MR. CHANCELLOR, a member of the Nuxalk First Nation, Snxakila Clyde Tallio is an Alkw: a ceremonial speaker, historian, cultural leader and teacher, and the youngest fluent speaker of the Nuxalk language.
He pursued his education through community-based teachings by Nuxalk elders, who were among the few remaining cultural experts and fluent language holders. Thanks to his work as a teacher in the local schools, a new generation of Nuxalk people are learning their language and culture. He was instrumental in the establishment of Nuxalk Radio and brought his language skills into existing youth programming, further advancing the Nuxalk curriculum.
His expertise in Nuxalk culture has been sought by acclaimed museums such as UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., the Chicago Field Museum, the Royal British Columbia Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he redesigned the Nuxalk section of the Northwest Coast Hall.
In addition, his dedication to the research and recovery of Nuxalk laws has been critical in re-building healthy and self-governing communities in Nuxalk territory and in First Nations across the globe. As a founding member of the Nuxalk Ancestral Governance Department, he has collaborated with hereditary and elected leadership and community knowledge holders to articulate Nuxalk ancestral protocols and provide a defensible basis from which the Nation can assert their inherent rights.
His leadership has also supported land stewardship and species protection, including establishing the Coastal Guardian Watchmen program in Nuxalk territory. He has co-authored academic articles and presentations at international conferences on the application of Indigenous knowledge in environmental management. He is currently the cultural director of the Nuxalk Nation, where he is managing the development of the Nation’s first Big House in over 100 years.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his leadership in protecting and preserving the language, traditions and rights of the Nuxalk people, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon SNXAKILA CLYDE MICHAEL TALLIO.
MR. CHANCELLOR, David Morley has dedicated over four decades to humanitarian work, international development and promoting children’s rights. His passion and commitment are exemplified in his strong leadership of notable development institutions and aid agencies that have generated positive impact for children and communities in Canada and abroad.
His considerable skills in advocacy, diplomacy and resource generation have fostered strong partnerships with non-profit organizations, the private sector, individual philanthropists, and government. His wide-ranging capabilities served him well as executive director of Doctors without Borders Canada from 1998 until 2005, during which time he contributed meaningfully to the organization’s 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.
At his core, he is a champion for the universality of the UN’s Convention of the Rights of the Child, the most ratified human rights treaty in the world. Even before the Sustainable Development Goals stated the need to reduce inequality within and among countries, David Morley was already defending the cause of the poorest and most vulnerable children all over the world, including Canada.
As the executive lead of UNICEF Canada for the past 12 years, he has successfully mobilized and attracted a growing number of Canadians to make investments in the education, health and well-being of children most in need around the world.
We are proud to note that he obtained a Master of Education degree from UBC in 2008 and has been increasingly involved in educating and inspiring young people to become future leaders in humanitarian work.
His numerous distinctions include his appointment to the Order of Canada in 2018 and the UBC Alumni Achievement Award for Global Citizenship in 2019.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his extraordinary record of international humanitarianism, visionary leadership, and focused wisdom, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon DAVID MORLEY.
MR. CHANCELLOR, it is with an extra measure of pride that we recognize one of our own UBC alumni. A graduate of the UBC School of Music, Morna Edmundson is the artistic director of the world-renowned Elektra Women’s Choir and EnChor Choir of Vancouver.
Under her leadership, Elektra is a proud leader in the classical women’s choir community, programming a season of concerts, commissioning, recording, and engaging with women of all ages and their conductors through a suite of community engagement programs. In a 35-year career, she is known as a pioneer and strong advocate for the Canadian choral music scene, taking a keen interest in the development of other choirs of all voicings, presenting at conferences, and mentoring the next generation. She has served on the boards of national and international choral associations and is currently President of Choral Canada.
I hasten to add, Mr. Chancellor, that her commitment to excellence in performance has been acknowledged at the competition level, with Elektra having been awarded first place on numerous occasions in the CBC National Competition for Amateur Choirs.
