), the World Fellowship (which supports the global outreach of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards) and the Magic That Matters Foundation (which sponsors Johns Hopkins Hospital’s stem cell research program).

Married to Andrew Banks, founder of private equity firm ABRY Partners, Dame Pamela has four accomplished adult children and three beautiful grandchildren, and lives in Bermuda.

Robert Beamish, LLD

Robert Beamish was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. During his younger years, his family moved often due to his father’s job, which meant Bob attended various public schools in Toronto and Montreal. Ultimately, the family landed in the west end of Toronto, where Bob attended Etobicoke Collegiate Institute. It was there that he met his wife-to-be, Marilyn Daly, and the two were married just weeks after their university graduation, his from Queen’s and hers from University of Toronto.

Bob graduated with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering in 1960. It was during this time at Queen’s that he developed his life-long love of flying and acquired his Pilot’s license.

His first employment was as a Process Engineer in the paper industry in Toronto. Following that, he had the opportunity to become involved in a start-up company in New Jersey, which manufactured portable emergency shelters – a good learning experience.

Just around the time of the birth of their first child, Bob took a job as Technical Service Representative at Monsanto Canada in their Plastics Division. He stayed with Monsanto for 14 years and held various positions in manufacturing, marketing, and management, with his final assignment being President of Monsanto Canada.

In 1978, Monsanto chose to withdraw from one segment of their operations in Canada, the polyurethane business. Bob, along with his colleague at Monsanto who ran the division, Bob Fitzhenry, purchased the business. “Woodbridge Foam Corporation,” now known as “The Woodbridge Group,” was hence established, composed of just the one facility located in Woodbridge, Ontario.

Concentrating on innovations in the processes and products, the business has grown over the past 30 years from one local Canadian plant to over 60 facilities in 21 countries. It now produces and assembles many products, primarily for the automotive industry, and remains a private Canadian corporation.

Over the years, Bob has been involved in a number of ventures, many of which strive to find new materials to improve a product, or replace petroleum-based material with sustainable substitutes. These developments range from the design and manufacture of aircraft floats and bush planes, to the commercialization of bio-based petrochemical replacements, composite lumber made from fly ash, and biodiesel.

Over 10 years ago, Bob, Marilyn and his three children formed a charitable foundation, The WB Family Foundation, the primary purpose of which is to assist organizations with their creative initiatives in medical research, health care, and education. Participation in the realization of the Queen’s Integrated Learning Centre, Beamish-Munro Hall, is one example of the foundation’s interests. The Foundation has also placed a particular emphasis on mental health issues through its association with The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, as well as funding certain hospitals specifically in the area of diagnostic imaging.

Bob and Marilyn currently live in Oakville. They have three children, and nine grandchildren.

Alan Bernstein, DSc

Dr. Alan Bernstein, O.C., PhD, FRSC, is the President & CEO of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). CIFAR’s vision is to deepen our understanding of the world by connecting the world’s best minds through global research networks that address important, complex challenges facing humanity.

From 2008-2011, Dr. Bernstein was the executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, an international alliance of researchers and funders charged with accelerating the search for an HIV vaccine. Previously, he served as the founding president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2000-2007), Canada’s federal agency for the support of health research. In that capacity, he led the transformation of health research in Canada.

After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and following postdoctoral work in London, Dr. Bernstein joined the Ontario Cancer Institute (1974-1985). In 1985, he joined the new Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute in Toronto, was named Associate Director in 1988, and then Director of Research (1994-2000).

Author of over 225 scientific publications, Dr. Bernstein has made extensive contributions to the study of stem cells, hematopoiesis, and cancer. He chairs or is a member of advisory and review boards in Canada, the U.S., U.K., Italy, and Australia. Dr. Bernstein has received numerous awards and honorary degrees for his contributions to science, including the 2008 Gairdner Wightman Award. He is a Senior Fellow of Massey College and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Raymond Bradley, DSc

Raymond S. Bradley is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences and Director of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He also co-directs the Northeast Climate Science Center of the U.S. Department of Interior.

Dr. Bradley did his undergraduate work at Southampton University (U.K.) and his post-graduate studies (M.S., Ph.D.) at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder. He also earned a DSc. from Southampton University in 2003 for his contributions in paleoclimatology.

His research interests are in climatology and paleoclimatology, with a particular focus on how climate has changed since the last ice age, and the causes of climate variations. He has written or edited twelve books on climatic change, including Paleoclimatology, Climate Since AD 1500, Climate Change and Society, Paleoclimate, Global Change and the Future, The Hadley Circulation, and Global Warming and Political Intimidation. He has also authored more than 170 peer-reviewed articles on climate change.

He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Arctic Institute of North America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In July 2006, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Lancaster University, England. He was awarded the Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union in 2007, and elected to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in 2008.

Ray Bradley has been an advisor to various government and international agencies, including the U.S., Swiss, Swedish, and U.K. National Science Foundations, the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S., the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Research Council, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the US-Russia Working Group on Environmental Protection, and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP).

President Jimmy Carter, LLD and Rosalynn Carter, LLD

Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter Jr.), 39th President of the United States, was born October 1, 1924, in the small farming town of Plains, Georgia, and grew up in the nearby community of Archery. He was educated in the public school of Plains, attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946, the same year he married Rosalynn Smith, also of Plains. In the Navy, he became a submariner, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and rising to the rank of lieutenant.

When his father died in 1953, he resigned his naval commission and returned with Rosalynn and his family to Georgia, running the Carter farms and becoming involved in his county and state—serving in the Georgia Senate for two terms and as Governor from 1971 to 1975.

Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States on November 2, 1976 and served as President from January 20, 1977, to January 20, 1981. Significant foreign policy accomplishments of his administration included the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. On the domestic side, the administration's achievements included a comprehensive energy program conducted by a new Department of Energy; deregulation in energy, transportation, communications, and finance; major educational programs under a new Department of Education; and major environmental protection legislation, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

Rosalynn Carter, a graduate of Georgia Southwestern College in 1946, has made a lifelong commitment to address issues affecting women and children. She is an advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights, and conflict resolution. Mrs. Carter emerged as a driving force for mental health in the United States when, during the Carter administration, she became active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health and led the successful effort to pass the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980. Today, she serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University, her alma mater. She served as distinguished centennial lecturer at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, from 1988-1992 and is currently a distinguished fellow at the Emory University Department of Women's Studies in Atlanta.

In 1982, in partnership with Emory University, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter co-founded The Carter Center, a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization, for which they both continue to provide active leadership. For thirty years, the Center has been guided by “a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering; it seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health” both in the United States and around the world.

The Center has led the fight against Guinea worm disease, reducing the number of cases from an estimated 3.5 million cases in 1986 to 521 as of October 2012. It is on track to be the first disease since smallpox to be eradicated. The Center also has sent observers to 92 elections in 37 countries to help establish and strengthen democracy, and has taught farming methods that have helped more than 8 million small-scale farmers in 15 African nations to double or triple grain production.

Additionally, the Carters have been active advocates for Habitat for Humanity, joining with legions of other volunteers to helping hundreds of thousands of families in need feel the joy of home ownership. They have carried this commitment further in the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project — a campaign that, since 1984, has built and restored homes, as well as raised awareness of the world’s critical need for affordable housing.

Together, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have written over 30 books on topics ranging from the state of American politics and democracy, to peace and human rights at home and abroad, to caregiving for those in need both in the family and in the community. For their uncompromising commitment to advancing the dignity of all peoples at home and around the world, they have received countless international awards and commendations, including, for President Carter, the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002.

Never forgetting their roots, the Carters both have served as deacons in the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, Georgia. In their spare time, they enjoy fly-fishing, bird-watching, and swimming. Most importantly, they enjoy time with their family—three sons, one daughter, nine grandsons, three granddaughters, two great-grandsons, and five great-granddaughters.

Glenn Close, LLD

Glenn Close is an Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award winning actress who made her feature film debut in George Roy Hill’s The World According to Garp. Her performance earned Ms. Close her first Academy Award nomination. She was subsequently Oscar-nominated for her performances in Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill; Barry Levinson’s The Natural; Adrian Lyne’s smash Fatal Attraction; and Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liaisons. She starred in all five seasons of the recently-ended, highly-acclaimed TV legal drama, Damages, for which she won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe as “Best Actress.”

Last year, Glenn Close produced and starred in the title role of the feature film Albert Nobbs, alongside a distinguished cast that included Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Brendan Gleason and Janet McTeer. Rodrigo Garcia, for whom Close has starred in two previous films, directed. In addition to writing the screenplay with (Man Booker prize-winning novelist) John Banville, Glenn wrote the lyrics to the Golden Globe nominated theme song. For her performance in Albert Nobbs, Close received her sixth Academy Award nomination, along with Golden Globe and SAG nominations, the “Best Actress” Award from the Tokyo Film Festival and the Irish Film and Television Award for “Best Foreign Actress.”

In 2009, Glenn Close participated in the launch of Bring Change 2 Mind, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to confronting, head-on, the fear, misunderstanding, and discrimination surrounding mental illness. The organization was created by Close together with The Balanced Mind Foundation, Fountain House and International Mental Health Research Organization, and has the support of the major mental health organizations in this country.

The idea for this movement evolved out of Ms. Close’s first-hand observation of battles with mental illness within her family. Ms. Close’s sister, Jessie, is living with bipolar disorder and Jessie’s son, Calen, is living with schizoaffective disorder. All three have become powerful advocates for mental health.

Bring Change 2 Mind is behind a national anti-stigma public service campaign that is raising awareness about mental illness and has already reached over 800 million households. The public service announcement, which can be viewed on their website www.BringChange2Mind.org, was directed by Ron Howard. John Mayer lent his song “Say” to the cause. A key Bring Change 2 Mind initiative is to base its anti-stigma messaging on the latest scientific research which can then be measured for effectiveness.

Ms. Close actively supports Puppies Behind Bars and their program Dog Tags: Service Dogs for Those Who’ve Served Us. She is also a Founding Member of the Panthera Conservation Advisory Committee. Panthera is an international nonprofit whose sole mission is conservation of the world’s 36 species of wild cats.

John Crosbie, LLD

John Crosbie was born on January 30, 1931 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and was educated at St. Andrew’s College in Ontario. He attended Queen’s University and graduated with an Arts degree and the medal in Politics in 1953. He recalls experiencing the mentoring of, and consultations with, J.A. Corry and J. Meisel of the Politics department, F. Knox of the Economics department, W. Lederman, later the first Dean of the Law School, and J. Royce, the Registrar.

After graduation, John Crosbie attended the Dalhousie Law School and graduated in 1956 as a University Medallist and received the Viscount Bennett Fellowship for post-graduate study, which led to further legal studies at the London School of Economics in 1956-57. In October of 1957, he was called to the bar of Newfoundland and has served as a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland for 54 years.

John Crosbie was first elected as a Member of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland in 1966 in which he served until winning a by-election in St. John’s West Federal District in 1976. He served as a Member of Parliament in Opposition and, at various times, as a Minister of Finance, Justice, Transport, International Trade, and Fisheries and Oceans. He retired from politics in 1993 and was the Chancellor of Memorial University from 1994 to 2008, when he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Crosbie married his wife, Jane, at the beginning of his final year at Queen’s in 1952. They will celebrate 59 years of marriage in the fall of 2011. His two sons, Ches and Michael, and daughter, Beth, all attended Queen’s, with Ches winning the medal in Politics twenty-three years after his father achieved the same honour. The family tradition has continued, with a granddaughter graduating from Queen’s in 2009.

Janina Fialkowska, LLD

Beloved the world over for her exquisite pianism, Janina Fialkowska has enchanted audiences for over thirty years with her glorious lyrical sound, her sterling musicianship, and her profound sense of musical integrity. Born to a Canadian mother and a Polish father in Montreal, Janina Fialkowska started to study the piano with her mother at the age of five. Eventually she entered the École de Musique Vincent d'Indy, studying under the tutelage of Mlle. Yvonne Hubert. The University of Montreal awarded her both advanced degrees of “Baccalauréat” and “Maîtrise” by the time she was only 17.

In 1969, Ms. Fialkowska’s career was greatly advanced by two events: winning the first prize in the Radio Canada National Talent Festival and travelling to Paris to study with Yvonne Lefébure. One year later, she entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where she first studied with Sascha Gorodnitzki and later became his assistant for five years.

In 1974, her career was launched by Arthur Rubinstein after her prize-winning performance at his inaugural Master Piano Competition in Israel. Ms. Fialkowska has performed with the foremost North American orchestras as well as with all of the principal Canadian orchestras. In touring Europe and Asia, Ms. Fialkowska has appeared as a guest artist with such prestigious orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Halle Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Scottish National Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the French and Belgium National Radio Orchestras.

She has also performed with the foremost North American orchestras, among them the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Houston Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony as well as with all of the principal Canadian orchestras, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa, the Calgary Philharmonic, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the baton of such renowned conductors as Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir Georg Solti, and Leonard Slatkin.

