Follow along every day as 19 distinguished individuals receive honorary degrees and the academic accomplishments of hundreds of students are celebrated as Western hosts its 313th Convocation.
Maggie MacDonnell
Monday, June 10
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
In 2017, Maggie MacDonnell was named the winner of the Global Teacher Prize. The US$1 million competition was contested by more than 20,000 nominees from 179 countries. An educator and sport-for-development practitioner, MacDonnell has taught Congolese refugees, Tanzanian HIV/AIDS activists and Inuit youth in Northern Canada over the past decade.
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M. Peter McPherson
Tuesday, June 11, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Peter McPherson is the President of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the oldest higher education association in the United States. Before serving as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury from 1987-89, McPherson was Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1981-87, leading American efforts for famine relief in Africa.
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Thomas J. Bouchard
Tuesday, June 11, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Science, honoris causa (D.Sc.)
Renowned psychologist and geneticist Thomas J. Bouchard is Professor Emeritus of psychology and the Director of the Minnesota Center for Twin and Adoption Research at the University of Minnesota. Conclusions from his landmark ‘Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart,’ conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, countered popular beliefs about nature versus nurture.
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The Honourable Justice Andromache Karakatsanis
Wednesday, June 12, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
The Honourable Justice Andromache Karakatsanis was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2011. After serving as the Chairwoman and Executive Officer of the Liquor License Board of Ontario (LLBO) at the start of her public career, Justice Karakatsanis served as the Assistant and then Deputy Attorney General of Ontario.
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Sandra Rotman
Wednesday, June 12, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Sandra Rotman is recognized as a mindful global leader and a visionary philanthropist. She is the founding donor of Rise Asset Development, which provides financing and business support services for entrepreneurs with mental health or addiction challenges. Among many other initiatives, she also established the Sandra A. Rotman Chair and Program in Neuropsychiatry at Baycrest and the Sandra Rotman Chair and Centre for Health Sector Strategy at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
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Alan Bernstein
Thursday, June 13, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Science, honoris causa (D.Sc.)
Alan Bernstein became CIFAR’s President and Chief Executive Officer in 2012. CIFAR is a Canadian-based, global charitable organization that convenes extraordinary minds to address science and humanity’s most important questions. Bernstein was also the inaugural President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and served as Executive Director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise in New York.
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Tebello Nyokong
Thursday, June 13, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Science, honoris causa (D.Sc.)
Tebello Nyokong is internationally recognized for advancing photo-dynamic therapy as an alternative to chemotherapy for cancer treatment and developing new methods for purifying drinking water. A distinguished professor in Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology at Rhodes University in South Africa, the Western alumna also serves as Director of the DST/Mintek Nanotechnology Innovation Centre – Sensors.
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Robert McEwen
Friday, June 14, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Rob McEwen is the Chairman and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining Inc. Founder and former Chairman and CEO of Goldcorp Inc., one of the world’s largest gold producers, the Western alumnus was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2017. A passionate innovator and marketer, McEwen serves on the Board of Trustees for XPRIZE.
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Stephen S. Poloz
Friday, June 14, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Stephen S. Poloz was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada in 2013. As Governor, he is also Chairman of the Bank’s Board of Directors and a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements. From 2011-13, the Western alumnus served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Export Development Canada.
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Stephan Moccio
Monday, June 17, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Music, honoris causa (D.Mus.)
Oscar and three-time Grammy-nominated musical artist Stephan Moccio penned Céline Dion’s multi-platinum hit “A New Day Has Come,” as well as “I Believe” by Nikki Yanofsky, which became the official theme of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. One of three judges on Canada’s Got Talent in 2012, the Western alumnus is also a featured mentor and producer on The Launch.
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Sherry Shannon-Vanstone
Monday, June 17, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Sherry Shannon-Vanstone is Co-Founder, ex-President & CEO and Chairman of the Board of TrustPoint Innovation Technologies. The Waterloo-based Internet of Things security company was acquired by ETAS Canada in 2017. Shannon-Vanstone currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics’ Emmy Noether Council, which promotes girls and women in physics and mathematics.
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Donald Lang
Tuesday, June 18, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Donald Lang has spent 37 years in progressive positions with CCL Industries Inc., including President and CEO from 2000-08 and now serving as Executive Chairman. CCL Industries Inc. is an international consumer products packaging company. The Ivey Business School alumnus joined the Board of Directors for Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in 2015.
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Jerome Dempsey
Tuesday, June 18, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Science, honoris causa (D.Sc.)
An internationally renowned expert in breathing and respiratory medicine, Jerome Dempsey is the John Robert Sutton Professor Emeritus of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The Western alumnus also serves as Director of the John Rankin Laboratory of Pulmonary Medicine.
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Linda Hasenfratz
Wednesday, June 19, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Linda Hasenfratz was named Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year for 2018 by Financial Post Magazine. Since becoming CEO of Linamar in 2002, Hasenfratz has transformed the multi-billion dollar company into Canada’s second-largest automobile parts manufacturer. The Western alumna spearheaded the Linamar Scholarships for Women in Engineering and Business in 2017.
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Bonnie Adamson
Thursday, June 20, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Bonnie Adamson served as President and CEO of London Health Sciences Centre from 2010-14 and as President and CEO at North York General, a multi-site community teaching hospital in Toronto, from 2002-10. She led North York through the 2003 SARS epidemic and built a sustained learning culture of innovation and continuous quality improvement.
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Carol Hopkins
Thursday, June 20, 3 p.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Carol Hopkins is the Executive Director of the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and is a member of Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit (Delaware Nation at Moraviantown, Ont.) Hopkins has spent more than 20 years in the field of First Nations substance use and mental wellness. In recognition of this work, she was appointed an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2018.
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Ronald Schlegel
Friday, June 21, 10 a.m.
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.)
Ron Schlegel is Chair and Owner of Homewood Health, which provides employee and family assistance services, as well as outpatient mental health and addictions treatment and management programs across Canada. Schlegel also serves as Chair of the Homewood Research Institute and founded the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging at the University of Waterloo.
