2011 Honorary Degrees Announced
Nipissing University will present honorary degrees to eight outstanding individuals during the university’s 2011 Spring convocation ceremonies in North Bay and Brantford.
An honorary degree will be bestowed upon: (in order of appearance): Dr. Charles Pascal, Alton Bigwin, Grand Chief Stan Beardy, Suzanne Brooks, David Liddle, Dr. Mark Tremblay, Sister Priscilla Solomon, and Keith Lickers.
Convocation ceremonies will be held in North Bay on June 8, 9 and 10 and in Brantford on June 21.
“Nipissing is very pleased to offer honorary degrees to these wonderful leaders who will share their insight and experience with our graduates during convocation this year,” said Dr. Lesley Lovett-Doust, president and vice-chancellor of Nipissing University. “Convocation is a very special time for the university and our students and their families, marking the completion of an important stage of life as well as the beginning of the next chapter. Our honorary degree recipients play a vital role in the ceremony, inspiring our graduates while offering perspective on leadership, success and citizenship.”
The university also approved honorary degrees to be presented at future convocation ceremonies to Dr. John Ralston Saul, The Right Honorable Paul Martin and Mr. Seymour Schulich.
Convocation Schedule:
North Bay
- Wednesday, June 8, 9:30 a.m. — Honorary Degree recipient: Dr. Charles Pascal and Alton Bigwin; Schulich School of Education Primary / Junior division, Aboriginal Teacher Certification Program
- Wednesday, June 8, at 2:00 p.m. — Honorary Degree recipient: Grand Chief Stan Beardy; Schulich School of Education Intermediate/Senior division, Master of Education, Advanced Degree in Education, Advanced Degree in Educational Leadership, Diploma in Education, Bachelor of Education in Extension
- Thursday, June 9, 9:30 a.m. — Honorary Degree recipient: Suzanne Brooks; Faculty of Arts and Science, Master of Arts, Master of Science,
- Thursday, June 9, 2:00 p.m. — Honorary Degree recipient: David Liddle; Schulich School of Education Junior/Intermediate division, Concurrent Education Primary / Junior and Junior/Intermediate divisions
- Friday, June 10, 9:30 a.m. — Honorary Degree recipient: Dr. Mark Tremblay; Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Applied and Professional Studies
- Friday, June 10, 2:00 p.m. — Honorary Degree recipient: Sister Priscilla Solomon; Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Applied and Professional Studies
Brantford
- Tuesday, June 21, 2:30 p.m. Honorary Degree recipient: Keith Lickers; Nipissing Concurrent Bachelor of Education program, the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts
Nipissing University Honorary Degrees
Dr. Charles Pascal will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Education on Wednesday, June 8, at 9:30 a.m. and will deliver an address to the graduates of Nipissing’s Schulich School of Education, Primary/Junior division and the Aboriginal Teaching Certificate program. Pascal is an international expert on early reading and literacy. He was appointed special advisor on early learning to the provincial government in 2007 due to his strong background in education, training, policy development and leadership. Pascal is a professor of Human Development and Applied Psychology at OISE/University of Toronto. He is also the Senior Advisor to the Chagnon Foundation in Montreal and a regular contributor to the Toronto Star.
Alton (Al) Bigwin will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Education on Wednesday, June 8, at 9:30 a.m. and will deliver an address to the graduates of Nipissing’s Schulich School of Education, Primary/Junior division and the Aboriginal Teaching Certificate program. Bigwin is an educator whose vast knowledge of First Nation’s education issues has been recognized by the Ontario Ministry of Education, where he worked in the latter part of his career. His work in Native education, specifically in the area of curriculum, helped build the foundation for Aboriginal education initiatives currently under way in the province. He was one of the first of Canada’s First Peoples to receive a post graduate degree, a Master’s degree in Education, from the University of Toronto.
Grand Chief Stan Beardy will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Education on Wednesday, June 8, at 2 p.m. and will deliver the convocation address to the graduates of Nipissing’s Schulich School of Education, Intermediate/Senior division and Master of Education program. He has been elected to a fourth term as a Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, the grouping of 49 First Nation communities within the territory of James Bay Treaty No. 9 and the Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5. Grand Chief Beardy has worked toward the implementation of traditional governance based on beneficial treaty relationships with the governments of Ontario and Canada.
Suzanne Brooks will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Letters on Thursday, June 9, at 9:30 a.m. and will deliver the convocation address to graduates of Nipissing’s Faculty of Arts and Science and Master of Arts and Master of Science degree programs. Brooks is the owner of Gulliver’s Bookstore in North Bay and is a longtime proponent of reading and literacy. She serves as the president of the Canadian Booksellers Association. Brooks spearheaded “Books by the Bay”, an annual literary festival in North Bay that attracts internationally-renowned authors and artists such as Margaret Atwood, Lynn Johnston, Joseph Boyden and Lawrence Hill.
David Liddle will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Education on Thursday, June 9, at 2 p.m. and will deliver the convocation address to graduates of Nipissing’s Schulich School of Education, Junior/Intermediate division and Concurrent Education program. Liddle has given over 20 years of service to Nipissing as a member of the Board of Governors from 1989-99 and as a Board Chair from 1994-97. He served as Nipissing University’s second Chancellor from 2002 – 2010. He has been a strong ambassador and advocate for Nipissing University. He was the co-chair of the successful Learning Library campaign.
Dr. Mark Tremblay will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Letters on Friday, June 10, at 9:30 a.m. and will deliver the convocation address to graduates from the Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Applied and Professional Studies. Tremblay is a Senior Research Scientist and Director of Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research at Children’s Hospital at Eastern Ontario Institute. He is a full professor in the department of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Tremblay has published extensively in the areas of childhood obesity physical activity measurement, exercise physiology and exercise endocrinology. He is also the Chief Scientific Officer for Active Healthy Kids Canada.
Sister Priscilla Solomon will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Letters on Friday, June 10, at 2 p.m. and will deliver the convocation address to the graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Applied and Professional Studies. Solomon is a strong advocate for environmental and civil justice. Her Anishinabeg values and her Catholic faith give her a deep love for the beauty and goodness of all creation around her, for her family and for her home community of Kilarney. After attending North Bay Teachers’ College, she ministered as an elementary school teacher, an adult educator and retreat director in the Thunder Bay and Sudbury districts. She has presented and facilitated workshops on human trafficking, poverty and interculturation.
Keith Lickers will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Education on Tuesday, June 21, at 2:30 p.m. and will deliver the convocation address to the graduates of Nipissing University’s Schulich School of Education Concurrent program, Brantford campus, at the Sanderson Centre in Brantford, Ontario. Lickers is a long-serving senior administrator in the Ministry of Education, supporting the development of curriculum related to the Native Studies and Aboriginal perspectives, and providing groundwork for the special Provincial initiatives through the Ministry of post-secondary support services and programming for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students.