Janina Fialkowska was the Founding Director of the hugely successful “Piano Six” project and its successor “Piano Plus”. This latest project brings together some of Canada’s greatest Classical pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists with Canadians who, for either geographical or financial reasons, would otherwise be unable to hear this calibre of live classical performance. In 2000, "Piano Six" won one of Canada's top arts awards, the Chalmers Award.

In October 2002 Ms Fialkowska was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada. She continues to tour the world and delight audiences with her outstanding skill as well as producing critically acclaimed bestselling CDs.

Robert Fowler, LLD

In the course of 38 years of public service, Robert (Bob) Fowler spent a dozen years in the Department of External Affairs, serving in Paris, at the United Nations, and at Headquarters in Ottawa, before being transferred to the Privy Council Office where he was the Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Ministers Trudeau, Turner, and Mulroney from 1980 to 1986.

Mr. Fowler was Assistant Deputy Minister (Policy) at the Department of National Defence from 1986 to 1989, during which time he produced three White Papers on Canadian Defence Policy, and served as Deputy Minister of National Defence from 1989 to 1995. In this capacity he was responsible for 35,000 civilian employees, the administrative, materiel, and support needs of 90,000 members of the Canadian Forces, a budget of $13 billion (CDN), and for the elaboration of defence policy.

In January of 1995, Mr. Fowler became Canada’s longest serving Ambassador to the United Nations (1995 - 2000), where he represented Canada on the Security Council in 1999 and 2000. As Chair of the Angolan Sanctions Committee, he issued two ground-breaking reports which, by putting an end to the impunity of sanctions busters and severely limiting the rebels' access to diamond markets and the arms bazaar, led to the end of the civil war that had ravaged Angola for 25 years.

From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Fowler was Canadian Ambassador to Italy, Albania, San Marino, the three Rome-based UN Food Agencies, and High Commissioner to Malta. Concurrently, he was appointed Sherpa for the Kananaskis G8 Summit in 2002, chairing the creation of the Africa Action Plan, which laid a new foundation for the G8's relationship with Africa. In 2005, he chaired Prime Minister Paul Martin’s Special Advisory Team on Sudan.

From 2001 to 2006, he was the Personal Representative for Africa of Prime Ministers Chrétien, Martin and, briefly, Harper.

Bob Fowler retired from the federal public service in the fall of 2006 and became a Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

In July 2008, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, appointed Mr. Fowler to be his Special Envoy to Niger, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General. While acquitting his UN mission, Mr. Fowler and his colleague, Louis Guay, were captured by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on 14 December 2008, and held hostage in the Sahara Desert for 130 days.

Bob and Mary Fowler live in Ottawa and have four daughters and four grandchildren.

Douglas Hargreaves, LLD

John Walter Douglas (Doug) Hargreaves is a graduate of Queen’s University (B.A. 1960) and Dalhousie University (M.Sc.1975). He served in the Canadian Air Force from 1956 to 1972 as a pilot, instructor, administrator, and coach of both football and basketball. After graduating from Queen’s, he was employed as a high school teacher and coach of both football and basketball, a television weatherman, an insurance salesman, and as a university administrator, associate professor, and coach.

Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Doug came to Queen’s in the early 1950’s as an Officer Cadet in the University Reserve Training Program. During his university years, Doug played both varsity football and basketball and met his future wife, Norma, who was a Queen’s student before completing Kingston General Hospital’s School of Nursing program. They raised three daughters and now have four grandsons. In the years following, Doug taught high school and coached various high school sports in Sault Ste. Marie, before re-enlisting with the Canadian Air Force.

While with the Air Force, Doug coached football and basketball at the Royal Military College from 1965 to 1970. In 1971 while stationed at Trenton, Frank Tindall asked him to join his Queen’s staff as an assistant. In 1972, Doug left the military to become Dalhousie’s Athletic Director and head football coach. In 1976, he returned to Queen’s as head football coach and to teach in the School of Physical Education.

Doug led the Golden Gaels to 16 consecutive league semi-final appearances and made 13 league championship appearances, winning nine of those title games, posting 2 undefeated seasons. While head coach, the Gaels won three national semi-final games and won the National Championship title twice. Doug earned league “Coach of the Year” honours five times while at Queen’s. In 1983, he was awarded the Frank Tindall Award as the top intercollegiate head coach in Canada. Since 1995, the Most Outstanding Offensive Player at Queen’s has been awarded the Doug Hargreaves Trophy. Doug is a member of the Queen’s Coaches’ Hall of Fame, the Queen’s Football Hall of Fame, and the Kingston Sports Hall of Fame.

His overall record of 128 wins, 103 losses, and 3 ties spans a career from the Royal Military College, Dalhousie, and Queen’s. In 1994 he retired, having coached the most football games (233) up to that time in the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union.

Doug served on the CIAU Rules Committee for 10 years, was a member of Football Canada’s Working Committee (creating the Coaching Technical Certification program for Canada), and pioneered the exporting of the Canadian game to various European countries. He was instrumental in the forming of the Queen’s Football Club and the catalyst behind the Queen’s Football Hall of Fame.

During his spare time, Doug enjoys downhill skiing, sailing, and building and flying scale radio-controlled aircraft.

Alia Hogben, DD

Alia Hogben has been a fierce, eloquent and courageous champion of the rights of women and, in particular, those of Muslim women. Born in Burma, raised primarily in India, as well as in many other countries, including Canada. Ms. Hogben is truly a citizen of the world. She was educated at Carleton University (BA) and the University of Toronto (MSW). As a social worker she advocated on behalf of those who did not always have the voice to speak for themselves: women, children, immigrants, the poor, the mentally ill, and those with developmental handicaps to name a few.

Ms. Hogben has been part of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women since its inception; as a member of the Board, as President, and now as Executive Director. With the Council, she has worked tirelessly to assist Canadian Muslim women and others to learn about Islam and its message of equality, plurality and inclusiveness and to seek changes in policies affecting all Muslims, especially Muslim women. Under her direction, the Council has commissioned and disseminated many scholarly reports on the lives and rights of Muslim women in Canada and has, thereby, contributed to the education of Canadians about women and Islam. As part of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, she has employed her reasoned and informed voice in service of the rights of Muslim women in Canada.

She is highly valued by the media as a commentator on issues concerning Islam in Canada and Women in Islam. She writes a monthly column for the Kingston Whig-Standard on Islam and Muslims. She has spoken at international conferences all over the world. Ms. Hogben was a key spokesperson against the use of religious law in family law arbitrations in Ontario. Her position is based both on her view of the breadth and pluralism within Islam and on her commitment to the rights of all women in Canada. She has been honoured by the Ontario Elementary Teachers' Federation as one of the "Great Canadian Women: Making Change Happen."

Ms. Hogben seeks to counter ignorance and fear of Islam with facts, reality and research. She is an articulate proponent of a vision of Islam that is broad, inclusive and egalitarian; a vision that, in her view, fits well in a pluralistic country such as Canada. But she also knows that no religious tradition is defined by a single voice or by a single point of view.

Ms. Hogben lives a life of full engagement. Her ready smile and her easy laughter demonstrate that seriousness of purpose can go hand in hand with a lively sense of humour. For her passion and persistence, for not letting us forget that if we are not vigilant many hard-earned rights could be lost or compromised, Queen's University, upon the recommendation of the Queen's School of Religion, is proud to confer upon her the honorary degree Doctor of Divinity.

Vicki Keith, LLD

Vicki Keith is the most successful marathon swimmer in the history of the sport, holding an unprecedented sixteen world records. Constantly surpassing the records of other swimmers as well as previous records of her own, Vicki has become, to many, the face of marathon swimming in both Canada and around the world. Her most recognized accomplishments include becoming the first person to swim across all five Great Lakes in 1988 and being the only person to complete the 104 km double crossing of Lake Ontario.

Vicki's dream has always been to make a positive difference in the lives of others, so in 2005, when the need for new opportunities for children with disabilities in Kingston, Ontario became apparent, Vicki came out of swimming retirement, and spent 63 hours and 40 minutes in Lake Ontario, completing 80.2 kilometres butterfly, setting 2 world records and raising over $260,000 for the Kingston Family YMCA. This brought her lifetime fundraising total to over one million dollars.

After her marathon swimming career, Vicki took on a new challenge – coaching competitive swimming to a team of athletes with physical disabilities. Vicki has coached 14 athletes with a disability to the national level and two athletes to the international level in competitive swimming, 6 athletes to world records in marathon swimming, and an athlete with a disability to the podium in triathlon on the world stage.

In 2001 Vicki founded the Y Knot Abilities Programs for young people with physical disabilities and their able-bodied siblings. The Y Knot Abilities Programs include sports like competitive swimming, wheelchair basketball and track. Today, Vicki, is working at developing these programs further by expanding to YMCA's across Ontario and Canada.

Vicki has been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada, in recognition of her outstanding achievements and service. In 1996 she was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame, and in 1998 she had her most famous arrival and departure point renamed after her. The headlands of the Leslie Street Spit in Toronto are now called Vicki Keith Point.

Jacqueline Maxwell, LLD

Born and educated in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jacqueline Maxwell studied Drama at the University of Manchester. She acted in both Ireland and England before coming to Canada in 1978. Throughout her long and varied career in Canada, Ms. Maxwell has worked extensively as a freelance director and been instrumental in programme creation at many theatre companies. She first worked in Canada for the National Arts Centre as Assistant, then Associate Director, where she set up and ran both an Apprentice Training and New Play Development Programme. In 1982 she headed to Toronto to become Associate Director at Factory Theatre, where she later became Artistic Director (1986 to 1994). While at Factory, Ms. Maxwell created, developed, and produced works by some of Canada’s most respected and vital playwrights such as George Walker, Michel Marc Bouchard, Sharon Pollock, Ann-Marie MacDonald, and Michel Garneau. She also held the position of Head of New Play Development at the Charlottetown Festival (1997 to 2000) where she created a new program to foster new main stage Canadian musicals.

Of her many productions in theatres across Canada, Ms. Maxwell’s selected credits include The Weir and Dancing at Lughnasa for Canadian Stage Company; Elisa’s Skin, Motel Hélène, The Four Lives of Marie and The Memory of Water (later remounted for Mirvish Productions at the Elgin/Winter Garden) for Tarragon Theatre; Emily and Johnny Belinda for the Charlottetown Festival; The Orphan Muses and Past Perfect for Montreal’s Centaur Theatre; Susannah for Opera Ontario; Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) for London’s The Grand Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Young People’s Theatre; Doc for Manitoba Theatre Centre; and among many for Factory Theatre, Zadie’s Shoes(also remounted for Mirvish Productions at the Elgin/Winter Garden), Stone and Ashes, Still Alive, Girls in the Gang (for which she received a Dora Award for Best Direction) and Moo. In 2008 she directed Conor McPherson’s Dublin Carol for Pittsburgh Irish Classical Theatre and in the winter of 2012 she will direct Good People by David Lindsay Abaire for Arena Stage, Washington.

Ms. Maxwell has been dramaturge and teacher for such institutions as Queen’s University, the Banff Centre for the Arts, York University, George Brown College, and the National Theatre School in Montreal. For eight years she was Guest Artist/Lecturer at the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama at the University of Toronto. In October 2005, Ms. Maxwell was the recipient of the National Theatre School’s prestigious Gascon-Thomas Award; in June 2007, she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from the University of Windsor and, in 2008, she was awarded the Herbert Whittaker/Drama Bench Award, all in recognition of her exceptional achievements in Canadian theatre.

Piers McDonald, LLD

Piers McDonald was born in Kingston, Ontario, but has dedicated his life to improving the lives of others in Canada’s Yukon Territory. He moved to the Yukon to take part in its mining industry, beginning in 1975 and was, only a few years later, a Member of its Legislative Assembly.

For the next two decades, Piers McDonald was at the head of numerous government ministries, such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Community and Transport, and the Ministry of Finance. He spearheaded construction of the Yukon College campus and the Yukon Arts Centre, as well as community schools in Dawson City, Old Crow, and Watson Lake. He opened the Skagway Road year-round, providing access to the ocean ports for Yukon’s mines. Mr. McDonald was one of the architects of Yukon’s Umbrella Final Agreement, which saw most of Yukon’s fourteen First Nations peoples become self-governing. He also oversaw the devolution federal powers in health, highways, and airports to the Yukon government. Piers McDonald led the Yukon New Democratic Party from 1995 to 2000, and was the Territory’s Premier from 1996 to 2000.

After Mr. McDonald left politics in 2000, he created Northern Vision Development, a corporation with the goal of investing in infrastructure in the Whitehorse waterfront. The corporation has grown to become one of the Yukon’s leading real estate companies. In 2007, Piers McDonald assumed the role of President of the 2007 Canada Winter Games, which brought with it 30 to 40 hours per week of volunteer work in addition to his full-time job. The Games were a success, and Mr. McDonald was named the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce’s Businessperson of the Year and the Yukon Commission’s Volunteer of the Year.

