Doctor Cindy Klassen watches her teammate, Doctor Clara Hughes, as Emöke Szathmáry declares her a graduate. The two Olympians were given honorary doctorates at fall convocation on Thursday, Oct. 19 at Investors Group. On Wednesday, Oct. 18, Vivienne Poy was awarded an honorary doctorate. Over the two days 1,192 students received their degrees.
Photo credit: David Lipnowski
U of M hosts 39th annual fall convocation - Excellence of students, profs, and athletes awarded
The 39th annual University of Manitoba fall convocation took place at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on Oct. 18 and 19, 2006.
Hosted by master of ceremonies Peter Dueck, executive director or enrolment services at the U of M, the two-day event decorated students with various diplomas, degrees, and certificates.
This convocation also included the awarding of three honourary diplomas.
The first honourary degree recipient, awarded on Oct. 18, was Vivienne Poy, former chancellor of the University of Toronto, and current president of Vivienne Poy Enterprises, Calyan Publishing and chair of Lee Tak Wai Holdings.
Born in Hong Kong, Poy became renowned for her various volunteer and philanthropic endeavours. In addition to being an author and entrepreneur, Poy is the first Canadian of Asian origin to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. Her achievements were recognized with a Doctor of Law, the title given to honourary degrees.
The following evening saw the awarding of honourary degrees to two of Canada’s most decorated Olympic athletes, Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen, both of whom were conferred Doctors of Law.
Hughes, born in Winnipeg, made a name for herself at the international level by winning two Olympic medals in cycling. She would later go on to win Olympic medals in speed skating — making her only the fourth athlete ever to win medals at both the Summer and Winter games.
“First, let me say how honoured I am to be here,” said Hughes, before jokingly stating, “But I’m a little bit embarrassed because I am not an educated person, in the formal sense.”
Also born in Winnipeg, Klassen recently set a new Canadian record for most medals earned at a single Olympic Games: five. With this, she was named The Woman of the 2006 Games by the International Olympic Committee.
“It’s a tremendous accomplishment to graduate,” said Klassen to the masses at Investors Group.
“You rarely see athletes get honourary degrees; they’re very academic in nature,” says Bruce Miller, a member of the committee that selected Hughes and Klassen for honourary degrees. “I think it’s an absolute honour for this institution to have these individuals accept these degrees.”
A plethora of other awards were also given out at the fall convocation.
This convocation’s Distinguished Alumnus Award was given to John Foerster in recognition for his contributions to the U of M as well as to medical research within Manitoba.
The Dr. John M. Bowman Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Award, which recognizes senior faculty members for their research accomplishments, was given to Garry Martin. In addition to being an accomplished researcher in psychology, Martin has also been key in developing the behavior analysis program in the department of psychology.
The President’s Award for Excellence recipient was Natalie Denesovych, manager of University Centre Services and Special Functions. She was recognized for the contributions to the university she has made during more than 40 years at the U of M. She has also taken part in projects such as the 1999 Pan American Games and the 2004 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Three professors emeriti were awarded at the convocation. Cameron Harvey, faculty of law, who was recently appointed president of the Manitoba Law Reform Commission, was recognized for his years of contributions to the study of law.
James Jamieson from the faculty of science was recognized for his consistent contributions to the field of chemistry at the U of M since 1968.
Finally, Alexander Rattray, who joined the faculty of architecture in 1969, and helped establish Canada’s first master’s program in landscape architecture, was also awarded the title of professor emeritus.
With 1,192 students graduating this fall, the three 2006 convocations have graduated 4,777 students from the U of M — setting a new record for the university.
