A champion for people with mental illnesses and a renowned microbiologist studying food-borne pathogens will be among six recipients of honorary doctorates during summer convocation ceremonies at the University of Guelph.
The ceremonies will take place at War Memorial Hall June 8 to 12.
Mary Deacon, past president and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, is being honoured for her efforts to change the stigma of mental illness.
She helped lead CAMH’s Transforming Lives campaign, which seeks to break down the stigma surrounding mental illness and addiction. Deacon also helped create and is chair of the Bell Let’s Talk campaign, which has become Canada’s largest corporate social responsibility initiative for mental health.
A physician and microbiologist, Dr. Mohamed Karmali studied causes of food-borne illnesses while working at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
He has consulted with the World Health Organization, and served as director-general of the Laboratory for Food-borne Zoonoses at the Public Health Agency of Canada for 15 years. He also mentors U of G graduate students.
Honorary degrees will also be presented to the following:
Bonnie Beaver, veterinary medicine professor at Texas A&M, is a pioneer in animal behaviour, welfare and the human-animal bond. She has written more than 200 scientific articles and published nine books on animal behaviour. She helped launch the American College of Veterinary Behaviour in the early 1990s and the American College of Animal Welfare a decade later.
David Card, noted labour economist and professor at University of California – Berkeley, has used empirical economics to address important labour issues, including education, minimum wage and immigration. He helped push for researcher access to Statistics Canada data sets, and continues to research and teach graduate students.
John Fetrow, dairy production medicine professor at the University of Minnesota, has led in promoting an economic perspective on dairy production. He has developed several decision-making tools for veterinarians and dairy producers, helping to improve replacement management, culling, mastitis control and reproductive programs. Recently, he has partnered with private farms to teach veterinary students about commercial dairy operations.
James Raffan, a prolific writer, speaker and geographer, is executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ont. He taught at Queen’s University for 19 years, and has written for media outlets such as National Geographic, The Globe and Mail and the Discovery Channel. He has dedicated his life towards exploring the arctic and sharing his discoveries through experiential education, writing and lectures.
Prof. J. Christopher Hall, School ofEnvironmental Sciences, will be named University professor emeritus.
Hall holds the Canada Research Chair in Recombinant Antibody Technology. He studies plant-based antibody production for applications including human immunotherapy, environmental detection and monitoring, and food safety. His research group also studies how herbicides work.
Convocation Schedule (unless otherwise stated, for undergraduates only):
Monday, June 8
9 a.m. – College of Physical and Engineering Science (CPES)
11:30 a.m. – College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS) – Mary Deacon, honorary doctorate
2 p.m. – CSAHS
4:30 p.m. – College of Arts (COA)
7 p.m. – College of Biological Science (CBS)
Tuesday, June 9
9 a.m. – CBS – Dr. Mohamed Karmali, honorary doctorate
11:30 a.m. – CSAHS
2 p.m. — CSAHS
4:30 p.m. – COA
7 p.m. – CBS
Wednesday, June 10
9 a.m. – College of Business and Economics (CBE)
2 p.m. — CSAHS
4:30 p.m. – CBE – David Card, honorary doctorate
Thursday, June 11
9 a.m. – CPES
11:30 a.m. – Ontario Agricultural College (OAC)
2 p.m. – OAC – John Fetrow, honorary doctorate
4:30 p.m. – COA, CBS, CPES and CSAHS (graduate students only)
7 p.m. – OAC (undergraduate and graduate students) – Christopher Hall, University professor emeritus
Friday, June 12
9 a.m. – CBS – James Raffan, honorary doctorate
11:30 a.m. – Ontario Veterinary College (undergraduate and graduate students) – Bonnie Beaver, honorary doctorate