In 2009, Piers McDonald was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Beverley McLachlin, LLD

The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C. serves as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Chief Justice McLachlin spent her formative years in Pincher Creek, Alberta and was educated at the University of Alberta, where she received a B.A. (Honours) in Philosophy in 1965. She pursued her studies at the University of Alberta and, in 1968, received both an M.A. in Philosophy and an LL.B.

She articled with Wood, Moir, Hyde and Ross in Edmonton and was called to the Alberta Bar in 1969 and to the British Columbia Bar in 1971. The Chief Justice practised law in Edmonton for a short time, spent one year in Fort St. John and moved to Vancouver to practise with Bull, Housser and Tupper. Commencing in 1974, she taught for seven years in the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia as a tenured Associate Professor.

Her judicial career began in April 1981 when she was appointed to the Vancouver County Court. In September 1981, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. She was elevated to the British Columbia Court of Appeal in December of 1985 and was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in September 1988. Seven months later, in April 1989, she was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. On January 7, 2000, she was appointed Chief Justice of Canada. She is the first woman in Canada to hold this position.

In addition to her judicial duties at the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice chairs the Canadian Judicial Council, the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada and the Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute. She also serves on the selection committee of the Vimy Award.

The Chief Justice has written many articles and publications and is the author of two books. She is the recipient of 29 honorary degrees and was named Commander of the French Legion of Honour in 2007. She was presented with the Queen’s Jubilee medal and the International Jurists award in 2008 and is an honorary member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 2010, she was named Canadian of the Year by the Canadian Club of Toronto and was inducted into the International Hall of Fame by the International Women’s Forum.

Peter Milliken, LLD

Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario. He was educated at Queen’s, Oxford, and Dalhousie Universities. In 1973, he was called to the bar of Ontario and enrolled as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ontario. Mr. Milliken was a partner in a Kingston law firm of Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham from 1973 until 1988 before his election to Parliament. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988 as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands and served until May, 2011.

He has held several positions including, in opposition, Party Critic for Election Reform and Associate Critic for Seniors, Assistant Party House Leader (House Business), Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform and Member of the Standing Committee on House Management. In government, Mr. Milliken has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Government House Leader, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and Co-Chair of the Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct.

In 1996, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Committees of the Whole House and in 1997, Deputy Speaker of the House and Chairman of the Committees of the Whole House. On January 29, 2001, he was elected 34th Speaker of the House of Commons. He was also the Chair of the Board of Internal Economy. On October 12, 2009, he became the longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons in Canadian history. His Speakership was notable for the number of tie-breaking votes he was required to make as well as for making several historic rulings.

In 1997, he was awarded the Padre Laverty Award from the Queen’s University Alumni Association in Kingston where he resides. In November, 1999, he was awarded the Agnes Benidickson Award from the Ottawa Branch of the Queen’s University Alumni Association.

In May 2001, he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the State University New York at Potsdam, and on June 13, 2003, was appointed Honorary President of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada – Hamilton Branch. On July 19, 2003, Mr. Milliken was named Honorary Commander of the Fort Henry Guard.

In June 2011, Peter Milliken joined Queen's University as a Teaching and Research Fellow at the School of Policy Studies.

Lowell Murray, LLD

In September 2011, Mr. Murray retired from the Senate of Canada as its dean, having served in the Upper House as a Progressive Conservative for 32 years following his 1979 appointment by the Right Hon. Joe Clark. He became a Privy Councillor in 1986 and was for more than seven years a minister in the governments of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and of his successor, the Right Hon. Kim Campbell. He was Leader of the Government in the Senate (1986-93), Minister of Federal-Provincial Relations (1986-91), Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (1987-88), and Acting Minister of Communications (1989).

A key figure in most of the major government initiatives of the period, Senator Murray was responsible for the constitutional negotiations related to the Meech Lake Accord (1987), a leading participant in the federal-provincial-aboriginal constitutional process of 1986-87, and was in the cabinet and caucus process that drafted the 1988 amendments to Canada’s Official Languages Act.

As a Senator, he served from time to time as Chairman of three committees – Banking, National Finance, and Social Affairs, and as co-chairman (1980-84) of the Joint Senate-Commons committee on Official Languages. He has been a strong advocate for better parliamentary control of government spending, urging Senate and House to reclaim their traditional prerogatives. In recent years he was generally acknowledged as the pre-eminent Senate spokesman on federal-provincial fiscal relations.

His appointment to the Senate in 1979 was the culmination of almost 20 years in Canadian politics and government. During the 1960s and 1970s, Mr. Murray had served as political assistant to ministers in the Diefenbaker government (Justice Minister E.D. Fulton, Sen. Wallace McCutcheon), to Progressive Conservative leader Robert L. Stanfield, as Deputy Minister to New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield, and as National Campaign Chairman of the P.C. Party.

Senator Murray has been a Trustee of the Institute for Research in Public Policy, a member of the Trilateral Commission, and a member of the Council of the Federation’s expert panel on Fiscal Imbalance (2004-06). Born in New Waterford, N.S., he is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University (B.A., Hon. LL.D) and of Queen’s (MPA).

Peter Nicholson, LLD

Peter Nicholson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1942 and received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in physics from Dalhousie University (1994-95) and a PhD in operations research from Stanford University in California (1969).

His varied career has included senior positions in academia (University of Minnesota), business (fisheries, banking and telecommunications), and public service (several federal government departments, the OECD in Paris, and as a Member of the Nova Scotia Legislature).

In 1994-95, Dr. Nicholson was the Clifford Clark Visiting Economist in Finance Canada and participated in the key decisions that led to the turnaround in Canada’s fiscal position in the wake of measures contained in the 1995 federal budget. He was the chief policy advisor to Prime Minister Martin from 2003 to 2006, before becoming the founding president of the Council of Canadian Academies, a position from which he retired at the end of 2009.

His business career included positions as Senior Vice-President of Scotiabank (Toronto) and Chief Strategy Officer of BCE Inc. (Montreal).

Dr. Nicholson has served in a voluntary capacity on several organizations dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology in Canada. He was an inaugural member of the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology (1986), the founding Chair of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematics, a Governor of the National Research Council, both a Director and a member of the Research Council of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Chair of the Canadian Institute for Telecommunication Research, and the inaugural Chair of the Members of both the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Millennium Scholarship Foundation. He is currently a member of the Alberta Research and Innovation Authority, Chair of the Standing Selection Committee for the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program, and a board member of the Halifax Marine Research Institute and of the Centre for Drug Research and Development.

Dr. Nicholson has received honorary degrees from Dalhousie University, Acadia University, the University of Quebec, and McMaster University. He is a Member of the Order of Canada awarded in recognition of his contributions to business and public policy.

Raymond Price, DSc

Raymond Alexander Price came to Queen’s University in 1968 from the Geological Survey of Canada. He has been Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering since 1998, but has remained active in research. His research in structural geology and tectonics is focused on the evolution of the continental lithosphere, particularly in the Canadian Cordillera and other modern orogenic belts. His extensive geological mapping for the Geological Survey of Canada in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains has provided the basis for new insights on the structure and tectonic evolution of the Cordilleran foreland thrust and fold belt in Canada, and of its implications for the tectonic evolution of the rest of the Canadian Cordillera, and for other thrust and fold belts worldwide. Dr. Price’s other research interests include: the role of science in public policy development, nuclear fuel waste management, earth system science, and the human dimensions of global change.

Dr. Price recently was Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Sudbury Neutrino Institute, Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Earth Systems Evolution Program of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, and a Member of the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources of the U.S. National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences. He also was Chair of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Scientific Review Group that evaluated the scientific and engineering aspects of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s proposed concept for the disposal of Canada’s Nuclear Fuel Waste, a Member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Global Change Program, and a Member of the Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources of the U.S. National Research Council.

Dr. Price graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1955 with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Geology, and in 1958 he received a Ph.D. in Geology from Princeton University. From 1958 to 1968 he was a member of the Petroleum Geology Section of the Geological Survey of Canada and was engaged in geological mapping and structural and tectonic studies in the Cordillera of western Canada. He then moved to Queen’s University where he was Head of the Department of Geological Sciences from 1972 to 1977, and a Killam Research Fellow from 1978 to 1980. Between 1981 and 1988 Dr. Price was the Director-General of the Geological Survey of Canada and an Assistant Deputy Minister in the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources in Ottawa. He was President of the International Lithosphere Program from 1980 to 1985, and President of the Geological Society of America in 1989-90.

Dr. Price is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an Honorary Foreign Fellow of the European Union of Geosciences. He received the R.J.W. Douglas Medal from the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists in 1984, the Sir William Logan Medal of the Geological Association of Canada in 1985, the Leopold von Buch medal from the Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft in 1988, and the Major Edward Coke Medal from the Geological Society of London in 1989, the Massey Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2010, and he was made an Officer in L’Ordre des Palmes Academique of France in 1988. He was awarded the degree D.Sc. (honoris causa) by Carleton University in Ottawa and the Memorial University of Newfoundland; and the degree LL.D. (honoris causa) by the University of Calgary. He has been selected to receive the Penrose Medal of the Geological Society of America in November 2012.

David Sinclair, DSc

Dr. David Sinclair was born in 1946 in Montreal. He completed both his Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics and his PhD at Queen’s University.

After a postdoctoral year at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Dr. Sinclair moved to Oxford where he became a University Lecturer in Physics and Tutorial Fellow of St Anne’s College. His research focused on properties of reactions between complex nuclei involving the direct transfer of clusters of nucleons. The ultimate aim was to understand the degree to which clusters form within the nucleus. In addition to the nuclear physics studies, he looked at some applications of nuclear techniques including the design of a system eventually used for dating the Turin Shroud.

Dr. Sinclair then turned his attention to the study of solar neutrinos and returned to Canada in 1989 to work on the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). Although he provided much of the conceptual design for the project, his main contribution was to develop techniques that allowed radium to be measured in water at a level about one million times lower than had been achieved previously. This huge improvement was essential for the success of the experiment.

Dr. Sinclair went on from SNO to lead the development of SNOLAB, an international laboratory for the study of astro-particle physics. His research activities now focus on searching for a nuclear decay process that, if it exists, may help to elucidate further the properties of the elusive neutrino and possibly shed light on some of the mysteries surrounding the origin of the universe.

David Stratas, LLD

Justice David Stratas attended elementary and high school in Scarborough, Ontario. In 1984, he obtained his LL.B. from Queen’s University. From 1984-1986, he attended Balliol College, Oxford University, obtaining his B.C.L. with first class standing. He then served as a law clerk to the Honorable Justice Bertha Wilson, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Canada.

Justice Stratas practised law in Toronto from 1988 to 2010, primarily in the areas of administrative and constitutional law. During that time, he acted as counsel in many high profile matters in all courts, including 12 appeals in the Supreme Court of Canada.

While practising law, Justice Stratas earned a reputation as one of the best counsel in Canada. The Chambers Global Guide described him as a “tremendously hard worker,” “meticulously prepared” and “a creative force,” with “ideas you’d never think of.” The annual Lexpert Survey consistently rated him as “repeatedly recommended” by other counsel. Up until his appointment to the judiciary, he appeared in every edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada.

In 2008, Justice Stratas was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of a select number of Canadian counsel to receive that honour. In that same year, the federal Minister of Justice appointed him to the roster of Special Advocates who, upon court appointment, act independently of government to protect the interests of persons facing allegations in closed national security proceedings.

In 2010, Justice Stratas was appointed directly to the Federal Court of Appeal. That Court, based in Ottawa, is the world’s most itinerant appellate court, holding hearings in eighteen major Canadian cities. It reviews decisions of the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada, and over 2,500 federal boards, tribunals, and other decision-makers. It issues judgments in constitutional, administrative and regulatory law, intellectual property law, tax law, immigration law, national security law, and human rights law, to name a few.

From 1994 to 2012, Justice Stratas was a sessional lecturer at Queen’s University’s Faculty of Law, winning a total of eight teaching awards. He has received other awards for his contributions to mentoring and the administrative law and regulatory community. Ever keen to educate, he has spoken at over 100 conferences and has authored approximately 120 articles, papers and commentaries, primarily in the areas of constitutional, administrative, and regulatory law.

Sally Thorne, DSc

Dr. Sally Thorne, RN, PhD, FAAN, FCAHS, is an internationally-recognized and admired academic nurse who has led the country in the advancement of the philosophy of nursing science, the development of graduate education within the discipline, and the expansion of nursing leadership capacity across the health and academic sectors.

