Notable Canadians to receive honorary degrees for outstanding contributions
Toronto, Ontario – June 13, 2012 – Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning will recognize eight individuals with honorary degrees at this year’s spring convocation ceremonies.
“Humber is proud to recognize these outstanding citizens for their significant contributions to their communities and to the college,” said John Davies, Humber president. “We hope that the successes of our honorary degree recipients will inspire our graduates as they begin their careers.”
More than 7,400 students from eight Humber academic schools will graduate this spring. Convocation ceremonies will be held at The Toronto Congress Centre (650 Dixon Road, Toronto). This year’s honorary degree recipients include:
Dr. Terry Graham, Professor, Human Health & Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph
Tuesday, June 19, 10 a.m. – School of HRT, Liberal Arts & Sciences & Creative & Performing Arts
Dr. Graham’s research focuses on human muscle metabolism. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has continuously funded his work since 1977. Graham joined the University of Guelph in 1976, where he served as chair of the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences from 2001 to 2011. Graham was instrumental in developing the University of Guelph-Humber’s Bachelor of Applied Science (Kinesiology) program.
Anthony Folan, president and founder, Integral HR Solutions Inc.
Tuesday, June 19, 3 p.m. – The Business School
Since 2007, Mr. Folan’s practice has provided a wide variety of HR services, including conflict and dispute resolution, policy and procedure development and employee recruitment, retention and engagement interventions to a growing list of domestic and international clients. In 2006, Folan became a member of the Humber College Human Resources Degree Program Advisory Committee. As the Chair of the Committee, Folan has provided leadership to a number of on-campus initiatives and has become a frequent guest lecturer.
Connie McCulloch, executive vice president, Home and Planning, Allocation & Analysis, TJX Canada
Tuesday, June 19, 7 p.m. – The Business School
Ms. McCulloch oversees general merchandise managers, divisional merchandise managers and buyers for the Home division of TJX Canada, which operates more than 300 Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls stores nationwide. She empowers others to succeed by hiring talented people, and then providing the environment, motivation, and guidance to help them excel. McCulloch is actively involved in Winners and HomeSense fundraising efforts for the Canadian Women’s Foundation, an organization committed to ending violence against women, moving low-income women out of poverty.
Jian Ghomeshi, host, national daily talk program Q, CBC Radio One and CBC TV
Wednesday, June 20, 10 a.m. – School of Media Studies & Information Technology
Mr. Ghomeshi is an award-winning broadcaster, writer, musician and producer, who has interviewed prominent figures including Paul McCartney, Salman Rushdie, William Shatner, Al Gore, Margaret Atwood and Leonard Cohen. Ghomeshi fronted the multi-platinum-selling folk-rock group, Moxy Früvous. He toured internationally in the 1990s and shared stages with artists including Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello. This fall, Ghomeshi will release his first book, 1982, a literary memoir based on a 14-year-old’s desire to be David Bowie.
Ronald Bain, executive director, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police
Wednesday, June 20, 3 p.m. – School of Social & Community Services
Since June 2007, Mr. Bain has served as the Executive Director for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP). Bain joined Peel Regional Police in 1979, serving for 25 years before retiring as Deputy Chief of Police in 2004. His assignments included an eight-year term in the Homicide & Missing Persons Bureau, serving as the bureau commander for two years. In 1996, Bain served as the Chief Investigator for the Bernardo Investigations Review, which paved the way for the implementation of the Ontario Major Case Management system for major crime investigations. He has lectured extensively on police leadership and executive development, major crime investigations and major case management.
Cameron Bailey, artistic director, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
Wednesday, June 20, 7 p.m. – Degree program graduates, all schools
Mr. Bailey is responsible for the overall vision and execution of TIFF programming. Prior to becoming artistic director, Bailey served as a festival programmer for 13 years, with responsibility for the annual selection of films from Africa, South Asia and the Philippines. Born in London, Bailey grew up in England and Barbados before immigrating to Canada. He has held positions as a curator, a journalist and a writer. As a journalist, Bailey reviewed films for Toronto's Now Magazine, CBC Radio One and CTV’s Canada AM, presented international cinema nightly on Showcase Television's The Showcase Revue, and has been published in the Globe and Mail, the Village Voice, CineAction! and Screen, among others.
Les Mandelbaum, president and co-founder, Umbra
Thursday, June 21, 10 a.m. – School of Applied Technology
Mr. Mandelbaum heads a company that is a world leader of award-winning contemporary home accessories. Umbra products are innovative, modern, casual, functional and affordable and many have become design icons. The curvaceous GARBINO Can sits in the Permanent Collection of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1979, Mandelbaum approached childhood friend and graphic designer Paul Rowan and began the journey that led to Umbra. Today, Umbra manufactures products in nearly every category of home accessories and furnishings. The company has grown beyond its headquarters in Toronto, with worldwide offices and distribution in the USA, Europe, Brazil, Japan and China.
Cathy Crowe, RN and Street Nurse, Social Justice Advocate
Thursday, June 21, 7 p.m. – School of Health Sciences
Ms.Crowe’s work on health issues affecting homeless people includes shelter conditions and inadequate housing, the return of tuberculosis and bedbugs, discrimination and a high mortality rate. She has fostered numerous coalitions and advocacy initiatives that have achieved significant public policy victories. In 1998 she co-founded the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC) which declared homelessness a national disaster. The disaster campaign’s signature “1% Solution” slogan refers to the demand that all levels of government commit an additional one per cent of their budgets to affordable housing. A documentary film on her work, Street Nurse, directed by Emmy and Gemini winner Shelley Saywell, has had a major impact on nursing education in Canada.
About Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning
Established in 1967, Humber is one of Canada’s leading postsecondary institutions. Committed to student success through excellence in teaching and learning, Humber serves more than 22,000 full-time students and 56,000 continuing education registrants. With an internationally recognized reputation for quality learning, Humber offers a wide-range of career-focused opportunities for students to personalize their educational path. Our 150 full-time programs include four-year bachelor’s degrees, two and three-year diplomas, one and two-year certificates, and apprenticeship training. As a founding member of Polytechnics Canada, Humber offers students the opportunity to participate in applied research projects that find solutions for issues confronting small and medium-sized enterprises. Humber is one of 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges as identified by the League for Innovation, and the League’s only Canadian board member. More than 83 per cent of Humber graduates are employed within six months of completing their studies. Visit humber.ca.
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Note to editors: Complete biographies and photos of the honorary degree recipients are available upon request
For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact:
Ilena Aldini-Messina / Andrew Leopold
Humber Marketing & Communications
(o) 416.675.6622 ext. 5479 / 4296
Andrew cell: 416.519.8989
ilena.aldinimessina@humber.ca / andrew.leopold@humber.ca
