Convocation

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HONORARY DOCTORATES

At the 2012 Spring and Fall Convocations, we will grant honorary degrees to the following distinguished individuals, each of whom has made outstanding contributions to their fields. We take great pride in honouring their achievements, and in honouring the achievements of our exceptional graduating students.

Fall 2012 Recipients

Shawn Atleo Shawn A-in-chut Atleo is national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). Elected to a second three-year term as national chief in July 2012, he previously served as the British Columbia regional chief of the AFN. Following training and preparation since birth, Atleo was named “A-in-chut” (“everyone depends on you”) and seated by his people as hereditary chief of the House of Glakishpiitl of the Ahousaht First Nation in 1999. Will be honored at a Faculty of Community Services ceremony on Thursday, October 18, 2012, at 9:30 a.m.

Colm Wilkinson Colm Wilkinson’s life is surrounded by music. The celebrated Broadway star has spent years on the stage, mesmerizing audiences with his starring roles in Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. With the release of his new album, Broadway And Beyond The Concert Songs, and his accompanying stage show of the same name, he is set to do a concert tour and entertain audiences once again. Will be honored at a Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Communication & Design ceremony on Thursday, October 18, 2012, at 2:30 p.m.

Spring 2012 Recipients

Graeme Gibson Graeme Gibson – Author, environmental activist; Doctor of Letters. Was honoured on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 1 pm at a Faculty of Arts Convocation Ceremony. See Dr. Gibson's video interview here.	Christiane Germain Christiane Germain - Entrepreneur, hotelier; Doctor of Commerce. Was  honoured on Thursday, June 14, 2012, 9:30 am at a Ted Rogers School of Management Convocation Ceremony. See Dr. Germain's video interview here.
Sarabjit S. Marwah Sarabjit S. Marwah – Vice-Chairman and Chief Operating Officer for Scotiabank; Doctor of Laws.Was honoured on Thursday, June 14, 2012, 2:30 pm at a Ted Rogers School of Management Convocation Ceremony. See Dr. Marwah's video interview here.

2011 Recipients

Charles S. Coffey, Community leader and former Executive Vice President, Government Affairs and Business Development for RBC Financial Group
Ruth daCosta, Executive Director of Covenant HouseJoanne H. Dallaire, traditional healer and a pipe carrier
Joanne H. Dallaire, a traditional healer and a pipe carrier
Phil Fontaine, Past National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
Laura Formusa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hydro One Inc
Ursula Franklin, Professor emeritus, physicist, pacifist, feminist, human rights activist, educator
Michael MacMillan, Businessman, Canadian culture promoter, philanthropist, think tank founder
Des McAnuff, Internationally recognized Canadian director, producer, and playwright
Justice Robert W. Metzger, British Columbia Supreme Court judge
Julie Payette, Canadian, Canadian astronaut

2010 Recipients

William Alsop,Prominent contemporary Architect
Honourable Louise Arbour, President and CEO, International Crisis Group; former United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights; former Judge, Supreme Court of Canada
Anthony Gagliano, Executive Chairman and CEO of St. Joseph Communications
Paula Goering, Professor and Vice-Chair, Programs and Planning in the University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry with cross-appointments to the Faculty of Nursing, Institute of Medical Science and the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluatio
Honourable Frances Lankin, President and CEO, United Way Toronto
The Right Honourable Beverley M. McLachlin,Appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Kyle Rae, Local Politician, City of Toronto Councillor
David Smith, Senior Policy Fellow, Saskatchewan Institute for Public Policy; Professor Emeritus

2009 Recipients

Michael Adams,The founding President of the Environics Group of research and communications consulting companies.
John Béliveau,Canadian Hockey Legend
Dr. John A. Bickley,was partner and manager of the consulting engineering company Trow Inc.
Alan Broadbent, a Member of the Order of Canada and is presently the Chairman and CEO of Avana Capital Corporation, a private investment holding company, and the Chairman of Jamscor Inc.
Honorable Edward Broadbent, PC, CC,was the leader of Canada's federal New Democratic Party
Dr. Gina Bohn Browne,researcher in chronic illness and service utilization
Bill Cunningham,Gemini award-winning former executive producer of The National, a CBC chief news editor, the founding vice-president of Global News
Dr. Micheal Guerriere, founder of HealthLink Clinical Data Network Inc.
Aditya Chandra Jha, Jha is President& CEO of Karma Candy Inc.
Dr. Asad M. Madni, President, COO and Director of BEI Technologies Inc.

2008 Recipients

Peter Busby, C.M., Architect, Co-founder and Chair of the Canada Green Building Council
Dominic D'Alessandro, O.C., President and CEO, Manulife Financial
John Honderich, OC, Journalist
Norman Jewison, C.C., Film Director, Founder of The Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies
The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, O.C., Philanthropist, Former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
Brenda Milner, C.C., Neuropsychologist, Cognitive Scientist
Janet Rosenberg, Ryerson Alumna, Landscape Architect, Founder of Janet Rosenberg and Associates Landscape Architects
Brian Segal, President of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (1980-1988), President and Chief Executive Officer, Rogers Publishing Limited
Lotfi Asker Zadeh, Mathematician, Computer Scientist

2007 Recipients

Michael Belcourt, past President of Polo Ralph Lauren Canada
Edward Burtynsky, OC, internationally acclaimed photographer
Dr. Ramsay Cook, OC, respected Canadian historian
Dr. Gail Donner, O.Ont, Professor and Dean Emeritus in the Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto and past Chair of Nursing as Ryerson
Michele Landsberg, an award-winning journalist and one of Canada's best known social activists
Stephen Lewis, politician, diplomat and international envoy for humanitarian efforts
The Honourable Madam Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, an extraordinary advocate for human rights, an exemplary scholar and an outstanding jurist
Dr. David Suzuki, CC, OBC, world-renowned geneticist, academic and broadcaster
Dr. Shirley M. Tilghman, world-renowned scholar and President of Princeton University
Donald Triggs, co-founder of Vincor, Canada's leading wine company
The Honourable George W. Vari, P.C., C.M., a passionate advocate and champion of education

2006 Recipients

Piers Handling, director and CEO, Toronto International Film Festival Group
Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, past Governor General of Canada
Hon. Landon Pearson, senator (retired), director, Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children's Rights, Carleton University
Dr. Judith Shamian, president and CEO, Victorian Order of Nurses
Buzz Hargrove, national president, Canadian Auto Workers Union
Heather Reisman, founder and CEO, Indigo Books and Music Inc.
Christine Magee, president and co-founder, Sleep Country Canada
Margaret Somerville, professor of the Faculties of Law and Medicine, McGill University
Pierre Lassonde, president, Newmont Mining Corporation

2005 Recipients

Hon. James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
G. Raymond Chang, founder of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education
Dennis Mock, President, Nipissing University
Herschel Segal, founder and CEO of women's wear retailer Le Chateau
Peter Mansbridge, Chief Correspondent, CBC Television News; anchor of CBC's flagship nightly news program, The National
Margaret MacMillan, Provost of Trinity College, University of Toronto; author of "Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World"
Janet Storch, professor and former director of the School of Nursing, University of Victoria
Hon. Tom Hockin, President and CEO, Investment Funds Institute of Canada; federal cabinet minister, 1986-1993
John L. Sharpe, President and COO (retired), Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Elyse Allan, President and CEO of GE Canada
Julia Levy, biotechnologist, medical researcher and entrepreneur
Hany Moustapha, Senior Fellow and Manager, Pratt & Whitney Canada

More past recipients