A pioneer in the development of qualitative research methods innovations that apply a nursing disciplinary perspective to solving complex health problems, Thorne’s research and writing have reconfigured our understanding of the human interface of cancer and chronic disease. She has also played an active role in shaping health care and health research policy through her career, including involvement as a Board Director for such organizations as the BC Cancer Agency, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the Association of Registered Nurses of British Columbia, the International Institute of Qualitative Methodology, and the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology.

Dr. Thorne has further contributed to the advancement of scholarly thought within nursing and health care through her work as Associate Editor for the journal Qualitative Health Research and as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Nursing Inquiry.

Widely recognized nationally and internationally as an outstanding speaker and consultant on matters of nursing education, leadership, clinical practice, and research, she has given generously of her time to ensuring that nurses are equipped with the knowledge and skills that will bring their discipline’s perspective to policy decisions that affect the health of both people and populations.

In addition to numerous awards and honours associated with her research, teaching and professional leadership, the impact of her contributions to the profession of nursing have been acknowledged through such recognitions as Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2005), being named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women (2009), and induction as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (2011).

Garretson Trudeau, LLD

Garry Trudeau was born in New York City in 1948, and was raised in Saranac Lake, New York. He attended Yale University, where he received his BA and an MFA in graphic design.

Doonesbury was launched in 1970. It now appears in nearly 1,100 daily and Sunday newspaper around the world, and his work has been collected in over 60 books. In 1975, Trudeau became the first comic strip artist ever to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1989, 2004 and 2005.

Working with John and Faith Hubley, Trudeau wrote and co-directed the animated film, A Doonesbury Special, for NBC-TV in 1977. The film was nominated for an Academy Award and received the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Collaborating with composer Elizabeth Swados, Trudeau wrote the book and lyrics for the Broadway musical, Doonesbury, for which he was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards. A cast album of the show, recorded for MCA, received a Grammy nomination. Trudeau also collaborated with Swados on Rap Master Ronnie, an Off-Broadway satirical revue. A filmed version was later broadcast on Cinemax.

In 1988, Trudeau wrote and co-produced, along with director Robert Altman, HBO's critically acclaimed Tanner '88, which won an Emmy, the gold medal for Best Television Series at the Cannes Television Festival, and Best Imported Program from the British Broadcasting Press Guild. In 2004, he reunited with Altman to write and co-produce a sequel series, “Tanner on Tanner,” for the Sundance Channel.

Trudeau has contributed articles to publications such as Harper's, Rolling Stone, The New Republic, The New Yorker, New York, and The Washington Post. He was a contributing columnist for The New York Times op-ed page, and later an essayist for Time magazine. He has received honorary doctorates from Yale, Williams, University College Dublin and 28 other academic institutions, and has been inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In recognition of his work on wounded warriors, Trudeau has been presented with the Commander’s Award for Public Service by the Department of Army, the Commander’s Award from Disabled American Veterans, the President’s Award for Excellence in the Arts from Vietnam Veterans of America, and several other awards.

Trudeau is married to broadcaster Jane Pauley. They have three grown children and make their home in New York City.

Mary Evelyn Tucker, DD

Mary Evelyn Tucker is a Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar at Yale University, where she has appointments in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies as well as the Divinity School and the Department of Religious Studies. She teaches in the joint Master of Arts program in religion and ecology and directs the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale with her husband, John Grim.

Her special area of study is Asian religions. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in Japanese Confucianism. Since 1997, she has been a Research Associate at the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard. Her Confucian publications include: Moral and Spiritual Cultivation in Japanese Neo-Confucianism (SUNY, 1989) and The Philosophy of Qi (Columbia University Press, 2007). With Tu Weiming, she edited two volumes on Confucian Spirituality (Crossroad, 2003, 2004).

Her concern for the growing environmental crisis, especially in Asia, led her to organize with John Grim a series of ten conferences on World Religions and Ecology at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard (1995-1998).Together they are series editors for the ten volumes from the conferences distributed by Harvard University Press. After the conference series, she and Grim founded the Forum on Religion and Ecology. To help shape this new interdisciplinary field they edited Worldviews and Ecology (Orbis, 1994) and a Daedalus volume titled Religion and Ecology: Can the Climate Change? (2001). Tucker also wrote: Worldly Wonder: Religions Enter Their Ecological Phase (Open Court Press, 2003).

Tucker and Grim studied world religions with Thomas Berry and worked closely with him for some 30 years. Tucker edited several of Berry's books: The Great Work (Random House, 1999), Evening Thoughts (Sierra Club Books and University of California Press, 2006), The Sacred Universe (Columbia University Press, 2009), and with Grim, The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth (Orbis, 2009).

She has also worked closely with evolutionary philosopher, Brian Swimme, for some 25 years. Together they have created a multi-media project called Journey of the Universe which consists of an HD film, a DVD series of interviews, a book published by Yale University Press, and a website.

Tucker has been involved with the Earth Charter since its inception. She served on the International Earth Charter Drafting Committee from 1997-2000 and is a member of the Earth Charter International Council.

She also serves on the Advisory Boards of Orion Magazine, the Garrison Institute, and Climate Central.

Wilfrid Wilkinson, LLD

Wilfrid J. (Wilf) Wilkinson, a retired chartered accountant was a founding partner of Wilkinson & Company, a public accounting firm. He is a past-president of the Province of Ontario Public Accountants Council and a past Treasurer of both the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Quebec and the Royal Canadian Military Institute and was elected a Fellow of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants.

A Rotarian since 1962, Mr. Wilkinson is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Trenton, Ontario. He served Rotary International President in 2007-08, the first Canadian to serve in that position in 55 years. Previously he served Rotary International as Vice-President, Director, Rotary Foundation Trustee, District Governor, International Assembly Chair and Chair of the Rotary International Centennial Convention in Chicago.

After retiring from accountancy, Mr. Wilkinson was the part-time executive director of the Quinte Ballet School of Canada. He has also been chair of the Trenton Memorial Hospital fundraising committee, founding chairman of the Belleville Cheshire Home for Physically Handicapped Adults, chairman of the Board for Loyalist College and president of the district council of the Boy Scouts of Canada.

As a member of the International PolioPlus Committee, Mr. Wilkinson has advanced the global effort to eradicate polio. He participated in National Immunization Days (NIDS) in Kenya, Tanzania, India and also administered polio drops to children of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He has also been a Health, Hunger and Humanity Program volunteer to India. In addition, Mr. Wilkinson has had Rotary assignments in South African, Namibia, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and many regions of the United States and Canada.

Mr. Wilkinson has been recognized for his humanitarian service by the Knights of Columbus, Province of Ontario, the government of Canada and was honoured by Pope John Paul II with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal. He is also the recipient of many Rotary honours, including the Citation for Meritorious Service, International Service Award for a Polio-free World, the Distinguished Service Award and Service Above Self Award. He became a Member of the Order of Canada on May 3, 2007 with a citation that read, in part, “Integrity, commitment and service are the hallmarks of Wilfrid Wilkinson’s contributions to his community.”

Mr. Wilkinson has been married to Joan since 1953 and they have four sons and eight grandchildren.

Warren Winkler, LLD

Chief Justice Warren K. Winkler, B.A., LL.B., LL.M. was appointed Chief Justice of Ontario and President of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in June 2007. Prior to his appointment he served for 14 years as a trial judge of the Superior Court of Justice, including three years as the Regional Senior Justice for Toronto.

Chief Justice Winkler is widely recognized for his expertise in mediation, having judicially mediated many large national and international disputes, including those involving the Air Canada restructuring, Ontario Hydro and the Power Workers, the Windsor-Michigan Tunnel, and the CanWest/Shaw Cable restructuring. He has heard major class action proceedings including those involving Hepatitis C, breast implants, tobacco, Walkerton’s tainted water supply, Mad Cow disease, and Native residential schools.

Chief Justice Winkler has received honorary doctorates from the Law Society of Upper Canada and from many Canadian universities. In 2012, Osgoode Hall Law School announced the creation of the Winkler Institute in Dispute Resolution, honoring the Chief Justice’s career in this field. Chief Justice Winkler publishes and speaks frequently on a broad array of topics including class actions, access to justice, alternative dispute resolution, labour relations, judicial mediation and civil justice reform.

Karen Armstrong, DD

Karen Armstrong, one of the world's leading commentators on religious affairs, received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from Queen's University at the Queen's School of Religion 2010 Convocation for Theology programs on May 12, 2010. Armstrong is much sought after throughout the world as a public speaker not only on theology and spirituality, but on the political implications of religious faith in the modern world.

A best-selling author whose books have been translated into forty languages, her early work focused on the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and advanced a counter-intuitive theory of religious fundamentalism. She has since begun to explore eastern religions.

A nun in the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in the 1960's, Armstrong left the Order while attending St. Anne's College, Oxford University, where she studied English, earning a BA and an M.Litt. In the 1970's, Armstrong served as head of the English Department at a girls' public school in London, UK. In 1982, she became a full time writer and television broadcaster. Her television work includes The First Christian, a documentary series on St. Paul (1984), the series Varieties of Religious Experience (1984) and Tongues of Fire (1985). She regularly appears as a religious affairs commentator on radio and television in the United Kingdom and the United States, and is a regular columnist for the Guardian newspaper.

In the last decade, Armstrong has become known for her work on Islam and Fundamentalism, particularly in the United States of America. She has addressed members of the United States House and the Senate on three occasions, has participated in the World Economic Forum in New York and Davos, and has spoken at study days at the UN and at the NATO Naval Defense College in Rome. She has also advised members of the Dutch parliament about Islam and the integration of Muslim communities in Europe. In 2005 she was appointed by Kofi Annan to participate in the UN initiative "The Alliance of Civilizations," a high level group aiming for practical guidelines to member states about how to stem the rising tide of extremism. In 2007 she was awarded a medal for Arts and Sciences by the Egyptian government.

Author of sixteen books, including the international bestseller - A History of God (1993); The Battle for God, A History of Fundamentalism (2000); A Short History of Myth (2005) and Muhammad: A Prophet for our Time (2006), her most recent book, The Case for God, was published to wide acclaim in 2009.

Jeannette Armstrong, LLD

Jeannette Armstrong is an Okanagan Indian who was born in 1948 on the Penticton Indian Reserve in British Columbia.

The grandniece of Hum-Ishu-Ma (Mourning Dove, 1888-1936), considered the first Native American woman novelist, Armstrong is a writer, teacher, artist, sculptor and activist.

She speaks both Okanagan and English; she received a traditional education from Okanagan elders and her family and has raised her own two children on the Penticton Indian reserve as well.

In 1978, she obtained a BFA from the University of Victoria. In 1986 Armstrong became the director of the En'owkin Centre in Penticton. She is also the first director of the En'owkin International School of Writing in Penticton, a creative-writing school organized by and for Native people which grants diplomas through the University of Victoria.

Armstrong writes poetry, fiction, essays and children's literature. She also continues to make visual art and teaches creative writing and performance. The importance of music and poetry is reflected in the recent production of her poem/song "Grandmothers" on the compact disk Word Up! She has been invited to speak to numerous international audiences on native issues including native education and indigenous rights.

Patricia Baird, DSc

Dr. Baird was born in Great Britain and was educated in medicine at McGill University. She trained as a pediatrician, further specializing in medical genetics. Her contributions to the field have been in two main phases. The first was focused in the field of genetic epidemiology using population-based data. This work is widely recognized for elucidating the distribution, natural history, and prognosis for several congenital anomalies and genetic diseases. The second was focused on the application of genetic and reproductive technology, in particular its societal, ethical, and policy implications.

Dr. Baird has been a member of many national bodies, among them the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology chaired by the Prime Minister, the Medical Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research where she served as Vice-President, then Vice-Chair of its Board. She has been an invited visitor at many universities, both in Canada and abroad, and has served as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization in genetics in recent years.

Dr. Baird was appointed by the Prime Minister to head the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. The Commission conducted a broad range of research on social, medical, and ethical aspects of the use of these technologies and consulted across the country with Canadians. The Commission’s Report has been widely influential and its recommendations on policy resulted in legislation.

Dr. Baird has received many honours, including the Confederation Medal, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, and honorary degrees from McMaster University, the University of Ottawa, and Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a recipient of the Order of British Columbia, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000. She is a specially elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2005 she was appointed Chair of the Premier’s Council on Aging and Seniors’ Issues, whose mandate was to make policy recommendations to the Government of British Columbia, and she has continued to be active in policy development in that field.

Dr. Baird is currently a University Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of British Columbia.

Jean Beliveau, LLD

Born in Trois-Rivières, Québec, Jean Béliveau has been a model and inspiration for all youngsters hoping to make a career in professional sports.

He signed his first Canadien and NHL contract in 1953. He was selected on an NHL All-Star Club 10 times, was second-best scorer in the Canadiens' history and best scorer in the Stanley Cup Series with the Canadiens.

He has won the Ross Trophy (champion scorer), the Hart Trophy (most valuable player) twice, and was the first player to win the Conn Smythe (outstanding player in Stanley Cup series).

