Bonnie Brooks, vice-chair of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and privacy advocate Ann Cavoukian will be two of the honorary doctorate recipients during the University of Guelph’s 2014 fall convocation Oct. 18.

Veterinarian academics Timothy Ogilvie and Ted Leighton will also receive honorary doctorates during convocation ceremonies for more than 800 graduands in War Memorial Hall. Prof. Alun Joseph, former dean of the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS), will be named University Professor Emeritus.

Cavoukian will speak at the 9 a.m. ceremony, Ogilvie at 11:30 a.m., Brooks at 2 p.m., Joseph at 4:30 p.m., and Leighton at 7 p.m.

Brooks was promoted in 2013 to her current role with the Hudson’s Bay Company, a $4 billion-per-year company.

Previously, as president and CEO of the company’s department store chain The Bay, she was credited with revitalizing the brand and increasing sales. She now also oversees the company’s Lord & Taylor stores in the United States as well as Home Outfitter stores.

Cavoukian recently completed her third term as Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Regarded worldwide as a leading privacy expert, she has focused on the benefits of data sharing, especially in health care, and has worked to use technology to protect privacy.

Ogilvie has worked in veterinary medicine for nearly four decades and is currently dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine of St. George’s University in Grenada. He was a founding member and the longest-serving dean of the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Leighton is a pathology professor in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. He was a founder and is now executive director of the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Disease Centre.

Joseph will be recognized for his research on population dynamics, his sustained leadership, and his mentorship of colleagues and students. He completed two terms as CSAHS dean in 2010.

Convocation ceremonies will take place as follows:

9 a.m. – Ann Cavoukian, honorary doctorate
College of Arts, undergraduates only
College of Biological Science (CBS), undergraduates only
College of Physical and Engineering Science (CPES), undergraduates only

11:30 a.m. – Tim Ogilvie, honorary doctorate
College of Arts, graduate students only
CBS, graduate students only
CPES, graduate students only
Ontario Veterinary College, graduate students only

2 p.m. – Bonnie Brooks, honorary doctorate
College of Business and Economics, both undergraduate and graduate students

4:30 p.m. – Alun Joseph, University Professor Emeritus
CSAHS, undergraduates only
Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), undergraduates only

7 p.m. – Ted Leighton, honorary doctorate
CSAHS, graduate students only
OAC, graduate students only

For more details, visit the Convocation website.

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