Fox, Hughes and Thom to be awarded honourary UBC degree
Michael J. Fox, a TV actor turned Parkinson’s advocate, will be honoured next month by B.C.‘s largest university.
The University of B.C. announced Friday it will grant the Canadian native an honourary degree during May’s spring convocation.
Olympian Clara Hughes, architect Bing Thom and seven others will also be honoured during six days of ceremonies between May 21 and 28.
Fox was born in Edmonton in 1961 and grew up in Burnaby.
The actor first earned fame as Alex P. Keaton, a Republican teenager in a Democratic family, on the TV show Family Ties. He later starred in films including Teen Wolf and the Back to the Future trilogy.
In 1998 Fox announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.
Since going public, Fox has become a vocal advocate for Parkinson’s research. According to UBC, he has raised $115 million for the cause in the last decade.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