He saw his team win the League championship 10 times and also won the Stanley Cup 10 times.

In 1971 he announced his retirement in active play after 18 glorious seasons with the Habs.

Mr. Béliveau then established the Jean Béliveau Foundation for underprivileged children throughout Québec and Canada. When he retired in 1993, he transferred the Foundation to the Society for Disabled Children. Today, the Foundation has a capital value of $1,200,000.

Mr. Béliveau has received many awards and honours, including being named an Officer of the Order of Canada for eminent services rendered to Canada and to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Edgar Benson, LLD

The Honourable Edgar John Benson was born in Cobourg, Ontario.

After his graduation from Cobourg Collegiate in 1941, he joined the Canadian Army and was sent overseas as a member of the Canadian Artillery. He served in England and Europe.

He returned to Canada in 1946, and in 1949 graduated from Queen’s School of Business with a degree in commerce. He then became a chartered accountant and partner in the chartered accountants’ firm of England, Leonard, MacPherson in Kingston, Ontario until 1963. He was also a professor at the School of Business.

In 1962, he secured the Liberal nomination for Kingston and the Islands and went on to win a seat in Parliament. In 1963, he was re-elected, and when Lester Pearson formed a government, he became the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance.

In 1965, Mr. Benson became president of the Treasury Board and Minister of National Revenue – posts he filled until 1968.

He was also Pierre Trudeau’s campaign co-chairman for leader of the Liberal party in 1968, and later his first finance minister, a portfolio he held until 1972.

That year, he retired from politics and became president of the Canadian Transport Commission, a position he held for 10 years.

From 1982 to 1985 he served as Canada’s Ambassador to Ireland.

Jill Bolte Taylor, DSc

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a trained and published neuroanatomist. Her specialty was in the post-mortem investigation of the human brain as it relates to schizophrenia and the severe mental illnesses. Because she has a brother who has been diagnosed with the brain disorder schizophrenia, Dr. Taylor served for three years on the Board of Directors of the National NAMI organization (National Alliance on Mental Illness) between 1994-1997. Currently she serves as President of the Greater Bloomington Affiliate of NAMI in Bloomington, Indiana.

Because there is a long term shortage of brain tissue donated for post-mortem research by individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, Dr. Taylor travels as the National Spokesperson for the Mentally Ill for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (Harvard Brain Bank) located at McLean Hospital. As the Singin' Scientist, Dr. Taylor delivers this very popular keynote address titled "How To Get Your Brain To Do What You Want It To Do."

But as irony would have it, on December 10, 1996, Dr. Taylor woke up to discover that she was experiencing a rare form of stroke, an arterio-venous malformation (AVM). Two and a half weeks later, on December 27, 1996, she underwent major brain surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to remove a golf ball size blood clot that was placing pressure on the language centers in the left hemisphere of her brain.

It took eight years for Dr. Taylor to successfully rebuild her brain – from the inside out. In response to the swelling and trauma of the stroke, which placed pressure on her dominant left hemisphere, the functions of her right hemisphere blossomed. Among other things, she now creates and sells unique stained glass brains when commissioned to do so. In addition, she published a book about her recovery from stroke and the insights she gained into the workings of her brain. The New York Times bestselling memoir is titled My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey.

John Edward Broadbent, LLD

A native of Oshawa, Ont. Ed Broadbent has had a lengthy career in Canadian politics.

He graduated first in his class in philosophy at the University of Toronto, studied at the London School of Economics and obtained his doctorate in political science from the University of Toronto. He taught at York University until his election to parliament in 1968.

Mr. Broadbent was a Member of Parliament for 21 years, and leader of the New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. He has supported the struggle for democratic rights in developing countries and has published a book and many articles on human rights matters.

In 1993, he was one of four international judges on the Tribunal on Violations of Women’s Human Rights at the United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. He served as chairman of a national inquiry on Governance and Accountability in Canada's Voluntary Sector and co-chair of a commission on corporate social responsibility.

Mr. Broadbent was made a member of the Privy Council by Prime Minister Trudeau in 1982, an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993 and a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2002.

Mr. Broadbent is a Fellow in the School of Policy Studies at Queen's

William Buxton, LLD

William (Bill) Buxton began his career as a composer and performer. He completed a Bachelor of Music degree at Queen's, then studied and taught at Holland’s Institute of Sonology before shifting gears to do graduate work in Computer Science at the University of Toronto.

He has been senior researcher at Xerox's famous Palo Alto Research Center, a professor at the University of Toronto, and is currently principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Redmond, Washington.

His many awards include being named one of the top five designers in Canada. In 2003, he was co-recipient of an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement for his contribution the animation package Maya.

He is a relentless advocate for innovation, design, and the appropriate consideration of human values, capacity, and culture in the conception, implementation, and use of new products, services and technologies.

An avid outdoors person, Mr. Buxton has a passion for mountain sports ranging from back-country skiing, back-packing and ice-climbing. This summer he and friends plan to trace part of the old fur trade route along the Churchill River in traditional birch-bark canoes.

William Edmund Clark, LLD

William Edmund (Ed) Clark is president and chief executive officer of TD Bank Financial Group. Prior to this appointment, he was president and chief operating officer of the bank, a role he held since July 2000.

Following TD’s acquisition of Canada Trust Financial Services in 2000, Mr. Clark joined TD Bank as chairman and chief executive officer of TD Canada Trust. In this role he oversaw the successful integration of the TD and Canada Trust retail and electronic banking operations. Before this, Mr. Clark was president and chief executive officer of Canada Trust Financial Services.

In 1985, he joined Merrill Lynch, and three years later was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Financial Corporation, a position he held until 1991 when he joined Canada Trust Financial Services Inc.

Mr. Clark graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA and earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from Harvard University.

He serves as director of TD Banknorth and as vice-chairman and director of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the C.D. Howe Institute, co-chair of the Heart and Circulation Campaign for the University Health Network, and provides support to Woodgreen Community Services, an organization that delivers programs to build sustainable communities in the Toronto area.

Thomas A. Cromwell, LLD

The Honourable Thomas Cromwell attended elementary and high school in Kingston, Ontario. He attended Queen’s University, where he obtained a BMus in 1973 and an LLB in 1976. He also obtained an Associate of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto (ARCT) diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 1974 and attended Oxford University, where he earned a BCL in 1977. He began his law practice in Kingston following his admission to the Ontario Bar in 1979 and also taught part time in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s and served as counsel to the Queen’s Faculty Association.

Justice Cromwell practiced law in Toronto and taught in the Faculty of Law of Dalhousie University beginning in 1982. He worked as Executive Legal Officer to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer from 1992 to 1995. He has also held many other offices: Secretary, Board of Governors, National Judicial Institute, 1992-95; Vice-chair, Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board and Construction Industry Panel, 1991-92; labour arbitrator and adjudicator, 1984-97; President, Continuing Legal Education Society of Nova Scotia; President, Canadian Association of Law Teachers, 1988-89; President, Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, 1999-2001; Chair of the Board, Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, 2007-8; Research Director, C.B.A. Court Reform Task Force, 1989-91; and Commissioner, Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia, 2002-7. He also served on the Queen’s University Council and on the Faculty of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Committee.

Justice Cromwell was an active member of the Canadian Judicial Council’s working committee that prepared the publication entitled Ethical Principles for Judges and its Education Committee. He continues to serve on the Council’s Working Committee on Jury Charges and as a faculty member for education programs for the bench and bar. He has authored or contributed to six books and numerous articles and served on the editorial boards for Canadian Criminal Jury Instructions (CRIMJI) publication and the Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice.

Justice Cromwell has received many awards: the C.B.A.’s Louis J. St. Laurent Award of Excellence, 1992; Her Majesty's Jubilee Medal, 2002; the Dalhousie Law Students Society and Dalhousie Law Alumni Association Award of Teaching Excellence, 1992; and, in 2009, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.

The Honourable Thomas Cromwell was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on December 22, 2008. He had previously been appointed to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal on August 27, 1997.

Hector DeLuca, DSc

Dr. Hector DeLuca earned a BA in Chemistry, with honours, from the University of Colorado in 1951, and a Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1955 with Dr. Harry Steenbock, a pioneer in vitamin D research. When Dr. Steenbock retired in 1958, he asked Dr. DeLuca to take over his laboratory and carry on his research. Dr. DeLuca accepted. In 1965, Dr. DeLuca was promoted to the position of Harry Steenbock Research Professor, one he retains today. From 1970 to 1986 and from 1991 to 2005, he was also the Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry.

Dr. DeLuca has devoted his research career primarily to vitamin D and physiological events linked to the function of this vitamin. His major initial discoveries were the identification of the vitamin D active forms 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and the tissue and sub-cellular localization and characterization of the enzymes involved in the vitamin D metabolic pathways. His research group essentially defined the vitamin D-based endocrine system.

After this groundwork had been laid, Dr. DeLuca’s continuing research has made outstanding contributions to various important aspects of vitamin D physiology, metabolism, and function, including cloning the vitamin D receptor, identifying and characterizing the CYP24A1 that degrades the active forms of vitamin D, and elucidating the mechanisms of the regulation of genes by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. His group has made significant contributions in discovering the function of vitamin D in the immune system, in bone resorption and formation, and in reproduction and in calcium and phosphate absorption. Among the most important research activities in Dr. DeLuca’s laboratory has been the synthesis of tissue-specific analogs of vitamin D for the treatment of diseases; this research has resulted in several drugs that are used for various diseases. His group has produced eight pharmaceuticals that are used for the treatment of diseases, including osteoporosis, vitamin D-resistant rickets, and bone diseases linked to kidney failure.

Dr. Hector DeLuca has received numerous international and local awards and honours, including the Gairdner Award of Canada. He was elected to the membership of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Sciences in 1979. He is a member of a number of scientific societies. Dr. DeLuca has over 1,150 publications in the fields of vitamin D, calcitonin, parathyroid hormone and vitamin A and he has over 250 active U.S. patents plus over 1,200 foreign filings corresponding to the U.S. patents.

David Dodge, LLD

Dr. Dodge, whose appointment as Chancellor of Queen’s University became effective July 1, 2008, received an undergraduate degree in Economics from Queen’s and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He taught Economics at Queen’s for several years but ultimately chose a career in the Public Service of Canada. He served as Deputy Minister of Finance from 1992 to 1997 and was appointed Deputy Minister of Health in 1998. In February 2001 he was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada for a seven-year term.

He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen’s in May 2002 and was appointed to the Queen’s University Board of Trustees in June 2007. In December 2007, Dr. Dodge was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Dodge was Associate Professor of Canadian Studies and International Economics at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Commerce at the University of British Columbia; and Visiting Professor in the Department of Economics at Simon Fraser University. He has also served as Director of the International Economics Program of the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Dr. Dodge and his wife Christiane (nee Schweiger), an Arts'65 graduate of Queen’s, reside in Ottawa.

Donald Drummond, LLD

Donald Drummond was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, where he graduated from the University of Victoria. He subsequently received his MA in Economics from Queen’s University.

Mr. Drummond joined the federal Department of Finance upon completing his studies at Queen’s. During his almost 23 years at Finance, Mr. Drummond held a series of progressively more senior positions in the areas of economic analysis and forecasting, fiscal policy, and tax policy. His last three positions were, respectively, Assistant Deputy Minister of Fiscal Policy and Economic Analysis, Assistant Deputy Minister of Tax Policy and Legislation, and Associate Deputy Minister. In the latter position, Mr. Drummond was responsible for economic analysis, fiscal policy, tax policy, social policy, and federal-provincial relations. In particular, Mr. Drummond coordinated the planning of the annual federal budgets.

Joining the TD Bank in June 2000 as Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, Mr. Drummond leads TD Economics’ work in analyzing and forecasting economic performance in Canada and abroad. For Canada, this work is conducted at the city, provincial, and national levels. TD Economics also analyzes the key policies that influence economic performance, including monetary and fiscal policies.

Mr. Drummond travels widely across Canada and abroad, speaking to TD clients and various groups about the Canadian economy and its prospects, and he is frequently quoted by the media on economic and policy issues.

Gareth Evans, LLD

Professor the Honourable Gareth Evans, AO, QC, has been Chancellor of the Australian National University since January 2010, an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne since July 2009, and is Co-Chair of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament whose report Eliminating Nuclear Threats was published in December 2009. He is also President Emeritus of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, the independent global conflict prevention and resolution organization which he led from 2000 to 2009.

Professor Evans spent 21 years in Australian politics, 13 of them as a Cabinet Minister. As Foreign Minister from 1988 to 1996, he was best known internationally for his roles in developing the UN peace plan for Cambodia, concluding the Chemical Weapons Convention, and initiating new Asia-Pacific regional economic and security architecture. Professor Evans has written or edited nine books, most recently The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and For All, published by the Brookings Institution in 2008, as well as over 100 journal articles and chapters on foreign relations, human rights, and legal and constitutional reform.

