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Supreme Court of Israel Pres. Aharon Barak, World-Class Soprano Teresa Stratas, Ex Senator & Quebec Health Minister Claude Castonguay, Toronto United Way Pres. Anne Golden Among Honoured
The other distinguished recipients are internationally renowned soprano Teresa Stratas, arts philanthropist Joan Chalmers, Harvard astronomer Alexander Dalgarno, pioneering rose breeder Felicitas Svejda, former Ontario Deputy Minister Valerie Gibbons, and former York University Chancellor and Imperial Oil President and CEO Arden Haynes.
"The achievements of our honorary doctorate recipients -- from across all areas of human endeavour -- not only require great vision, but tireless effort, dedication and commitment to bring them about," said York University President Dr. Marsden.
AHARON BARAK: Supreme Court of Israel President Aharon Barak has had a long and distinguished legal career, last year winning the International Association of Judges' highest honour (the International Justice in the World prize) for his role in safeguarding human rights and freedom in the Israeli judiciary. Barak served as dean of the Law School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1974, Attorney General of the State of Israel 1975-1978, Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel in 1978, deputy president of the Supreme Court of Israel in 1993, and president of the Supreme Court of Israel in 1995. Barak became a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987 and received honorary degrees from Yale and Oxford in 1999. Barak will receive his honorary Doctor of Laws degree Fri., June 16, 2:30 p.m.
CLAUDE CASTONGUAY: A widely respected public servant, politician and corporate leader whose career has spanned more than four decades, Claude Castonguay developed the blueprint for a new Quebec health and social welfare program between 1966 and 1970 -- at the peak of the Quiet Revolution. After being elected to the Quebec National Assembly in 1970, Castonguay became Quebec's minister of health and social affairs, and assumed responsibility for implementing the program he developed. He served as Chief Executive Officer of the Laurentian Group Corporation from 1982 to1989, and as chairman of the Conference Board of Canada from 1989 to1990. Castonguay was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1974 and an Officer of the Ordre du QuÈbec in 1991. He served in Canada's Senate from 1990 to 1992. Castonguay will receive his honorary Doctor of Laws degree Sat., June 10, 2:30 p.m., at Glendon College, located at 2275 Bayview Ave.
ANNE GOLDEN: Responsible for leading one of the United Way of Greater Toronto's most successful campaigns to date -- which raised a record-breaking $63.1 million in 1999 -- Anne Golden has played a crucial role in helping those in need across the GTA. Named Global Television's Newsmaker of the Year in 1998, and one of the "50 Most Influential Women in Canada" by Chatelaine Magazine in 1994, Golden has served as president of the United Way of Greater Toronto since 1987, was appointed chair of the Homelessness Action Task Force by Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman in 1998, and headed the provincial Greater Toronto Area Task Force on municipal restructuring from 1995 to 1996. She has taught American political history at both York University and the University of Toronto. She sits on the Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid board and on the board of Sceptre Investment Counsel Limited. Golden will receive her honorary Doctor of Laws degree Wed., June 14, 6:30 p.m.
TERESA STRATAS: An internationally renowned Canadian-born soprano who has graced New York's Metropolitan Opera stage, Broadway, and many of Europe's great Opera houses, Teresa Stratas has starred in numerous leading roles including: Mimi and Zerlina in Don Giovanni; Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro; and Marguerite in Faust. She played Violetta in the 1983 Zeffirelli film of La Traviata, whose soundtrack recording won a Grammy award the same year. In 1987, Stratas made her Broadway debut in the musical production Rags which earned her a Tony Award nomination, and Best Actress award by Drama Desk, the association of New York drama critics, writers and performers. She abandoned the opera stage in 1981 to travel to Calcutta to work with Mother Teresa in helping the poor and terminally ill. Stratas became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1972, and the Canadian Music Council named her artist of the year in 1980. Stratas will receive her honorary Doctor of Letters degree Mon., June 12, 2:30 p.m.