Of note to our university community, she is making a difference in the Truth and Reconciliation movement in the Arts. An innovative educational program called Elektra’s Cultural Conversations series focuses on highly relevant questions of inclusion and diversity in the choral arts. In 2022, Elektra worked with Coast and Interior Salish educators and Elders in a multi-faceted video project entitled Teachings of the Water.
Not surprisingly, she has been the recipient of numerous honours, including the BC Choral Federation’s Healey Willan Award; the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award; the UBC Alumni Builder Award, and by her induction into CBC Radio’s In Concert Classical Music Hall of Fame.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of her vast contributions to choral music in Canada and around the world, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon MORNA ANN EDMUNDSON.
MR. CHANCELLOR, Beatrice Little Mustache (ii naa sii pii taa kii) is a survivor of the residential school system, but she has not allowed the trauma she endured to break her spirit, nor her will to seek lifelong wisdom, and to serve the needs of others.
For 44 years she held various positions in the field of child and adult welfare at all levels of government – band, municipal, provincial and federal.
These included leadership positions with Piikani Nation Family Services, Alberta Provincial Child Welfare, and the First Nations Health Consortium - all in the service of her Piikani First Nation and other Treaty Seven First Nation communities.
Remarkably, while working full-time and raising five children, she graduated from Calgary’s Mount Royal College with a Diploma of Social Work, and later a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Calgary.
Today, she remains active as a long-time trustee of the Peigan Board of Education, including 13 years as board chair. Since 2017 she has worked to promote enhanced education on issues pertaining to treatment and planning for First Nations youth in care.
This important work was conducted under a program called Jordan’s Principle – a child-first and needs-based initiative to ensure that First Nations children have equitable access to all government-funded services.
She has also served as a regional service coordinator of the First Nations Health Consortium, lending support to families to navigate provincial and federal service systems. Most recently, she has taken a lead role to address the opioid crisis on Piikani Reserve.
A traditional dancer and a gifted seamstress of regalia, she frequently participates in community events to unite families and honour Elders.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of her long and extensive record of humanitarian service, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon BEATRICE LITTLE MUSTACHE.
MR. CHANCELLOR, throughout her career, JoAnn Callender has worked tirelessly to showcase the music of The Bahamas to appreciative audiences around the world.
A renowned soprano soloist, she is also well-regarded as a champion of Black excellence in the performing arts, and for her varied career as a writer, producer and director of stage productions that have been brought to international audiences.
Her ascent to prominence began in 1973 when The Bahamas claimed independence from England, and where at the national celebratory event, she sang the Bahamian national anthem with the Independence Chorale, as the flag was raised on a new nation.
It was a moment that will not be forgotten by the Bahamian people. It also helped to spark her career as the nation’s foremost classical soprano, working with numerous Bahamian composers to showcase their music in Europe and elsewhere.
The many highlights of her international stage productions include a command performance of Bahamian folk opera, The Legend of Sammie Swain, for the late Queen Elizabeth II. Currently, she is producing a documentary film on the life and music of Bahamian composer Timothy Gibson, whose body of work includes the country’s national anthem.
She has also shared her time and talent in generous measures with Bahamian youth artists, supporting various music training initiatives across her country, and adjudicating music competitions.
Much admired in her homeland, she was honoured by the government of The Bahamas in 2015 with the distinction of Bahamian Cultural Legend.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of her remarkable contributions to the performing arts, and for her leadership in preserving a legacy of Bahamian music for future generations, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon JOANN LOUISE DEVEAUX-CALLENDER.
MR. CHANCELLOR, Roy Forbes has frequently been described as a national musical treasure for his 50-plus year career as a singer-songwriter, guitarist, recording artist, producer and broadcaster.
Born in Dawson Creek, he moved to Vancouver in 1971 and soon became a fixture at festivals and concert stages in every region of Canada. Initially playing under the stage name, "Bim", his songs evoke a strong sense of Canadian place and experience, influenced by an eclectic blend of folk, blues, country and rock.
Since 1975, his songs have been recorded and performed by a diverse range of well-known artists, such as Susan Jacks, Valdy, Matt Minglewood, and Sylvia Tyson, to name only a few.