Professor Evans was Co-Chair of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty in 2001, and a member of the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change in 2004, the Blix Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2006, the Zedillo Commission of Eminent Persons on The Role of the IAEA to 2020 and Beyond in 2008, and the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention. He is Co-Chair of the International Advisory Board of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

In January 2010, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute/Roosevelt Stichting announced that Gareth Evans was the recipient of the 2010 Four Freedoms Award for Freedom from Fear, citing his pioneering work on the Responsibility to Protect concept, and his contributions to conflict prevention and resolution, arms control, and disarmament.

Philip Fontaine, LLD

Mr. Philip (Phil) Fontaine is a dedicated and highly respected figure in Canada. He has been instrumental in facilitating change and advancement for First Nations people from the time he was first elected to public office as Chief at the young age of 28. He is a proud member of the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba and still plays an active role in the support of his community.

In the early 1980’s he was elected to the position of Manitoba Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations. When his term expired in 1991, he was elected Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs where he served three consecutive terms. He played a key role in the development of Manitoba’s Framework Agreement Initiative, in the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord, and signed an Employment Equity Agreement with 39 federal agencies. In 1997, he stepped onto the national stage where he was elected to the highest elected position in First Nations politics, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He recently finished serving an unprecedented third term in office.

His list of accomplishments as National Chief include signing the Declaration of Kinship and Cooperation of the Indigenous and First Nations of North America, being the first Indigenous leader to address the Organization of American States, leading the successful resolution and settlement of the 150 year Indian residential school tragedy, which led to the historical Apology by the Canadian government, the Making Poverty History Campaign, lobbying for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and negotiating a fair and just process for the settlement of Specific land claims. His belief in creating an inclusive Assembly of First Nations ensured that all information was accessible in both French and English languages, and initiated the Renewal Commission, resulting in a 47 recommendation report on improving the political structure of the AFN, including a universal vote by all First Nations citizens.

Mr. Fontaine has received many awards and honours for his work, including seven honorary degrees and membership in the Order of Manitoba. He now owns and operates his own consulting and mediation business, Ishkonigan Inc. He is also a senior advisor to the Royal Bank of Canada, TransCanada Pipeline, and Ogilvy Renault; and is on the board of directors of numerous companies such as Avalon Rare Metals, Plutonic Power and One Earth Farms.

Rocco V. Gerace, LLD

Dr. Rocco Gerace was appointed Registrar of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons in May 2002.

From 1997 to 2002, Dr. Gerace served on the College’s Council as the University of Western Ontario representative. He was elected President of the Council in November 2000, for a one-year term.

Prior to his appointment as Registrar, Dr. Gerace was an attending staff physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the London Health Sciences Centre. He was also a consulting staff member at the Poison Information Centre at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Dr. Gerace graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1972. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Emergency Medicine and a diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Gerace is also certified in Medical Toxicology from the American Board of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Gerace is a professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, is past-chair of this division, and held a cross-appointment in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Gerace is also the Past President of the Medical Council of Canada.

Basil (Buzz) Hargrove, LLD

Basil (Buzz) Hargrove served as National President of the Canadian Auto Workers Union from his election in 1992 until his retirement in September 2008. One of the most recognized labour leaders in Canada, Buzz has been a figurehead in the fight for workplace and social justice.

Born and raised in Bath, New Brunswick (1944), Hargrove’s roots in the labour movement began in on the auto assembly line in Windsor, Ontario. His willingness to defend workers’ rights won him the respect and confidence of his union brothers and sisters. Buzz eventually found himself a place in the union, serving in a variety of capacities. He held several leadership positions and eventually was elected to the executive of UAW-Canada Local 444.

Buzz joined the UAW staff in Toronto in 1975 and three years later became the assistant to the UAW Canadian Director Bob White. Hargrove was an integral part of the leadership team that broke away from the UAW in 1984 and formed the CAW in 1985. Along with his efforts as National President for sixteen years, he served as vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress’ executive committee.

Hargrove has extensive bargaining experience, having negotiated with some of Canada’s largest private corporations including General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Air Canada, Pratt & Whitney, Bombardier and CN Rail. His well-rounded understanding of the economic, social and political issues affecting workers has fuelled his commitment to help working people and their families at home and around the world.

In November 1998, Hargrove released an autobiography entitled Labour of Love: The Fight to Create a More Humane Canada. In recognition of his hard work and dedication Hargrove received honorary doctorates from Brock University in 1998, the University of Windsor in 2003, Wilfred Laurier University in 2004, Ryerson University in 2006 and the University of New Brunswick in 2008. He was also named a Fellow of Centennial College in June of 2005.

Nationally recognized for his contributions to society, Buzz was named an officer of the prestigious Order of Canada in 2008.

Since retirement, Buzz has focused his energy on many different projects. He is the co-host of BNN’s Buzz Cuts, was recently appointed as Ombudsperson to the National Hockey League Player’s Association (NHLPA) and is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University in the Ted Rogers School of Business offering a critical labour perspective on social, economic, and political issues to undergraduate, graduate and MBA students.

Hargrove now lives with his wife Denise Small in Mississauga, Ontario.

Thomas Worrall Kent, LLD

Tom Kent graduated from Oxford with first-class honours before being called into the wartime intelligence service of cipher-breaking.

In 1946 he entered journalism with the Manchester Guardian, followed by The Economist and the Winnipeg Free Press, of which he was editor in 1954 when he arrived in Canada.

In 1957, the future Prime Minister Pearson asked Mr. Kent to help him in writing part of his Nobel Peace Prize address. It was the beginning of a close association, and Mr. Kent became involved in the policy development of the Liberal party. He was closely identified with the distinctive measures such as Medicare and the Canada/Quebec Pension Plan.

Mr. Kent has served as dean at Dalhousie University and was chair of the Royal Commission on Newspapers and the founding editor of Policy Options.

Mr. Kent's memoir of the 1954-71 period, A Public Purpose, was published in 1988 and was followed a year later by Getting Ready for 1999: Ideas for Canada's Politics and Government. He has continued to write on a wide range of public issues and has contributed to numerous books and journals. He is a fellow of the Queen's School of Policy Studies, a Lifetime Fellow of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, and a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Kathryn Knowles, LLD

Kathryn M. Knowles has spent decades enriching the lives of children around the world. She was born in Toronto and completed her Bachelor of Nursing Science degree at Queen's in 1977. She was a paediatric nurse until she moved to Accra, Ghana with her family.

Her project began in her garden in 1990, with a basket of books and six neighbourhood children. That modest initiative became the Osu Children's Library Fund, which raised funds to build, furnish and stock six large community libraries and went on to develop 200 smaller libraries in Ghana. These facilities give thousands of children their only exposure to books, and also act as community centres, offering free adult literacy classes, theatre and cultural activities, meals for hungry members and lay librarian training.

Ms. Knowles works on a volunteer basis from her Winnipeg home and relies on a group of dedicated volunteers. She speaks across Canada, and has created an awareness of the far-reaching effects of libraries and literacy. She has published 25 books reflecting African culture, eight of which are in African languages.

She was awarded the Governor General's Meritorious Service Medal in 2001.

Frances Lankin, LLD

The Hon. Frances Lankin, PC, has been the President and CEO of United Way Toronto since 2001, guiding it through a strategic transformation into an organization that works to change social conditions. Under Frances's leadership, United Way has become a leading community builder that not only funds social service agencies, but also works to strengthen neighborhoods and create opportunities for a better life for everyone in Toronto.

Frances has spent a lifetime in service to her community and is widely recognized as a leader in the non-profit sector. In 2006, she chaired a federal government-commissioned Blue Ribbon Panel that recommended changes to Ottawa's grant and contribution distribution process. Frances has served on the boards of several not-for-profit and charitable organizations and is currently a member of the Toronto City Summit Alliance Steering Committee and the University of Toronto's School of Public Policy Advisory Committee.

Frances has been widely recognized for her community work. She was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2003. In 2004, she was presented with United Way Canada's Award of Excellence. In 2007, she was named the Canadian Public Relations Society's CEO of the Year and received the Toronto Star's Laurel Award. In 2008, Frances received the Equal Voice EVE Award, was named both Toronto Consumers' Choice Woman of the Year and one of More Magazine's Top 40 Over 40. Most recently, she was honoured with the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Toronto's Community Builder Award.

Frances was the MPP for Beaches-East York for eleven years before joining United Way in 2001. From 1990-1995 she served as Ontario's Minister of Health, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, and Minister of Government Services.

In 2009, she was made a member of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada, and appointed by the Prime Minister to the Security Intelligence Review Committee which provides an external review of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Kevin Lynch, LLD

Kevin Gordon Lynch is a Canadian economist, clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the cabinet, Canada’s most senior civil servant.

Born in Nova Scotia, he received a degree in economics from Mount Allison University, a Master of Economics from the University of Manchester, and a PhD in Economics from McMaster University in 1980.

Mr. Lynch began his career with the Bank of Canada as an economist in 1976. He soon joined the Department of Finance and rose quickly through the ranks, becoming a director in 1983 and an assistant deputy minister in 1988.

In 1992 he became associate deputy minister at Industry and deputy minister of that department in 1995. In 2000, he returned to finance, this time as deputy minister.

In 2004, Mr. Lynch moved from Ottawa to Washington, DC, to serve as executive director for the Canadian, Irish and Caribbean constituency at the International Monetary Fund.

In 2006, he became the 20th Clerk of the Privy Council.

Nelson Mandela, LLD

His Excellency, the Former President of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918 and was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 and was involved in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason from 1956 to 1961 and was acquitted in 1961.

Mr. Mandela was arrested in 1962, after setting up a military wing within the ANC, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC were arrested, Mr. Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mr. Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was held at Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland.

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela's reputation grew. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.

Nelson Mandela was released from prison on February 11, 1990. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mr. Mandela was elected President of the ANC. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa, a position he held until 1999.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation was started upon Mr. Mandela’s retirement from politics in 1999 and focuses on supporting a wide range of projects. In 2007, the Foundation established the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Dialogue, which contains an archive about the life and work of Mr. Mandela, ensuring his enormous legacy will be kept alive for future generations.

Paul E.P. Martin, LLD

The Right Honourable Paul Martin was the twenty-first Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006.

Mr. Martin studied philosophy and history at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the University of Toronto Law School. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1966.

Before entering politics, Mr. Martin had a distinguished career in the private sector as a business executive at Power Corporation of Canada in Montreal and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The CSL Group Inc. Its acquisition in 1981 represented the largest leveraged buyout in Canada at that time.

Mr. Martin was the Minister of Finance from 1993 to 2002, during which time he erased Canada’s $42 billion deficit and recorded five consecutive budget surpluses. He also strengthened the regulations governing Canada’s financial institutions, with the result that Canada is now viewed as an international model for sound financial regulation. In conjunction with his provincial counterparts, he restored the Canada Pension Plan and, in September 1999, he was named the inaugural chair of the Finance Ministers’ G-20.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, Mr. Martin was able to set in place a $41 billion initiative to improve healthcare, sign a landmark agreement with the provinces and territories for a national early learning and childcare program, create a new financial deal for municipalities, and redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. Further, he achieved a historic consensus with the provinces, territories, and Canada’s Indigenous leadership on an agreement entitled the Kelowna Accord, the objective of which was to ensure the provision of equal opportunity for Canada’s Indigenous population.

Currently, Mr. Martin is the co-chair, with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, of a $200 million British-Norwegian poverty alleviation and sustainable development fund for the ten-nation Congo Basin Rainforest. He also sits on the advisory council of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa, an initiative that examines critical issues facing the continent. It is sponsored by the African Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the African Development Bank.

Mr. Martin also continues to contribute to Canada. The Martin Family Initiative aims at reducing the Indigenous youth dropout rate and at increasing the number of Indigenous students attending post-secondary institutions. The Capital for Aboriginal Prosperity and Entrepreneurship Fund helps establish and grow successful Indigenous businesses both on and off reserve.

Marilyn McHarg, LLD

Marilyn McHarg's life journey, from young nurse in Toronto to a leader of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), one of the world's most respected medical humanitarian organizations, is rooted in an intimacy with the consequences of war and disease.

As General Director of MSF in Canada, Ms. McHarg oversees staff in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and a $25-million budget. She is a member of the steering committee for the Geneva-based Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, the management team for Operational Centre Amsterdam, and the MSF working group for accountability toward its patients.

A McGill University Nursing graduate and a Queen's Life Sciences and Psychology undergraduate, Ms. McHarg and a group of friends founded MSF Canada in 1991. She worked as a nurse in Uganda, a medical coordinator in Sudan, and Head of Mission in Uganda and then Sudan. Ms. McHarg contributed to the organization's decision-making at headquarters, guiding field teams as Operational Manager and later as Director of Operations in Geneva.

