2015 Honorary Degree Recipients

Fall Congregation Honorary Degree Recipients

Roméo Dallaire

Lieutenant-General the Honourable Roméo Dallaire, OC, (Ret’d)

Roméo Dallaire is a retired lieutenant-general, Senator, and celebrated humanitarian. Lieutenant General (LGen) Dallaire is President of the Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire Foundation; founder of The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, an organization aimed at eradicating the use of child soldiers; an outspoken advocate for human rights, particularly war-affected children, women, the Canadian First Nations, and military veterans; a respected champion of genocide prevention initiatives, the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, and nuclear non-proliferation, as well as a best-selling author.

See Roméo Dallaire’s citation

View awarding of Honorary Degree – YouTube

Marangu Njogu

Marangu Njogu

Marangu Njogu is executive director of Windle Trust Kenya and a visionary leader in the development of refugee education programs from primary levels through to university in Dadaab, Kenya, including a teacher education program for secondary school teachers in the Dadaab settlement and surrounding region. Under his leadership, UBC has become a partner within a consortium of universities committed to peace building, youth development and community engagement in one of the world’s largest marginalized communities.

See Marangu Njogu’s citation

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Hugh Possingham


Hugh Possingham

Hugh Possingham is currently the Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow, Professor of Mathematics and Professor of Ecology at the University of Queensland. He is renowned as a scientist who has helped to establish conservation ecology firmly within the realm of science and for leading the application of the resulting science to the development of sound conservation principles worldwide. His work has underpinned the rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the largest systematically designed reserve network in the world.

See Hugh Possingham’s citation

View awarding of Honorary Degree – YouTube

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Susan Solomon

Susan Solomon is the Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is widely recognized as one of the leaders in the field of atmospheric science. Her scientific papers have provided not only key measurements, but also theoretical understanding regarding ozone destruction, and in particular the role of surface chemistry. Dr. Solomon is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences, and the French Academy of Sciences.

See Susan Solomon’s citation

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Rachel Thibeault, OC

Rachel Thibeault is a Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa, specializing in community-based rehabilitation, psychosocial care, and issues of social justice in health care. She has worked for over three decades with groups that face overwhelming stigma, including victims of war in Sierra Leone, persons with AIDS in Zambia, leprosy in Ethiopia, and disability in Nicaragua. Dr. Thibeault is also an academic leader in the occupational therapy and occupational science discipline and a key influencer within the realms of global health and human rights policy.

See Rachel Thibeault’s citation

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Spring Congregation Honorary Degree Recipients

Gary Cristall

Gary Cristall

Gary Cristall is a champion of folk, traditional and world music. He co-founded the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 1978 and was its artistic director for 17 years. He served as Program Officer in Ottawa for the Canada Council for the Arts from 1994 to 2000, and promoted a new funding model that recognized Canada as an Aboriginal and multicultural nation with a range of traditions.

See Gary Cristall’s citation

View awarding of Honorary Degree – YouTube

Hart Hanson

Hart Hanson

Hart Hanson has written and produced some of televisions’ most successful shows, including Bones, Stargate SG-1 and Judging Amy. A 1987 graduate of UBC’s Program in Creative Writing, now in its 50th year, he is actively engaged in working with apprentice screenwriters. Hansen has become one of the most respected voices in Hollywood, with four Gemini Awards to his name.

See Hart Hanson’s citation

View awarding of Honorary Degree – YouTube

Constance Isherwood, Q.C.

Constance Isherwood, Q.C.

Constance Isherwood, Q.C. is the most senior practicing woman of the Bar in B.C., at 95 years of age. A member of the UBC Law Class of 1951, she was the first woman law graduate to win the prestigious Law Society gold medal. She is Chancellor to the Anglican Dioceses of B.C. and past-president of the B.C. government’s Family and Children’s Services Commission.

See Constance Isherwood’s citation

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Uno Langmann

Uno Langmann

Uno Langmann is a renowned art dealer who has been a champion of under-recognized Canadian artists, including many First Nations artists who have gone on to prominence. A member and past-president of the Canadian Antique Dealers Association, he has generously donated many valuable works of art to a variety of public galleries and institutions.

See Uno Langmann’s citation

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Stephen J. Toope

Stephen J. Toope

Stephen J. Toope, director of the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, is an internationally recognized legal scholar and educator. He has represented Western Europe and North American on the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances from 2002 to 2007, and served as UBC president from 2006 to 2014.

See Stephen J. Toope’s citation

View awarding of Honorary Degree – YouTube