In 1987, Roy reclaimed his original name, and continued to write and record at a prolific pace, including scores for films, documentaries, and television. He also became a well-known collaborator, co-forming the folk supergroup, UHF, with fellow British Columbia recording artists Shari Ulrich and Bill Henderson.
His encyclopedic knowledge of vintage recorded music has enabled him to pursue a second career as a radio broadcaster. For the past 17 years he has hosted a popular weekly program, Roy’s Record Room, on Alberta’s CKUA radio network.
He has also been a mentor to many aspiring artists, participating in song-writing workshops for the Songwriters Association of Canada, for which he served as a board member from 1999 to 2006.
His career has been celebrated with many awards, including induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, an honorary degree from Northern Lights College, and a street in Dawson Creek that bears his name.
Still active in all facets of his career, his most recent album, Edge of Blue, was released to critical acclaim in 2020 and garnered him a nomination for the Canadian Folk Music Association’s Producer of the Year.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his vast contributions to contemporary Canadian music, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon ROY HENRY CHARLES FORBES.
Mr. Chancellor,
Setsuko Thurlow was 13 years-old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. She was less than two kilometers from the blast and vividly remembers the aftermath of catastrophe and human suffering at the dawn of the nuclear age.
Her experiences formed the basis of her nuclear disarmament advocacy, which began upon her arrival in America in 1954 when she spoke out during an interview about her thoughts on tests of even more powerful hydrogen bombs by the United States in the Marshall Islands.
Since then, she has been engaged in informing people about the danger of nuclear weapons, and has testified widely before world leaders and diplomats about the reality of nuclear war. For the past decade she has actively campaigned on behalf of ICAN - the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. As a leading figure for ICAN, she co-accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, in recognition of its role in the United Nations’ adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
She is a graduate of Hiroshima Jogakuin University (Japan), The University of Lynchburg (United States), and The University of Toronto. She practiced for decades as a social worker in a number of agencies, including the Toronto Board of Education, culminating in the founding of Japanese Family Services of Metropolitan Toronto in 1989.
Her many distinctions include her induction as a Member of the Order of Canada, Peace Ambassador for the City of Hiroshima, commendation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Japan, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Distinguished Peace Leadership Award, and the Arms Control Association’s Person of the Year.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of her profound influence for peace, and a lifetime of humanitarian service, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Setsuko Thurlow.
Mr. Chancellor, Thomas Ming Swi Chang is one of the world’s most distinguished scientists in the field of artificial cells and organ research.
His lifelong association with McGill University began as an undergraduate student, when in 1957 he accomplished the remarkable feat of creating the world’s first artificial blood cell.
Working with materials such as perfume atomizers in his dormitory room laboratory, he managed to create a permeable plastic sack that would carry haemoglobin almost as effectively as a natural blood cell, sparking a new and dynamic field of research and development.
After completing his Doctor of Medicine, Master of Surgery and PhD at McGill, he remained to become a Professor of Physiology, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering and the director of the Artificial Cells and Organs Research Centre.
The many highlights of his research career include his discovery that enzymes carried by artificial cells could correct some metabolic disorders. Concurrently, he also developed charcoal-filled cells to treat drug poisoning, a now widely used technique. His later work on finding a safe blood substitute brought him to international prominence during the tainted blood tragedy of the 1980’s.
Over the course of his prolific career, he published over 500 scientific papers and 21 books. In recognizing him as a Fellow, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences noted that his original ideas were years ahead of the modern era of nanotechnology, regenerative medicine, gene therapy, stem cell therapy and blood substitutes.
Not surprisingly, he has been the recipient of numerous distinctions, including three nominations for a Nobel Prize and his installation as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon Thomas Ming Swi Chang.
Mr. Chancellor,
Doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and an advocate for women's education, human rights and health as key pillars to achieving lasting peace.
Born and raised in Jabalia Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip, he made history as the first Palestinian to complete his residency in obstetrics and gynecology in Israel, where he fearlessly provided compassionate medical care and became a symbol of hope in improving Israeli-Palestinian relations.
