By
Sarah Boon
April 20, 2005 - The University of Alberta has announced recipients of honorary degrees to be conferred during the spring 2005 convocation, June 7-10. The list of recipients includes philanthropists, artists and business leaders who have made important contributions to society.
This spring's honourary degree recipients are:
Dr. George Elliott Clarke
Dr. George Elliott Clarke, a renowned Africadian, poet, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and literary critic, has made exceptional contributions to Africadian literary studies and is known as one of the best English language poets in Canada. His 11 books of poetry and drama have been published to critical acclaim, including The Execution Poems, which won the 2001 Governor General’s English Canadian Poetry award. Clarke's work connects to the Africadian cultural experience and his religious, Black Loyalist heritage. Currently, Clarke is the E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. Prior to this position, he served as an assistant professor of English and Canadian Studies at Duke University in North Carolina and the Seagram Visiting Chair in Canadian Studies at McGill University. He earned a BA (Honours) in English from the University of Waterloo in 1984, an MA in English from Dalhousie University in 1989 and a PhD in English from Queen's University in 1993. He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University in 1999 and an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of New Brunswick in 2000. His work has earned him a number of other prestigious awards, including Outstanding Writer in Film and Television in 2000, Portia White Prize for Artistic Achievement from the Nova Scotia Arts Council in 1998, and the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry in 1991. Clarke will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters on June 7.
Ronald Neil Mannix
Ronald Mannix is well known for his outstanding business leadership and province-wide support of charitable actions and public initiatives. A U of A alumnus, Mannix, earned a BComm in 1972. After university, he joined Manalta Coal Ltd., where he held many executive positions: president in 1974; executive vice-president of Mancal Ltd. in 1977; president and CEO of Mancal Ltd. in 1978; and chairman of Mancal Ltd. in 1980. Currently, Mannix is chair of Coril Holdings Ltd., a company involved in global investment business, railroad manufacturing and maintenance, microscope production, heavy construction, engineering, coal mining, oil and gas production and pipelining, real estate, ranching and venture capital activities. He is also member of the Entrepreneurs Circle of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and chairman and director of Loram International Ltd. and CXE International Ltd. and numerous other family businesses. On a philanthropic basis, Mannix plays many lead roles: chairman of the Carthy Foundation; member, director and past-chairman of the Max Bell Foundation; member, director and former chair of the Norlien Foundation, which he created in 1998 to support health and wellness, environmental protection and children at risk initiatives; director and past-chair of the Scripps Foundation International Board; and past-chair of the Calgary International Organ Competition and Festival. In 1999, Mannix displayed visionary leadership and, through the Carthy Foundation, provided key support to the U of A School of Business Centre for Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise (CEFE). CEFE is now internationally known and provides ground breaking research and programs to one of the backbones of the Canadian economy – family business. Mannix will accept an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree on June 7.
José Saramago
José Saramago of Portugal is an eminent and prolific author who in 1998 was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In addition to being a novelist of international renown, he is equally acknowledged as a journalist and commentator on the modern world and as a writer of poetry, theatre and fiction whose contributions to contemporary literature have far surpassed the frontiers of his native language and land. His first novel appeared in 1947, yet not until 1966 did his literary career begin in earnest with Os poemas possiveis (Possible Poems). In the intervening years Saramago worked as a journalist, publisher and literary critic. In 1972-1973, difficult years in Portugal, he was a political commentator and member of the editorial board of the Lisbon daily Diário de Lisboa. In 1977, the first of his major novels, Manuel de Pintura e Caligrafia (Manual of Painting and Calligraphy: A Novel) appeared. Memorial do convento (Baltasar and Blimunda), a soaring tale of love set among the terrors of the Inquisitions and the plague in Portugal in 1711, largely launched his international reputation upon its appearance in 1982. Renowned as a writer whose very words have benefited humanity, Saramago will be conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Letters on June 8.
Drs. Peter & Doris Kule
Drs. Peter and Doris Kule, two outstanding philanthropists, visionaries, and community leaders, focus their time and generosity on supporting educational endeavours and their Ukrainian culture and community. Peter Kule, a prominent chartered accountant, and his wife Doris Kule, an accomplished elementary school teacher, have displayed their grand generosity and commitment to education and their heritage through donations to many post secondary institutions, including the University of Alberta, Grant MacEwan College and Saint Paul University in Ottawa. In 1998, they each were awarded an honorary degree from St. Paul University. They have made a significant donation to the Chartered Accountants' Education Foundation in support of the CA Chair at the U of A, and helped fund the "Stay in School" program of the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers at Queen Elizabeth High School in Edmonton. The program, currently serving 180 students from 44 countries, aims to help immigrant high school students adjust to Canada's cultural and educational system. Also at the U of A, they created an endowed chair, entitled the Kule Chair, in Ukrainian Ethnography at the university's Ukrainian Folklore Centre in August 2003. Their major donation of an endowment to fund a full-time professor, which is held by a leading international scholar in the field of Ukrainian culture and traditions, will support research and scholarly activity centred on folklore and ethnography. Through their donations they have touched the lives of many professors and students. Together, they will be conferred an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 8.
