Posted Fri, 05/04/2012 - 09:33 in Dalhousie-related

Dalhousie to confer honorary degrees to ten distinguished leaders

Dalhousie University will confer honorary degrees to ten distinguished individuals at convocation ceremonies to be held May 22-30.

Key Points:

Marcia Boyd, Burton Conrod, John E. Dowling, Gordon Duff, Dr. Wendy Hall, Eugene Levy, Satya Nandan, Nancy Fern Olivieri, Mohammed Shehadeh, and Annette Verschuren will each receive a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) during convocation ceremonies to take place at the Dalhousie Arts Centre May 22-30.
Dalhousie's 2012 honorary degree recipients are as follows:
- Dr. Marcia Boyd is a clinical examiner, and former chief written examiner and consultant, for the National Dental Examining Board of Canada. She was president of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry and founding president of the Educational Research Group of the International Association for Dental Research. Dr. Boyd also received the American Dental Education Association Gies Foundation’s inaugural William J. Gies Award for outstanding achievement by a dental educator.

- Dr. Burton Conrod was the first Canadian to be elected president of the FDI World Dental Federation (2007-09) and the inaugural recipient of the Canadian Dental Association’s Medal of Honour. Dr. Conrod, his wife, Connie, and their daughter, Susan are all Dalhousie dentistry graduates.

- Dr. John Dowling is an international leader in vision research. For more than 50 years, he has studied how the retina works. His groundbreaking research has encompassed many approaches – from anatomy to pharmacology. He is also the author or co-author of over 260 papers and has written a number of books, including the highly influential text The Retina: An Approachable Part of the Brain.

- Dr. J. Gordon Duff joined Dalhousie in 1961 as the first director of our College of Pharmacy, one of two directors in the new Faculty of Health Professions. A Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie, Dr. Duff oversaw the introduction of the bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and pioneered the development of graduate studies in pharmacy at Dalhousie.

- Dr. Wendy Hall, Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences at Southampton University, is internationally recognized for her contributions to computer science, including pioneering hypertext research. Dr. Hall is a Dame Commander of the British Empire and a Fellow of the Royal Society. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Association for Computing Machinery, among others.

- Eugene Levy is a television and film actor; he has portrayed characters ranging from one of two polka-playing Shmenge brothers along with John Candy, to the father in the American Pie movies. He has earned five Canadian Comedy Awards, a New York Film Critics Circle Award, two Emmy Awards and a Grammy. A veteran of SCTV and countless memorable films, Mr. Levy is a Member of the Order of Canada and recipient of a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He is represented on Canada’s Walk of Fame as an individual and as a member of SCTV.

- Ambassador Satya Nandan was Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority from 1996-2008. He had earlier served as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea. He has also served as Fiji’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs and is now a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of Virginia School of Law Center for Oceans Law and Policy.

- Dr. Nancy Olivieri is a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. Recognized nationally and internationally for her research in blood disorders, Dr. Olivieri has also been a central figure in discussions surrounding medical ethics.

- Mohammed Shehadeh’s commitment to innovation and sustainability has made him a leader in construction in the United Arab Emirates. A civil engineer, he is senior vice-president of Unibeton Ready Mix and board member of Al Fara’a Construction Group, under which Unibeton falls.

- Annette Verschuren was president of The Home Depot Canada for 15 years, during which time she saw the company grow from 19 to 180 stores. This year, Ms. Verschuren became Executive Chair of NRStor Incorporated, an organization focused on energy storage.

Pull Quotes:

"I could not be more proud of the quality of the individuals being granted honorary degrees this year. It speaks to the kinds of relationships we have built and gives our graduates a model to which they can aspire. It's an honour to recognize these exceptional individuals and the contribution each has made to society." - Dr. Tom Traves, President, Dalhousie University.

Images:


2012 Convocation 1 Eugene Levy Download Hi-Res	2012 Convocation 2 Satya Nandan Download Hi-Res	2012 Convocation 3 Annette Verschuren Download Hi-Res