In 2009 he lost three daughters and a niece during an Israeli offensive in Gaza. In memory of his daughters and as a tribute to his commitment to women’s empowerment, he founded Daughters for Life Foundation, a Canadian charity that exemplifies his unwavering belief that thriving, empowered communities are the bedrock of a peaceful society.
Doctor Abuelaish’s book, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, is a national and international best seller. Translated into 23 languages, it has achieved worldwide critical acclaim.
He has been nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize and has been fondly described as the Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King of the Middle East.
He is the recipient of countless national and international awards. These include 19 honorary degrees, the Order of Ontario, the Governor General’s Medallion and the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award of Canada, to name only a few. Furthermore, he has been named one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants, one of the 500 Most Powerful Arabs and one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his enduring humanitarianism and contributions to human well-being, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish.
Mr. Chancellor,
It is with an extra measure of pride that we today honour one of our own graduates. After graduating from the Faculty of Arts, William Gibson emerged as a science fiction writer in the 1980s and has since produced an extensive body of work including novels, short fiction, non-fiction and screenplays.
His first novel, Neuromancer, introduced both the now commonplace concept of "cyberspace" and the term itself. It has been described as one of the more influential novels of the late twentieth century, inspiring a new genre in science fiction writing referred to as "cyberpunk".
Neuromancer was also the first novel ever to win all three of the most prestigious awards in science fiction literature - the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick awards – an extraordinary accomplishment for any writer, let alone a newcomer to the genre.
Through the course of his career, he has drawn international acclaim both for his work and for his prescient views, perhaps best exemplified by his depictions of both the internet and virtual reality before either existed.
His works have been adapted into movies, TV series and stage plays. He is a featured speaker at a wide range of conferences and a favoured source for journalists and other writers researching the reciprocal links between technology and society.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his accomplishments and influence in Modern Literature and the Arts, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon William Gibson.
Mr. Chancellor,
Austin Mardon is an accomplished explorer and geographer, writer, teacher and researcher who has made extraordinary contributions to the field of mental health and disability advocacy.
As the founder of the Antarctic Institute of Canada, he has sought opportunities for students to engage in subjects spanning geography and planetary science, and also in areas of mental health, political history, and theology. Students and colleagues at the University of Alberta, the University of Lethbridge and UBC attest to his innate ability to inspire and motivate students, and to foster intellectual curiosity and development.
His personal journey with schizophrenia has given him a unique perspective and empathy for those facing similar challenges, underlined by his role as an advisor to the Mental Health Commission of Canada and as a tireless advocate for destigmatizing mental illness.
In spite of challenges from living with schizophrenia, he earned a PhD in geography from Greenwich University and became an increasingly prolific publisher of academic papers, including letters in both Science and Nature. He has been widely recognized by prestigious academic organizations, including his 2014 election to the Royal Society of Canada.
Not surprisingly, he has received countless awards, particularly in his home province of Alberta. These include the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Medal, the Medal of Honour from the Alberta Medical Association and honorary degrees from the University of Alberta and the University of Lethbridge. In 2006 he was invested as a member of the Order of Canada.
I am further pleased to note that, only weeks ago, he was awarded the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Medal from NASA.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his inspirational achievements and extraordinary service to fellow Canadians, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Austin Mardon.
Mr. Chancellor,
Professor Rosemary Elizabeth Ommer is an eminent scholar, mentor and advisor with an international reputation for groundbreaking contributions across multiple fields and within key national and international agencies and research initiatives.
An economic historian and geographer, she specializes in interdisciplinary, community-based research. During the first three decades of her career, she designed and led numerous groundbreaking research initiatives in the fields of social-ecological systems, coastal communities and informal economies, the history of fisheries and environmental degradation.
Her leadership has supported and inspired the work of countless researchers in the social and natural sciences who have gone on to lead new major initiatives focused on similar themes. In the past decade, the focus of her academic work has shifted towards active mentoring of second-generation researchers working in diverse fields through her leadership roles on advisory committees for Canadian and international major grants and research programs.
