University to award more than 800 degrees and diplomas
Former U of G president Bill Winegard will be one of three distinguished Canadians to receive an honorary degree during four winter convocation ceremonies Feb. 23 and 24 in the Gryphon Dome. The other recipients are philosopher Lorraine Code and social scientist Gerald Helleiner.
In addition, U of G will award more than 800 degrees and diplomas and bestow University professor emeritus status on retired professors Chris Gray, Physics, and Louis Christofides, Economics.
Convocation begins Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. with the College of Arts ceremony. Graduates will be addressed by Code, the best-known feminist philosopher in Canada and the first woman to hold the position of Distinguished Research Professor at York University. A highly esteemed graduate of the Guelph-McMaster (now Guelph-McMaster-Wilfrid Laurier) PhD program, she will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree.
Gray will address graduands of the College of Physical and Engineering Science at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1990 for his work on the theory of liquids and wrote a paper that was deemed one of the most memorable contributions in the 60-year history of the American Journal of Physics. He retired in 2003.
Convocation will continue Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. for the College of Biological Science with an address by Winegard, who will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. During his tenure at Guelph from 1967 to 1975, he oversaw expansion in the areas of humanities, social sciences and basic science and was instrumental in helping to create the Arboretum. He went on to serve as MP for Guelph from 1984 to 1993 and minister for science from 1990 to 1993. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998.
At 2:30 p.m., Helleiner, one of Canada's most influential living social scientists, will address graduands of the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences and receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. His work spans more than 40 years, and he has served as senior adviser to numerous international organizations. In 2003, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for lifetime achievement.
Although unable to attend, Christofides will also be honoured during this ceremony. A former chair of the Department of Economics, he retired in 2001 and is currently a professor of economics at the University of Cyprus.