The foundation of her rich career is her work as a registered nurse in Toronto at Women's College Hospital and Sunnybrook Medical Centre in the late 1980s. She holds certificates in Tropical Medicine, and Critical Care Nursing. Her work embodies a career dedicated to respecting human dignity, alleviating suffering and saving lives.

Parker Mitchell, DSc

In 2000, Parker Mitchell saw huge potential in the engineering profession’s ability to contribute to a more prosperous Africa. Driven by this belief, he, along with George Roter, co-founded Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB).

EWB works to create opportunities for rural Africans to access clean water, basic infrastructure, and improvements in agriculture. EWB harnesses the problem-solving and pragmatic approach of Canadian engineers to tackle the root causes of poverty in rural Africa. To complement the work in Africa, engagement and advocacy programs in Canada promote responsible global citizenship and more effective aid. To date, EWB has sent 500 volunteers overseas, established 34 chapters across Canada, and attracted 40,000 members.

In recognition of EWB’s work and impact, the organization has received almost a dozen major national and international awards.

Mr. Mitchell’s contributions have been recognized with the Public Policy Forum’s Leaders for the Future Award and as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. He was featured in TIME Magazine as one of Canada’s next generation of social leaders and was awarded an Honorary Degree from Seneca College.

Prior to founding EWB, Mr. Mitchell worked for McKinsey & Co. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and Arts from the University of Waterloo, where he was awarded the Alumni Gold Medal, and a Master’s in Development Studies from Cambridge University, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar.

Patricia Monture, LLD

Patricia Anne Monture is a tireless supporter of the pursuit of justice for Indigenous peoples.

A citizen of the Mohawk Nation, Grand River Territory, Professor Monture has a BA in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario, a LL B from Queen’s a LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School and an honorary LLD from Athabasca University.

From 1989 to 1994, she taught in Canadian law schools, and in 1994 joined the Native Studies department at the University of Saskatchewan, where she was also special advisor to the dean of the College of Arts and Science on Indigenous Initiatives. She is now a professor in the Sociology department, chair of Graduate Studies and academic coordinator of the Indigenous Justice and Criminology Program.

She has worked extensively in the area of federal corrections and recently received the Human Rights in Action Award from the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies.

She has advised several Indigenous organizations including the Assembly of First Nations and the Native Women's Association of Canada. Her contributions to the advancement of women in the university were recognized last year with an award from the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

Don Newman, LLD

Donald Newman, award-winning broadcaster and journalist, is one of Canada’s most respected political commentators. Born in Winnipeg, Ontario, he reported for over four decades from every Canadian province, as well as from Washington, London, and the United Nations, interviewed numerous Canadian and international leaders, and covered the major political and economic events of our times.

Currently a regular contributor to the CBC, both on television and in writing on its website, Mr. Newman is also an advisor to business and governments, and a sought-after analyst, speaker, and moderator. For 20 years, he served as Senior Parliamentary Editor of CBC Television News in Ottawa, where he anchored live coverage, news specials, and his daily Politics program on CBC’s news channel, which he helped to launch. He is a life member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery.

Mr. Newman was named to the Order of Canada over a decade ago and is also a recipient of the Gemini’s Gordon Sinclair award for lifetime achievement, the Public Policy Forum’s Hyman Solomon Award for public policy journalism, and was the first recipient of the Parliamentary Press Gallery’s Charles Lynch Award for outstanding coverage of national affairs. He holds an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Winnipeg.

Mr. Newman is on the Board of Canada’s National History Society (which publishes Canada’s History Magazine), is Chair of the Selection Committee of the 2010 Canadian Foreign Service Officer Awards, and is Judge of National Newspaper and Charles Lynch Awards, is Chair of the Nominating Committee of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, and is a Member of the Advisory Board of Canada 2020. He has also served as President of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery and is the long-serving Chair of its Liaison Committee with the Supreme Court of Canada.

R.T. (Phil) Nuytten, DSc

Phil Nuytten is an inventor, entrepreneur, explorer, president and founder of Nuytco Research Ltd. and Can-Dive Services Ltd. An internationally recognized pioneer in the diving industry, Nuytten has spent 40 years creating deep water dive products that have opened the ocean's depths to exploration and industry.

Through his companies, Nuytco and Can-Dive, he developed internationally renowned technology to allow longer-length diving expeditions with increased safety. His deep-diving equipment, along with his military submarine rescue system, is standard in nearly a dozen of the world's navies.

He has worked in oilfields, submarine construction sites and sunken wrecks around the world, including the Breadalbane, the northern-most known shipwreck, where his record dives through icy Arctic waters earned him a place on the cover of National Geographic Magazine in 1984.

Mr. Nuytten was one of the forces behind the Sustainable Seas Expeditions in the 1990s, a five-year initiative by the National Geographic Society and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study deep-ocean environmental impact.

More recently, Mr. Nuytten and his team finalized development of the "Prehensor," a prosthetic-like device that mimics the human hand giving the operator safety and rigidity along with the manual dexterity of a scuba diver's gloved hand. NASA has shown considerable interest in this technology.

George Roter, DSc

Mr. Roter has been recognized as one of Canada’s leaders in the non-profit sector and believes that Canadians are passionate about driving social change. Mr. Roter co-founded Engineers Without Borders (EWB) along with Parker Mitchell as a movement of engineers driven to create meaningful and lasting opportunities for Africans by tackling the root causes of why poverty persists. EWB envisions a world where the next generation of Africans will have the same opportunities as Canadians today. Mr. Roter continues to serve as co-CEO and EWB has earned its place as one of Canada’s most respected international development organizations.

EWB has created an approach to building capacity for bottom-up innovation in African organizations, which allows these institutions to prototype, pilot, and scale impactful programs. EWB has had over 500 staff and volunteers working on agriculture, rural infrastructure, and water and sanitation, focusing on four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The organization works with 20 organizations which serve over 2.5 million community members.

In Canada, EWB engages 50,000 members and 3,000 active volunteers at 35 chapters who, with their actions and voices, work to promote the idea that lasting change in Africa will stem not from charity, but from helping foster opportunity. Since 2000, “EWBers” have spoken to 1,000,000 Canadians in-person, delivered workshops to 125,000 high school students, successfully pushed an aid effectiveness agenda that the government has now adopted, and have raised over $10 million for international development. EWB-designed global engineering curriculum is running at 20 universities, reaching 50% of all Canadian undergraduate engineering students.

Mr. Roter is a frequent speaker at conferences and events across North America. He has been awarded the Young Leaders Award from the Public Policy Forum (2007) and has been named as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2005). He was awarded a prestigious Action Canada Fellowship (2004) on public policy, in addition to other EWB-related awards from the Canadian Bureau for International Education (2002) and the University of Waterloo (2000). He has been featured by Time magazine as one of Canada’s next generation of social leaders (2001) and has appeared on television, radio, and in numerous print publications across the country.

Mr. Roter holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Waterloo (1999) and a Bachelor of Applied Studies (Honorary) from Seneca College (2009).

When he is only indirectly creating social change, Mr. Roter spends time with his amazing wife Sari Stillman and golden retriever Coel, and would like to think they can all be found paddling their Old Towne canoe down the French River.

Joe Schlesinger, LLD

Joseph Schlesinger is a veteran Canadian journalist who, for four decades, has reported for CBC Television News from every corner of the world. He has covered wars from Vietnam to the Gulf, with many other conflicts in between.

Born in Vienna in 1928, Mr. Schlesinger was raised in Czechoslovakia. In 1939, his parents sent him for safety to England. When he returned to Czechoslovakia at the end of World War Two in 1945, he found his parents had been killed in the Holocaust.

Mr. Schlesinger started his journalistic career in 1948 in the Prague bureau of the Associated Press (AP). When the communist rulers of Czechoslovakia started arresting AP staffers, he fled across the Iron Curtain and came to Canada. He became a reporter at the Vancouver Province and the Toronto Star, then an editor at the United Press International (UPI) bureau in London, England, and at the European Herald Tribune in Paris.

In 1966, he joined the CBC in Toronto. He served both as Executive Producer of The National and head of CBC TV News. In 1970, he went overseas again, this time as the CBC's Far East correspondent based in Hong Kong. This was followed over the next 20 years by postings to Paris, Washington, and Berlin. In 1991, he became the CBC's Chief Political Correspondent in Ottawa. He retired from the CBC news service in 1994, but has continued to contribute to CBC programs.

Mr. Schlesinger reported on wars in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Salvador, and the Israeli-Arab conflict, as well as revolutions in Portugal, Iran, and the Cultural Revolution in China. Fifty years after he first left Czechoslovakia, he returned to witness the Velvet Revolution that overthrew its communist regime.

A book of Mr. Schlesinger's memoirs, Time Zones, was published in 1990 and became a best-seller. He has won four Gemini awards, the John Drainie award for distinguished contribution to Canadian broadcasting, and a Hot Doc award for documentary writing. The Power of Good, a documentary he wrote and narrated, won an International Emmy award in 2002. He has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

In 1994, Mr. Schlesinger was named a member of the Order of Canada. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of British Columbia, The Royal Military College, and Dalhousie University.

Albert Schultz, LLD

Albert Schultz is an award-winning actor, director, singer and producer. Born in Port Hope, Ontario, he studied theatre at York University and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Early in his career, Mr. Schultz played several major roles, including Romeo, at the Stratford Festival. He has also played lead roles in television, including in CBC's 'Street Legal' and 'Side Effects.'

In 1998, he became the founding artistic director of the acclaimed Soulpepper Theatre Company. With Soulpepper, Mr. Schultz has produced more than 70 productions, while acting and directing. In 2005, his performance of Hamlet was hailed as "the performance of the year" by the Globe and Mail.

Under his leadership, Soulpepper launched its academy for the training of actors, designers, and playwrights, and in partnership with George Brown College, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto's Distillery District, of which he is the general director.

Mr. Schultz has received many awards, is a member of the Steering Committee for the Canadian Arts Summit and has a busy volunteer career. For his work on behalf of UNICEF, Mr. Schultz received the Queen's Jubilee Medal.

Hassina Sherjan, LLD

Hassina Sherjan serves as president, Aid Afghanistan for Education, and Boumi Co in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, she arrived in the U.S. with her family in 1980 to escape the Russian invasion.

In 2000, she received a degree in international development from American University.

Fifteen years later – after the passing of her father – she vowed to educate as many Afghans as possible. In 1999, after establishing education programs in the refugee camps in Peshawar, Ms. Sherjan went to Kabul to meet the Taliban and convince them to open the girls’ schools.

In spite of several failed discussions she established five underground classes for 250 students.

In 2002, Ms. Sherjan established three learning programs for 1,100 female students in Kabul who were deprived of education during the Taliban era. Within two years, these programs expanded to 2,300 students. By the end of last August, five additional accelerated learning programs for 1700 girl and boys in the Northern provinces were established.

She also established BOUMI, a home textile production company. BOUMI is meant to be an entrepreneurial approach to a social problem. Through their own initiative, women become strong and visible, and their tremendous economic and social contributions become recognized and respected, while families feel secure by having their own businesses

Arthur Britton Smith, LLD

Kingstonian Arthur Britton (Britt) Smith has spent a lifetime making his community a better place. He graduated from the Royal Military College (RMC) in 1940, and, after being wounded in Normandy, he returned to Canada in 1944.

A graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, he practiced law in Kingston until 1998, when he was given honorary life membership in the Law Society of Upper Canada. He built apartment buildings as a hobby from the time he was in law school. This is now his full-time occupation as executive chairman of Homestead Land Holdings.

Mr. Smith served on city council and commanded a company in the Princess of Wales Own Regiment. He has been active with Branch 560 of the Royal Canadian Legion and has chaired several fundraising campaigns. In 1990, he was named the Kingston Chamber of Commerce's Business Person of the Year and in 2006 was inducted into the Kingston Business Hall of Fame.

Mr. Smith has compiled two books on local history, Kingston! Oh Kingston! and Legend of the Lake: The 22-Gun Brig-Sloop Ontario, 1780.

His honours include the Military Cross, the Canadian Forces Decoration, the Canada 125 medal, Queen's Counsel and an honorary doctorate from RMC.

Alexander McCall Smith, LLD

Alexander McCall Smith is best known for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, set in Botswana, which has risen to the top of bestseller lists throughout the world. The fifth novel in the series, The Full Cupboard of Life, received the UK Saga Award for Wit. He is also the author of The Sunday Philosophy Club series. He has written more than 60 books, including specialist academic titles, short-story collections, and children's books.

Dr. Smith was born in Zimbabwe and was educated there and in Scotland. He became a law professor in Scotland, and was for many years Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. It was in this role as professor that he returned to Africa to work in Botswana, where he helped to set up a new law school at the university there.

Dr. Smith has also been a visiting professor at several universities, in Italy and the U.S. Now a professor emeritus, he retired several years ago to concentrate on his writing career.