The substantial research programs she has directed, and her mentorship of hundreds of colleagues and students engaged in both her own research programs and those of other leading scholars, have resulted in important new insights and collaborations that have helped to break down silos between natural, social and health researchers and policy makers.
Significantly, she has strong connections to UBC, nurtured through collaborative writing and research projects with students and faculty, and for chairing advisory committees for major research programs, including OceanCanada at UBC.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of a lifetime of dedication and influential leadership across numerous fields of community-based research, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon Professor Rosemary Elizabeth Ommer.
Mr. Chancellor,
Ry Moran is one of our country’s most effective and influential champions for truth, reconciliation and human rights.
As founding Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, he was responsible for laying the strategic foundations of the organization, while working in close collaboration with national partners to advance its mission and mandate.
His continuing work in building and sustaining relationships that advance Indigenous rights has had lasting impact across all sectors.
He previously served as Director of Statement Gathering at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which was mandated to gather survivor statements and residential school records from church and government archives.
His visionary leadership in carrying out the Commission’s work is of lasting significance in our nation’s history.
His work has involved navigating the complexities of what ought to be preserved for future generations. Through this, he has remained a steadfast advocate for the preservation of Indigenous histories and respectful stewardship of knowledge.
In his current role at the University of Victoria as the inaugural Associate University Librarian for Reconciliation, he actively works to create spaces for decolonized practices within the library and beyond.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of his deep commitment to truth, to reconciliation, to decolonization, and to implementing transformative change, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Ry Moran.
Mr. Chancellor,
Hossein Amanat has long held a prominent place among the world’s most accomplished modern architects.
Born in Tehran, Iran, he established his international reputation at age 24, when he won a nationwide competition for the design of Tehran’s Shahyad Tower. Renamed the Azadi Tower following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the tower has now become a national symbol.
This early success led to commissions for some of Iran’s most prestigious modern buildings including the Persian Heritage Handicraft Centre, the Sharif University compound, Tehran University School of Business Management, and the Iranian Embassy in Beijing.
Not only was it remarkable that a young architect was entrusted with such prestigious commissions, but also significant that he was among the first Iranian architects to distinguish their work by adhering to contemporary principles while applying lessons from traditional Persian architecture.
After moving to Canada in 1980, his practice expanded and diversified from his design of the World Administrative Center of the Baha’i Faith in Haifa to university libraries and high-tech factories in China, to mixed-use complexes in North America including a 52-storey residential high rise in Greater Vancouver. Mr. Amanat remains active today as principal of a Vancouver-based practice.
In all his projects, he continues to demonstrate his unique skill for applying diverse cultural themes in distinctive designs. His latest project, a shrine memorial, attests to his continuing creative ability spanning over six decades.
He has received numerous design awards and accolades, and has lectured extensively on art, architecture and sustainable design at several universities and cultural institutions. For over 20 years he has taught and mentored online students of architecture deprived of attending the state-run institutes of higher education in Iran.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of a lifetime of achievement and a prominent place in the pantheon of great architects, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon Hossein Amanat.
Mr. Chancellor,
Arran and Ratana Stephens are business and community leaders and generous supporters of causes related to food security, sustainable agriculture, and health care.
They have been partners in life and in business for more than 50 years, and everything they have achieved together has been driven by their shared lifelong mission: to always leave the earth better than they found it.
Since founding Nature’s Path together in 1985, they have grown the company to become the largest organic cereal manufacturer in North America, selling products to more than 50 countries around the world.
Nature’s Path remains a family-run enterprise, and throughout its history, the Stephens family has maintained their commitment to a triple bottom line: being financially, environmentally and socially responsible. Through their business and personal lives, they tirelessly advocate for and support the sustainable, organic, and non-GMO food movements.
In 2008 they supported the "Save the Farm" campaign, which led to the rezoning of the UBC Farm as green academic space in the University’s land use plan. They have also demonstrated commitment to helping students learn about local and global issues such as food security, sustainable food systems, health promotion, renewable energy, ecology, and climate change.
