Eugene Levy and Annette Verschuren among honourees at Spring Convocation

A Canadian comedy legend and the former president of The Home Depot Canada are among the 10 exceptional individuals who will be awarded honorary degrees from Dalhousie at this month’s convocation ceremonies.

Beloved comedian Eugene Levy boasts a television and film career that spans generations of fans. Some know him as one of the pioneers of Canadian sketch comedy with the groundbreaking SCTV. Others know him as one of the pillars of the incredible ensemble behind Christopher Guest’s gut-busting comedies like Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. And many younger comedy fans are most familiar with his work as “Jim’s Dad” in the American Pie franchise.

On May 22 (afternoon ceremony), he’ll add “honorary Dalhousie graduate” to an incredible list of honours that includes five Canadian Comedy Awards, a New York Film Critics Circle Award, two Emmy Awards, a Grammy, the Order of Canada, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement and two spots on Canada’s Walk of Fame (one as an individual and one as a member of SCTV).

One of Canada’s key business moguls, Annette Verschuren spent 15 years as president of The Home Depot Canada. During that time, the company grew from 19 to 180 stores across the country. This year, she became executive chair of NRStor Incorporated, an organization focused on energy storage. She will receive her honorary degree on May 24 (morning ceremony).

Other individuals receiving honourary degrees include:

Dr. Marcia Boyd is a clinical examiner, and former chief written examiner and consultant, for the National Dental Examining Board of Canada. She was president of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry and founding president of the Educational Research Group of the International Association for Dental Research. Dr. Boyd also received the American Dental Education Association Gies Foundation’s inaugural William J. Gies Award for outstanding achievement by a dental educator.

Dr. Burton Conrod was the first Canadian to be elected president of the FDI World Dental Federation (2007-09) and the inaugural recipient of the Canadian Dental Association’s Medal of Honour. Dr. Conrod, his wife, Connie, and their daughter, Susan are all Dalhousie dentistry graduates.

Dr. John Dowling is an international leader in vision research. For more than 50 years, he has studied how the retina works. His groundbreaking research has encompassed many approaches – from anatomy to pharmacology. He is also the author or co-author of over 260 papers and has written a number of books, including the highly influential text The Retina: An Approachable Part of the Brain. (May 23, afternoon ceremony)

Dr. J. Gordon Duff joined Dalhousie in 1961 as the first director of our College of Pharmacy, one of two directors in the new Faculty of Health Professions. A Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie, Dr. Duff oversaw the introduction of the bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and pioneered the development of graduate studies in pharmacy at Dalhousie.

Dr. Wendy Hall, dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences at Southampton University, is internationally recognized for her contributions to computer science, including pioneering hypertext research. Dr. Hall is a Dame Commander of the British Empire and a Fellow of the Royal Society. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Association for Computing Machinery, among others.

Ambassador Satya Nandan was Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority from 1996-2008. He had earlier served as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea. He has also served as Fiji’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs and is now a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of Virginia School of Law Center for Oceans Law and Policy.

Dr. Nancy Olivieri is a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. Recognized nationally and internationally for her research in blood disorders, Dr. Olivieri has also been a central figure in discussions surrounding medical ethics.

Mohammed Shehadeh’s commitment to innovation and sustainability has made him a leader in construction in the United Arab Emirates. A civil engineer, he is senior vice-president of Unibeton Ready Mix and board member of Al Fara’a Construction Group, under which Unibeton falls.

The full schedule of convocation dates is below. All ceremonies will be streamed live via webcast. For more information, visit the convocation website.

May 22 at 9:30 a.m.: Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences and Graduate Studies

May 22 at 2:30 p.m.: Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipient: Eugene Levy

May 23 at 9:30 a.m.: Faculties of Science and Graduate Studies

May 23 at 2:30 p.m.: Faculties of Science and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipient: John E. Dowling

May 24 at 9:30 a.m.: Faculty of Management
Honorary Degree Recipient: Annette Verschuren

May 24 at 2:30 p.m.: Faculties of Management and Graduate Studies

May 25 at 9:30 a.m.: Faculties of Medicine and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipient:  Nancy Fern Olivieri

May 25 at 1:00 p.m.:  Faculties of Law and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipient: Satya N. Nandan

May 25 at 4:00 p.m.: Faculties of Dentistry and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipients: Marcia Boyd and A. L. Burton Conrod

May 28 at 9:30 a.m.: Faculties of Health Professions and Graduate Studies

May 28 at 2:30 p.m.: Faculties of Health Professions and Graduate Studies

May 29 at 9:30 a.m.: Faculties of Health Professions and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipient: James Gordon Duff

May 29 at 2:30 p.m.: Faculties of Architecture and Planning, Computer Science
and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipient: Wendy Hall

May 30 at 9:30 a.m.: Faculties of Engineering and Graduate Studies
Honorary Degree Recipient: Mohammed Shehadeh

May 30 at 2:30 p.m.: Faculties of Engineering and Graduate Studies