Dr. Smith was the vice-chairman of the Human Genetics Commission of the UK, the chairman of the British Medical Journal Ethics committee, and a member of the International Bioethics Commission of UNESCO.

In 2007 he was made a CBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List, for services to literature.

Daniel Soberman, DSc

Daniel Soberman has been an outstanding contributor to Canadian society and to Queen's, having taught in the Faculty of Law from its opening in 1957 until 1999. His academic work has spanned both private law (contracts and business law) and public and constitutional law (especially in the area of federalism).

Professor Soberman received a BA and LL.B from Dalhousie and an LL.M (1955) from Harvard.

From 1968 to 1977, during his two terms as Dean at Queen's, he skilfully steered the Faculty of Law through its greatest period of professional recruitment and curriculum development.

In 1993 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award, followed by the Queen's Law Alumni Award and the Canadian Association of University Teachers Milner Award in 1997.

Professor Soberman's work has also had a major impact on academia in Canada.

In 1965 he wrote an influential report on the status of tenure in Canadian universities, and he has influenced Ontario and Canadian public policy.

During the past 30 years he has been Chair of many Boards of Inquiry for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, a member of the Ontario Law Reform Commission, Deputy Chair of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario, and a member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

One of his enduring legacies to national policy was his work heading an inquiry in the 1990s on behalf of the Canadian Human Rights Commission into the relocation of Inuit families to the high Arctic in the 1950s.

Paul A. Volcker, LLD

In the course of his career, Mr. Volcker worked in the United States Federal Government for almost 30 years, culminating in two terms as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1979-1987. He divided the earlier stages of his career between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Treasury Department, and the Chase Manhattan Bank.

Mr. Volcker retired as Chairman of Wolfensohn & Co. upon the merger of that firm with Bankers Trust. From 1996-1999, Mr. Volcker headed a committee formed to determine existing dormant accounts and other assets in Swiss banks of victims of Nazi persecution.

From 2000-2005, Mr. Volcker served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee overseeing a renewed effort to develop consistent, high-quality accounting standards acceptable in all countries. In 2003, he headed a private Commission on the Public Service recommending a sweeping overhaul of the organization and personnel practices of the United States Federal Government.

In April 2004, Mr. Volcker was asked by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to chair the Independent Inquiry into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program. The report on the Inquiry was published in October 2005.

In 2007, Mr. Volcker was asked by the President of the World Bank to chair a panel of experts to review the operations of the Department of Institutional Integrity. A report was published in September 2007.

In November 2008, President-Elect Obama chose Mr. Volcker to head the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Pursuing his many continuing interests in public policy, Mr. Volcker is associated with the Japan Society, the Institute of International Economics, the American Assembly, and the American Council on Germany. He is Honorary Chairman of the Trilateral Commission and Chairman of the Trustees of the Group of 30.

Educated at Princeton, Harvard, and the London School of Economics, Mr. Volcker is Professor Emeritus of International Economic Policy at Princeton University and was the first Henry Kaufman Visiting Professor at the Stern School of Business at NYU.

Bert Wasmund, DSc

Bert Wasmund has a distinguished 40-year career spanning excellence in technical innovation, engineering of major metallurgical projects worldwide, top management in a global engineering company, and contributions to Canadian universities.

Through inventing and implementing new technology to reduce the environmental impact of mining and metallurgy, Dr. Wasmund enabled sustainable development of this important industry.

He is a recognized world leader in metallurgical and chemical process development and engineering implementation, with a particular focus on energy efficiency and environmental protection.

Dr. Wasmund is the recipient of numerous patents and awards for novel designs of smelting furnaces and fluidized-bed reactors that greatly improved productivity and efficiency in the metals industry worldwide.

He has held progressive positions of technical and business leadership at Hatch Ltd, during an exciting period of globalization and unprecedented growth of the company.

He has a lifelong commitment to mentorship and the development of young people, including significant endowments and service to Queen's and the University of Toronto.

Dr. Wasmund's current thrust is the development of technologies for the sustainable production and utilization of energy from our renewable resources. He has supported this interest with permanent endowments for three postgraduate energy students annually along with 12 Queen's undergraduate students drawn from his ancestral roots in North Hastings and Renfrew counties.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, LLD

Sheila Watt-Cloutier currently resides in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She was born in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik (northern Quebec), and was raised traditionally in her early years before attending school in southern Canada and in Churchill, Manitoba. She is the past Chair of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), the organization that represents internationally the 155,000 Inuit of Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Chukotka in the Far East of the Federation of Russia.

Dealing with youth issues holistically is important for Ms. Watt-Cloutier. She contributed significantly to "Silatunirmut: The Pathway to Wisdom," the 1992 report of the review of educational programming in Nunavik, and she co-wrote, produced and co-directed the acclaimed youth awareness video "Capturing Spirit: The Inuit Journey."

Ms. Watt-Cloutier was a political spokesperson for Inuit for over a decade. From 1995 to 1998, she was Corporate Secretary of Makivik Corporation, set-up under the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Land Claims Agreement. She was elected as President of ICC Canada in 1995 and re-elected in 1998. She was a spokesperson for a coalition of northern Indigenous Peoples in the global negotiations that led to the 2001 Stockholm Convention banning the generation and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that contaminate the arctic food web. In 2002, Ms. Watt-Cloutier was elected international Chair of ICC.

In the past several years, Ms. Watt-Cloutier has alerted the world that Inuit will not become a footnote to the onslaught of globalization by working through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to defend Inuit human rights against the impacts of climate change. On December 7, 2005, she filed a climate change-related petition with to the Commission as an urgent message from the Inuit "sentinels" to the rest of the world on global warming's already dangerous impacts. On March 1, 2007, she testified before the Commission during their extraordinary first hearing on the links between climate change and human rights.

Ms. Watt-Cloutier received the inaugural Global Environment Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in recognition for her POPs work. In 2004, she received the 2004 Aboriginal Achievement Award for Environment, now called the Indspire Awards.

In 2005, she was honoured with the United Nations Champion of the Earth Award and the Sophie prize in Norway. Later in the year, she was presented with the inaugural Northern Medal by the outgoing Governor General of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson.

In 2006, Global Green, USA, selected Sheila for its International Environmental Leadership Award, she received both the Citation of Lifetime Achievement from the Canadian Environment Awards and the Earth Day Canada International Environment Award, and she was made an Officer in the Order of Canada.

In 2007, she was publicly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by members of the Norwegian parliament. Also, in Norway, she received the Rachel Carson Prize. And at the U.N. Human Development Awards in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki Moon presented Sheila with the 2007 Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Award.

In 2008, the Public Policy Forum honoured her with a Testimonial Award at its 21st Annual Testimonial Award Dinner in Toronto, Canada.

W. Galen Weston, LLD

Galen Weston is Chairman and President of George Weston Limited, a company founded by his grandfather, George Weston, in 1882 that now processes and distributes food products throughout North America.

Mr. Weston is also President of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation (Canada), a family foundation that for four decades has made charitable grants in Canada for the benefit of Canadians, and which now directs the majority of its funds to organizations in the fields of education and conservation.

Mr. Weston is also the Chairman of Holt Renfrew (Canada), Selfridges (UK) and Brown Thomas (Ireland), as well as Vice-Chairman of Fortnum & Mason (UK).

He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, and a Commander in the Order of St. John.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario.

He is Past Chairman of the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (Canada), a member of the International Advisory Council of Columbia University and an Honorary Trustee of The Upper Canada College Foundation.

Hilary M. Weston, LLD

The Hon. Hilary M. Weston was born in Dublin in 1942. In 1966, she married Galen Weston and moved to Toronto in 1972.

Prior to her appointment as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in 1997, Mrs. Weston spent more than two decades working in business and in the fashion industry. As Deputy Chairman of Holt Renfrew, she proudly promoted Canadian design and craftsmanship.

During that same period, she served as Director of Brown Thomas (Ireland), co-founded Torwest (USA) and served as Vice-Chairman and Design Director of the Windsor Club in Florida.

In 1979, Mrs. Weston founded the Ireland Fund of Canada and was Founding Chair of the Mabin School in Toronto. She also co-founded and chaired the Canadian Environment Educational Foundation, and established the Winter Garden Show at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Mrs. Weston explored her longstanding interest in homes and gardens as co-author of two best-selling books, In a Canadian Garden and At Home in Canada.

Mrs. Weston was the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, serving from 1997 to 2002. She has spearheaded the most successful fundraising campaign in Canadian cultural history, which raised more than $250 million for the Royal Ontario Museum.

She is patron of several organizations dealing with social issues, such as the Hospice Association of Ontario, the Landmine Survivors Network, the Ontario March of Dimes and Yonge Street Mission.

Mrs. Weston served as the first Chancellor of the Order of Ontario and received the honour in 2001. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003. She was invested as Dame of Justice in the Venerable Order of St. John in 1997 and received the Queen's 2002 Golden Jubilee Medal.

She is a member of the International Advisory Board of Sotheby's, a Trustee of Angel's Quest in Dublin, and a Trustee of the Foundation of the College of St. George, Windsor Castle, while also devoting a significant proportion of her time, as well as her business and fashion expertise, to Selfridges, the London department store of which she is a director.

Mrs. Weston has received many awards and nine post-secondary institutions have recognized her with honorary degrees.

Dafydd Williams, DSc

Dafydd (Dave) Rhys Williams has worn many hats over the years including doctor, lecturer, astronaut, and aquanaut.

A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, he has worked as an emergency physician, a lecturer at the University of Toronto, medical director of the Westmount Urgent Care Clinic, and director of Department of Emergency Services at Sunnybrook Health Science.

He is currently the director of the McMaster Centre for Medical Robotics at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and a professor in the Department of Surgery of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

In 1992, Dr. Williams was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to begin astronaut training. His assignments included supervising the implementation of operational space medicine activities for the Canadian Astronaut Program Space Unit Life Simulation Project.

He joined the international class of NASA mission specialist astronaut candidates. In 1998 he was one of seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. He also served as a mission specialist in 2007 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. As director of the Space and Life Sciences Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Dr. Williams was the first non-American to hold a senior management position within NASA.

In 2001, he became an aquanaut, taking part in a training exercise held in Aquarius, the world's only underwater research laboratory. This made him the first Canadian to have lived and worked in space and in the ocean.

Thomas R. Williams, LLD

Dr. Williams, the 19th Principal of Queen's University, has served in many key leadership roles at Queen's since arriving in 1977 to assume the position of Dean, Faculty of Education. These roles and appointments include Vice-Principal (Operations and University Finance); Vice-Principal (Institutional Relations); and Acting Director of the School of Policy Studies. In the late nineties, he also served a term as the honorary president of the Queen's Alma Mater Society.

He holds a PhD. from the University of Michigan and an MA. from McGill University, both in Educational Administration, and a BSc. in Chemistry from McGill University.

Dr. Williams has served on the boards of both Hotel Dieu Hospital and Kingston General Hospital. He is a past board member with the Kingston Community Foundation and former Chair of the Board of Kingston YMCA.

Ian Wilson, LLD

After a long and noteworthy career, Ian Wilson recently retired as the first Librarian and Archivist of Canada. He began his career in archives in the Douglas Library in the summer of 1966, after graduating with a BA and MA from Queen's.

In 1970, he was named head of Queen's University Archives and led an active program of acquisitions, nationally and regionally, adding considerably to the strength of the university archives as a research centre for Canadian politics, literature, business and labour.

Mr. Wilson became Saskatchewan's provincial archivist in 1976, and chaired the Consultative Group on Canadian Archives for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Their report, generally known as the Wilson Report, was published in 1980 and is described as "a milestone in the history of archival development in Canada."

He was appointed Archivist of Ontario in 1986, and for several years he was also responsible for the Ontario public library system. He has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, is a member of the Order of Canada and Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres(France).

Mr. Wilson was appointed as National Archivist in 1999, and he and Roch Carrier, National Librarian, developed and led the process to create a new knowledge institution for Canada in the 21st century: the integrated Library and Archives of Canada.

Ruth Wright, DD

Almost 14 years to the day after Ruth Wright graduated from Queen's Theological College with a Master of Divinity, she returns to Grant Hall on May 13 to accept an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity at the Theological College’s spring convocation.

Rev. Dr. Wright is being recognized for her deep commitment to affirming the worth of individuals and empowering communities to work for social justice.

A native of the Maritimes, she began her career as a high school teacher and administrator. After completing her doctorate at the University of Ottawa in 1982, she taught at several Canadian universities before coming to Queen's.

In 1997, Rev. Dr. Wright was appointed Executive Director of First United Mission in Vancouver, a position she held until retiring in 2007. She led a fundraising strategy to address the needs of the homeless, hungry and addicted. She raised national awareness of the plight of victims of the sex trade in Vancouver’s downtown corridor and successfully advocated for the creation of Canada's first supervised needle injection and exchange program.

1858-2011 recipients (PDF, 694 KB)