May 30, 2013
McMaster honorary degrees celebrate local heroes and international leaders in fields from community service to advanced science and medicine
Hamilton, Ont. May 30, 2013—McMaster’s Spring Convocation ceremonies are honoring outstanding achievements from home and the world over, as the university presents honorary degrees to leaders in fields ranging from midwifery to atomic energy, including a Ugandan cabinet minister who fights for clean water and the last post-doctoral fellow to work with Charles Best.
During ceremonies the week of June 10, approximately 5,000 graduating students and their families will gather at Hamilton Place to celebrate the completion of their studies.
Chancellor Lynton (Red) Wilson, whose second three-year term is drawing to a close, will be presiding over Convocation ceremonies for the last time at 2:30 p.m. June 14.
Here’s who will be receiving honorary doctorates during Convocation Week.
Monday June 10, 2013
2:30 p.m., DeGroote School of Business
Mario Cupido (Doctor of Laws) is a respected figure in Hamilton’s business, community service and sports communities. A realtor in Hamilton for more than half a century, he has served on the boards of the Hamilton Good Shepherd Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation. He inaugurated the Celebrity Sports Dinner and helped establish the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame and was also a long-serving trustee and former vice-chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Roman Catholic Separate School Board.
Tuesday June 11, 2013
9:30 a.m., School of Nursing and Medical Radiation Sciences Program
Dr. Edward Calabrese (Doctor of Science) is a pioneer in understanding hormesis, where a low-dose exposure to a substance causes a significant biological response while a higher dose does not, Calabrese’s research has led to transformations in fields from drug development to environmental regulation.
2:30 p.m., Faculty of Humanities and the Arts & Science Program
Michael Schade (Doctor of Laws) is a Grammy and Juno award-winning German-Canadian opera singer, one of the leading Mozart tenors on stage today. Along with his personal interest in fundraising to support leukemia research, Schade is an active fundraiser for the Canadian arts community.
Wednesday June 12, 2013
9:30 a.m., Faculty of Engineering
Chandra Kudsia (Doctor of Science) is a world leader in engineering technologies for satellite communication and aeronautics. A McMaster graduate, he is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Engineering Institute of Canada.
2:30 p.m., Faculty of Engineering
Dr. Robert Walker (Doctor of Science) is president and chief executive officer of Atomic Energy Canada Limited. He has served as assistant deputy minister of Science and Technology in the Department of National Defence and as CEO of Defence R&D Canada, a national network of defence research centres. He has also served as chairman of the NATO Research and Technology Board.
Thursday June 13, 2013
9:30 a.m., Faculty of Science
Dr. Mladen Vranic (Doctor of Science) is a global leader in diabetes research, who was Charles Best’s last postdoctoral fellow. His research on diabetes has made it easier for those with the disorder to compete in the Olympic Games, revolutionized glucose turnover in physiology and diabetes and elevated the understanding of the importance of exercise in diabetes prevention.
2:30 p.m., Faculty of Science
Dr. Thomas Mason (Doctor of Science) is a respected condensed-matter physicist and McMaster alumnus who served as director of the famed Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He has also served as president and CEO of UT-Battelle, making him responsible for America’s largest Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences research program.
Friday June 14, 2013
9:30 a.m., Faculty of Social Sciences
Hon. Maria Mutagamba (Doctor of Laws) is a Member of Parliament, former Minister of Water, Lands and Environment and current Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage in the Ugandan cabinet. A champion for water-related causes, Mutagamba has served as vice-chair of the UN Task Force on Integrated Water Resource Management, patron of the Global Water Harvesting Network and president of the African Ministers’ Council on Water.
2:30 p.m., Faculty of Social Sciences
Dr. Frances Fox Piven (Doctor of Laws) is a leading scholar on poverty, welfare, social movements and electoral politics. She has served on the boards of the American Civil Liberties Union and Democratic Socialists of America, was a founder of the National Welfare Rights Organization and helped created Human SERVE (Service Employees Registration and Voter Registration).
NOTE: Piven is to deliver the convocation address.
John Paul (Jack) Evans, (Doctor of Laws) Evans joined McMaster University as Registrar and served 25 years as a senior University officer. A strong advocate of the student role in university governance, his work to engage student leadership at McMaster created a now widely-followed template for student relations.
At the May 24 convocation for Health Sciences (excluding Nursing), Elaine Carty received an honorary Doctor of Science degree. A nurse, midwife and one of Canada’s pioneers in women’s health issues, Carty helped introduce midwifery into the Canadian health care system. She was founding director of the University of British Columbia’s midwifery program and has earned an array of awards, including Distinguished Alumnae Award from the Yale University School of Nursing.
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For more information please contact:
Wade Hemsworth
Public Relations Manager
McMaster University
905-525-9140, ext. 27988
Michelle Donovan
Public Relations Manager
McMaster University
905-525-9140, ext. 22869