People

Honorary degree recipients for President’s Install

Written By: Unknown

2005-05-05

Sharon Pollock Five outstanding Canadians will receive honorary degrees from the University of Alberta during the installation of president-designate Dr. Indira Samarasekera on September 25, 2005.

The honorary degree recipients are:

Ms. Susan Aglukark
An Inuit singer and songwriter, Susan Aglukark uses her music to communicate messages of peace, hope and understanding, intertwining traditional Inuk chants with contemporary pop melodies. Since first featured on CBC Radio, Aglukark has performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, former Canadian Prime Ministers Jean Chrétien and Brian Mulroney, French President Jacques Chirac, and many others. In 1993, Maclean's magazine named her one of "Canada's 100 leaders to watch for" and Up Here magazine named her "Northerner of the year." For her work she's received many awards, including the Vista Rising Star Award from the Canadian Country Music Association in 1994, and a Juno award in both 1994 and 1995. In addition to her singing, Aglukark acts as a powerful role model for Inuit youth, emphasizing the importance of education and of maintaining the Inuit language and culture. Aglukark's efforts will be honored with a Honorary Doctor of Laws.

Dr. John Evans
Dr. John Evans is known nationally and internationally as a leader in medical education, business and public service. In 1965, he became the founding dean of medicine at McMaster University. As an innovator in medical education, he provided unique leadership in developing new approaches to medical education and curriculum. As president of the University of Toronto from 1972 to 1978, he championed the new University of Toronto Act and also focused on the university's accountability to the public and its community outreach.

Evans has played a prominent role in international health by conducting studies on population-based medicine for the Rockefeller Foundation, and served as chair of the Rockefeller Foundation and director of the Population, Health, and Nutrition Department of the World Bank. Additionally, he's a leader in various initiatives and business ventures including founding chairman of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Evans has been broadly recognized for his work and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, member of the Order of Ontario, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, (London), Master of the American College of Physicians and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. For his influential work, Evans will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science.

Ms. Julie Payette
Ms. Julie Payette is currently the Chief Astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency. She received a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) degree in 1986 from McGill and a Master of Applied Science in Computer Engineering in 1990 from the University of Toronto. When she joined the Canadian Space Agency in 1991, she simultaneously commenced a demanding training program, inaugurated an internal research program and began work as a technical advisor for the Mobile Servicing System, Canada's contribution to the International Space Station program. Payette she flew on the space shuttle Discovery from May 27 to June 6, 1999. Payette also became the first Canadian to participate in an international space station assembly mission and to board the space station. In addition to these accomplishments, she's a licensed pilot and an accomplished vocalist, is conversant in six languages and is devoted to encouraging Canadian youth to pursue careers in science and engineering. For her work both on earth and in space, she will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws.

Dr. John Polanyi
Dr. John Polanyi is the recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the dynamics of chemical elementary processes. Throughout his career he has made lasting contributions to the field of chemical reaction dynamics. Born and raised in England, Polanyi obtained a Bachelor of Science in 1949 and a PhD in 1952 from the University of Manchester. Following his studies, he became a postdoctoral fellow at the National Research Council of Canada laboratories in Ottawa and then a research associate at Princeton University. In 1956, he began his career as a professor at the University of Toronto. Polanyi has played an active role in many organizations, including the Ontario Laser and Lightwave Research Centre, the Science Advisory Board, the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, the Institute for Molecular Science in Okazaki, Japan and the American Academy of Arts and Science Committee on International Security Studies.

Polanyi has received many other awards and honours, including the Henry Marshall Tory Medal of the Royal Society of Canada, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of London and the John C. Polanyi Lecture Award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry. He has also received numerous honorary degrees from universities in Canada, England, Israel and Italy. Polanyi is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry of the United Kingdom, and of the Chemical Institute of Canada. Additionally, he is a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and a Companion of the Order of Canada. For his multitude of accomplishments, Polanyi will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science.

Ms. Sharon Pollock
One of Canada's leading English-language playwrights, Pollock is celebrated for her thought-provoking themes and innovative dramatic structures. She has published 13 plays that have been produced across Canada, the United States, England, Japan, Australia, and Europe. She has written award-winning plays for radio, television, and children's theatre, and is an accomplished actor, director, and theatre administrator. Pollock received national acclaim for her play Blood Relations (1981), which told the story of Lizzy Borden, the infamous New England woman tried and acquitted for killing her father and step-mother in 1892. The play has been translated into French and Japanese, and produced across Canada and in London and New York.

In fact, Pollock has received much recognition -- two Governor-General's Awards for Drama, the Canada Australia Literary Award in 1987, the Japan Foundation Award in 1995, the Nellie Drama Award and a Golden Sheaf Award for her television writing. She has served as president of the Alberta Playwrights Network and as head of the Playwrights Colony at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta. Pollock is also an outspoken and uncompromising advocate for Canadian drama. For her fine work on and off the stage, Pollock will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters


This article originally appeared in Express News.




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