Dr. Jean Gray
Dr. Jean Gray, an alumna of the University of Alberta, is one of Canada's outstanding medical educators. In 1967, Gray obtained a Medical degree from the U of A. Following her graduation, she completed a junior rotating internship at Toronto Western Hospital and then a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Pharmacology at Stanford University. She later moved to Dalhousie University, becoming an exceptional professor of medical education, medicine and pharmacology, and a strong advocate for clinical education and female physicians in medicine. At Dalhousie University, she was the founding head of the Division of General Medicine, and served as associate dean of Postgraduate Medical Education and associate dean of Continuing Medical Education. Gray has pursued a wide range of research interests, including drug metabolism, hypertension, women's health and medical education. In 1993, she became a diplomat of the American Board of Clinical Pharmacology, and in 1999, she was designated a specialist in Clinical Hypertension by the American Society of Hypertension. Gray has served in senior editorial roles in several journals and has held leadership positions in many organizations, such as president of the Canadian Society of Clinical Pharmacology, president of the Canadian Society of Clinical Investigation, and president of the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. She is currently president of the Canadian Institute of Academic Medicine and the Canadian Association Medical Education, and chair of the Institute of the Gender and Health Advisory Board of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Gray will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree on June 9.
Edward (Ted) Harrison
Ted Harrison, a distinguished U of A alumnus, is one of Canada's most talented artists, renowned for depicting the land and people of the Yukon. He is also an internationally recognized author and illustrator of children's books, and has spent much of his career teaching art to children of all ages. Prior to his 28-year long career in education, Harrison earned a Diploma of Design from the West Hartlepool College of Art, England in 1950 and a teaching certificate from the University of Durham in 1951. He taught school in England, Malaysia, New Zealand, and moved to the Yukon in 1967. In 1970 he moved to Whitehorse, where he taught art to secondary school students and adults. In 1977 he earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the U of A. In 1979 he began to work as a full-time artist, and now his work may be found in numerous private and public collections throughout Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Germany and Japan. In 1987 Harrison was awarded the Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian culture, and received an honorary doctorate from Athabasca University in 1991. Harrison was also the first Canadian to have book illustrations selected for the International Children’s' Book Exhibition in Bologna, Italy. Harrison will be granted an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree on June 9.
Harry Hole and James F. (Jim) Hole
Brothers Harry and James (Jim) Hole are two of Edmonton’s leading philanthropists, businessmen, engineers, and community supporters. They are both U of A engineering graduates and since made significant contributions to business, the arts, athletics, health and education. They held executive positions with the Edmonton-based Lockerbie and Hole, the company co-founded by their father, Harry Hole Sr. Within their company, they played a significant role in the development of buildings and infrastructure, stretching across the U of A campus, Edmonton, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. The Hole brothers are also vital supporters of the education system, arts community, and local community ventures through donations to the Edmonton Community Foundation. Jim Hole spearheaded a group of prominent Edmontonians who joined together in 1998 to purchase the Edmonton Oilers hockey club; thus, keeping the team in Edmonton. He served as president of the Edmonton Eskimos Football Club, president of the Canadian Football League, and committee member for several major sporting events held in Edmonton over the past 30 years. Harry Hole has played a key role in the development of Edmonton Northlands and is the founding chairman of the Edmonton Police Foundation, a charitable organization that encourages community policing and partnerships between the public and law enforcement officers. Their time and generosity has benefited countless organizations through active participation in numerous boards and committees. While individually they have focused their time in specific areas, together they have made an indelible impact on their city, their profession, and their alma mater. The Holes will be awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees on June 10.
Alfred George Wirth
Alfred Wirth, an investment manager of extraordinary talent and success in the financial services sector, is a passionate supporter for education in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Since his liberal arts education at McGill University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Economics and Political Science, he has pursued a lifelong passion for scholarly and cultural activities. He has contributed significantly to the development of the internationally renowned and recognized academic standing of the Wirth Centre for Austrian and Central European Studies at the U of A. Wirth’s work and support at the U of A is a major and visionary contribution to Austrian studies and culture, and the progress of education within society. Wirth will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 10.
The U of A Senate:
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/senate/
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