Toronto, Ontario – June 14, 2011 – Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning will recognize seven 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 8,000 students from seven Humber academic schools will graduate this spring. Convocation ceremonies will be held at Humber’s North Campus. This year’s honorary degree recipients include:
Jud Simpson, executive chef, House of Commons in Ottawa
(School of Hospitality, Recreation & Tourism; Tuesday, June 21, 10 a.m.)
Chef Simpson has been the executive chef at the House of Commons since 1991. A Toronto native, he has worked at many landmark Toronto hotels and restaurants, including the historical King Edward Hotel. He has competed several times in the World Culinary Olympics, and led Team Canada to a strong fourth-place finish in 2004. He was elected president of the Canadian Culinary Federation in 2006. A firm believer in lifelong learning, Mr. Simpson is currently enrolled in the Certified Master Chef Program at Humber College, striving to achieve the highest culinary designation in Canada.
Irwin Elman, Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, Ontario
(School of Social & Community Services; Tuesday, June 21, 3 p.m.)
Mr. Elman holds an extensive background as an educator, counsellor, youth worker, program manager, policy developer and child and youth advocate. He has created innovative approaches for youth in Ontario, Jamaica, Hungary, and Japan. For more than 20 years, he was the manager of the Pape Adolescent Resource Centre in Toronto and director of Client Service at Central Toronto Youth Services. As Ontario’s first independent Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, Mr. Elman works to partner with children and the youth in elevating their voices to create positive change.
Tony DiGiovanni, executive director, Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association
(School of Applied Technology; Wed. June 22, 10 a.m.)
Mr. DiGiovanni is a proud Landscape Technician alumnus of Humber College. Landscape Ontario is Ontario’s premier horticulture trades association, with more than 2,000 professional members. Mr. DiGiovanni co-founded Canada Blooms 15 years ago, which has grown to become Canada’s largest flower and garden festival. While working for the city of Etobicoke, he continued his association with Humber, first as a part-time and then as a full-time faculty member in the Landscape Program. He became the program coordinator and received the Distinguished Faculty Award in 1989. Many Humber graduates work for companies that are members of Landscape Ontario.
Mia Pearson, founder, North Strategic, Toronto
(School of Media Studies & Information Technology; Wednesday, June 22, 3 p.m.)
A graduate of Humber College’s public relations certificate program and an entrepreneur, Ms. Pearson recently left her position as regional president for Fleishman-Hillard Canada and cofounder and CEO of High Road Communications, to start a new communications agency, North Strategic. She is a pioneer in fusing digital integration with traditional public relations. With nearly 20 years of integrated communications experience, Ms. Pearson has led worked with clients such as Microsoft, LG, TELUS and PepsiCo on some of their most complex issues and creative opportunities. She was recently named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the corporate executive category. She is an active mentor to many young professionals and part of the Women Executive Network’s youth mentorship program.
Gordon Schofield, Founding partner, Murphy Business Canada Ltd., Toronto
(The Business School; Thursday, June 23, 10 a.m.)
Mr. Schofield graduated from Humber’s three-year Business Administration program in 1976, and immediately after was the first college graduate hired by IBM Canada for sales. After IBM, he worked at several companies before starting at Ingram Micro Canada, where he became president of the firm. During his time there, Mr. Schofield led growth of $1.1 billion to a total of $1.5 billion in 1997. He went on to lead a variety of mid-size acquisitions, advisory, operational and funding assignments over the next 12 years with his own practice. Two years ago he invested in and helped launch the Canadian operations of a North American business brokerage, Murphy Business Canada.
Howard Breen, former chair and CEO, MacLaren McCann Worldwide Group
(The Business School; Thursday, June 23, 3 p.m.)
Mr. Breen has more than 30 years experience in the marketing communications industry, working on both the agency and client side with multi-national companies. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer of MacLaren McCann WorldGroup, one of Canada’s pre-eminent communication companies. He stepped down from this position after six highly successful years to pursue his interests in writing and China. Prior to MacLaren McCann, Mr. Breen was the chairman and CEO of North American regions for Young & Rubicam Advertising. Mr. Breen, who serves on numerous business and charitable boards, is also the author of two books, A page from a CEO’s Diary and The Toothpick Factory.
Steve Paikin, host, The Agenda with Steve Paikin
(School of Liberal Arts & Sciences: Friday, June 24, 3 p.m.)
Mr. Paikin is an award-winning journalist, documentary producer and author. Since 2006, he has been anchor and senior editor of The Agenda with Steve Paikin, TVO’s flagship current affairs program. Before that, he was co-host of Studio 2, which lasted 12 seasons, and Diplomatic Immunity, which lasted eight seasons, both on TVO. Mr. Paikin is the author of four books and has produced several feature-length documentaries, including Return to the Warsaw Ghetto, which won several awards. In April, Mr. Paikin served as moderator for the English-language television leaders’ debate, repeating the role he held during the 2008 and in 2006 federal elections and the 2007 Ontario election.
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 25,000 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. Humber finished first in its class in the highly regarded Community College Survey of Student Engagement in 2009 in each of four categories, including Active and Collaborative Learning, Student Effort, Academic Challenge and Student-Faculty Interaction. More than 85 per cent of Humber graduates are employed within six months of completing their studies. Visit humber.ca.
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For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact:
Andrew Leopold / Kevin Gonsalves
Humber Marketing & Communications
(o) 416.675.6622 ext. 4296 / 5778
andrew.leopold@humber.ca / kevin.gonsalves@humber.ca