They have and continue to serve on boards of volunteer organizations and have contributed more than $40 million to various philanthropic and community service efforts, including food banks, hospitals and learning institutions.
Mr. Chancellor, in recognition of their extraordinary record of visionary public service and advocacy, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon Ratana and Arran Stephens.
Madam Chancellor,
Even before receiving an Academy Award in 2023, Canadian actor, filmmaker and writer Sarah Polley was increasingly regarded as a national cinematic treasure.
She landed her first role at the age of four, in a Disney movie called One Magic Christmas. She then went on to a number of small roles for film and television, and later the starring role in the Canadian television series Ramona, based on books by children’s author Beverly Cleary.
In 1990 her career took a significant turn when she landed the role of Sara Stanley on the television series Road to Avonlea, which quickly became a staple in family television across Canada and the United States.
She subsequently took on more adult roles, appearing in films like The Sweet Hereafter, Last Night, and the 2004 remake of horror classic, The Dawn of the Dead. Then came another turn when she bypassed Hollywood and mainstream acting roles in favor of Canada, as a writer and director of independent cinema.
She made her feature-length directorial debut with the dramatic film Away from Her in 2006, receiving an Oscar nomination for the screenplay, which she adapted from the Alice Munro story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain". To audiences and critics alike, her evolution from popular child actor to influential feminist screenwriter and director was well under way.
By this time, she had also made strides as a political activist, beginning as a youth when she spoke openly against the Gulf War, and in later years as an influential participant in anti-poverty initiatives and defending public health care.
Her subsequent projects included the documentary film Stories We Tell, which won the 2012 New York Film Critics Circle Prize for best documentary; the Netflix mini-series adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel, Alias Grace, and the romantic comedy Take This Waltz. Her first book, Run Towards the Danger, was a national bestseller and winner of the 2022 Toronto Book Awards.
That same year, she wrote and directed the dramatic film, Women Talking. Based on the 2018 novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews, the film earned her a 2023 Academy Award for best adapted screenplay, highlighting her talent, insight and influence in a much celebrated and compelling fashion.
Not surprisingly, in addition to the Oscar, she has received numerous distinctions, including her 2013 investiture into the Order of Canada.
Madam Chancellor, in recognition of her contributions to literature and cinematic arts, and for shining her unique light upon issues of critical importance, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon Sarah Polley.
Madam Chancellor,
Bartha Maria Knoppers is internationally recognized for her scholarly contributions to legal and ethical issues related to human genetics and genomics, and to the development of public policy in these areas.
She is a Distinguished James McGill Professor Emerita and was the Canada Research Chair in Law and Medicine at McGill University, as well as the founder and director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Her innovative approach to ethics governance and renowned vision for international harmonization of biobanking policies empowered her to establish the foundation of the Canadian non-profit Public Population Project in Genomics and Society - P3G - in 2006, as well as CARTaGENE, Quebec's national biobank in 2007.
Under her guidance, P3G provided the nascent international population biobank community with the resources and tools to facilitate data management and knowledge transfer worldwide, so as to prospectively ensure interoperability.
She is also a co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health and was for a decade the co-chair of the Ethics and Governance Working Group for the Human Cell Atlas.
The leadership positions she holds in the Canadian bioethics and law communities demonstrate her influence and ability to bring together key actors across disciplines and jurisdictions. In so doing, she has challenged her collaborators and Canadians writ large to rethink and adapt scientific research paradigms to accommodate a globalized human rights perspective into bioethics.
To that end, it must also be noted that Professor Knoppers was a member of UNESCO’s International Bioethics Committee that drafted the 1997 Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights.
Not surprisingly, Madam Chancellor, she has been extensively recognized, including as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Hastings Center, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the Royal Society of Canada.
An Officer of the Order of Canada and of l’Ordre national du Québec, she is also a recipient of the Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research, the Till and McCulloch Award for Science Policy, and the Canadian Bioethics Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Madam Chancellor, in recognition of her leadership and contributions to some of the most important legal and ethical issues of our time, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Professor Bartha Maria Knoppers.