JOAN CHALMERS: Through sustained patronage of the Canadian arts community, Joan Chalmers has helped strengthen Canada's national character and inspired others to contribute to the arts. Her foundation -- The M. Joan Chalmers Cultural Centre Foundation -- has financially assisted hundreds of projects ranging from the Canadian Museum of Civilization to Toronto's Cabbagetown Community Arts Centre. Her Foundation is also responsible for the annual Chalmers Awards -- established by her parents Floyd and Jean Chalmers in 1972 -- which has burgeoned into one of the largest, almost entirely privately funded, arts awards programs in the country, giving away more than $250,000 annually to distinguished Canadians working in music, crafts, stage, theatre for young audiences, documentary film, dance, and multi-media. Further evidence of her ongoing philanthropy is her recent creation and funding of Survivors in Search of a Voice, a travelling exhibit of commissioned works by women artists to raise awareness and funds in the fight against breast cancer. She has served on the boards of Toronto's Harbourfront Centre and the Glenn Gould Foundation, and is a patron of the Young People's Theatre, the Canadian Conference of the Arts, and the Canadian Craft's Council. Chalmers was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1997. Chalmers will receive her honorary Doctor of Letters degree Mon., June 12, 6:30 p.m.
ALEXANDER DALGARNO: A leading British astronomer, Alexander Dalgarno is the Phillips Professor of Astronomy at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Dalgarno's ground-breaking research in atomic, molecular, chemical, and dynamical processes in astrophysical and atmospheric environments has landed him numerous honours including the American Geophysical Union's Fleming Medal in 1995, the Royal Society of Chemistry's Spiers Medal in 1992, and the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal in 1986. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of London, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Astronomical Society and the Royal Astronomical Society. He is also editor of Astrophysical Journal Letters. Dalgarno will receive his honorary Doctor of Science degree Wed., June 14, 2:30 p.m.
FELICITAS SVEJDA: A leading plant geneticist and rose breeder at the federal Department of Agriculture's Genetics and Plant Breeding Institute at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Felicitas Svejda, now retired, developed the Explorer Series of hardy roses (named after such famous Canadian explorers as Louis Jolliet, Henry Hudson, Champlain, John Cabot, and Martin Frobisher) which are resistant to both insects and Canada's harsh climate. An author of numerous articles on rose breeding and horticulture, Svejda is a past member of the Agricultural Institute of Canada and the Canadian, American and International Societies of Horticultural Science. Svejda will receive her honorary Doctor of Science degree Tues., June 20, 10 a.m.
VALERIE GIBBONS: Former Ontario Deputy Minister (Community and Social Services, Consumer and Commercial Relations, Management Board), Valerie Gibbons was among the first women in the Ontario public service to rise to the Deputy Minister level. As an exemplar of the highest standard of public service, Gibbons made significant contributions to equity in the delivery of services to children and families with special needs. Now the head of a policy consulting firm, Gibbons continues to help the disadvantaged through her work with Covenant House. Gibbons will receive her honorary Doctor of Laws degree Tues., June 20, 2:30 p.m.
ARDEN HAYNES: York University's ninth Chancellor (1994 to1998) Arden Haynes is the former chair and chief executive Officer of Imperial Oil Limited and has played a vital role in the economic life of this country. He has participated in many organizations designed to improve communications between business, government, and the people of Canada, including a stint as chair of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on the business/government executive exchange program. He has led a broad range of charitable, community and educational groups and activities, chief among them Diabetes Canada for whom he worked tirelessly as fundraising chair from 1982 to 1987. Haynes was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1989. Haynes will receive his honorary Doctor of Laws degree Wed., June 21, 10 a.m.
Approximately 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students will graduate during the spring convocation ceremonies, joining York's now 152,000-strong alumni. Since its founding in 1959, York University has become nationally and internationally respected for its innovative research and award-winning teaching. The third-largest university in Canada, York offers its 40,000 students programs in 10 faculties and access to research flowing from the university's more than 20 research centres. With its combination of dedicated and talented faculty, opportunities for bright and ambitious students, dynamic curriculum and modern campuses in one of North America's most influential urban centres, York University is setting the contemporary standard in academic excellence.
Please note: All honorary degree recipients will deliver convocation addresses, except Chalmers. Convocation ceremonies will be held on York's Keele Campus, Convocation Site, east of the Centre for Film and Theatre, Centre for Fine Arts, except where noted.
For more information, please contact:
Ken Turriff
Sine MacKinnon
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