Introducing Dal's honorary degree recipients for Fall Convocation 2015

In less than three weeks, Dalhousie's next class of graduates crosses the stage.

While Fall Convocation is not the week-long marathon that Spring Convocation is, it's still every bit the celebration of academic achievement. Ceremonies take place on Monday, October 5 and Tuesday October 6 in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium of the Dalhousie Arts Centre.

More info: Convocation website

One of the highlights of convocation is the presentation of honorary degrees, and while there are not as many honourees At three of the four ceremonies this October, honorary degrees will be presented to outstanding individuals in celebration of their accomplishments and achievements.

The awarding of an honorary degree, as outlined by the Dalhousie Senate, "honours both the individual and the University and contributes to the recognition and celebration of excellence in society in a manner that reflects the University's character and values within the community and the world."

(Currently, the Senate has a call out for nominations for honorary degree candidates — Spring and Fall 2017. Learn more.)

Read more about each of this fall's honorary degree recipients below.

Joseph David Randell

Aviation leader and innovator

Monday, October 5 (9 a.m. ceremony)


Joseph David Randell is one of the most successful and influential figures in Canadian aviation and an innovative contributor to the economy and community of Atlantic Canada.

Currently, Mr. Randell is president and chief executive officer of Chorus Aviation Inc. and its subsidiary, Jazz Aviation LP, an airline that flies to more than 70 destinations. Previously, he was president and CEO of Air Canada Jazz. Mr. Randell began his career in the airline industry in 1974 with Eastern Provincial Airlines, after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Nova Scotia Technical College, now Dal’s Faculty of Engineering, and a Master of Business Administration from Memorial University. In 1985, he co-founded and served as president of the regional carrier Air Nova. Fourteen years later, he consolidated Air Nova and its fellow Atlantic Canadian carrier Air Alliance into a single entity. In 2001, he brought regional carriers AirBC, Air Ontario, Air Nova and Canadian Regional Airlines under the banner of Air Canada Jazz.

Mr. Randell’s Halifax-based company is a key contributor to the local and regional economy, employing approximately 4,200 people. His partnership with Dalhousie’s Faculty of Engineering, in which students and faculty regularly collaborate on Jazz Aviation research and development projects, has helped increase the expertise and reputation of Dalhousie’s Industrial Engineering department and train future generations of engineers.

His service to the economy and community are also reflected in his past presidency of the Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce and his current position as a director of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. Mr. Randell has also been inducted into the Atlantic Business Magazine Hall of Fame and the Junior Achievement Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame.

Kenneth Denton Craig

Pioneering psychology researcher

Monday, October 5 (12:30 p.m. ceremony)


Kenneth Denton Craig, O.C., PhD, is a pioneering researcher whose work has transformed perceptions about pain. In the course of a 50-year career, Dr. Craig has published landmark papers, mentored new generations of researchers and served as a leader in university administration.

After earning a PhD in clinical psychology from Purdue University in 1964, Dr. Craig joined the psychology faculty at the University of British Columbia, where he was a full professor until 2003 and remains professor emeritus of psychology and distinguished scholar in residence at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. In the mid-1970s, he published a series of papers that established how social environment affects the experience of pain. His Social Communication model evolved out of this work and challenged conventional notions of pain as strictly biological.

His seminal 1987 paper, co-authored with graduate student Ruth Grunau, introduced facial response analysis as an effective method of evaluating pain in infants. This discovery inspired a fundamental shift from the perception that babies do not feel pain and led to the rise of facial response analysis as the dominant method for measuring pain in non-verbal patients. This groundbreaking work is part of a publishing career that includes 10 books and more than 200 papers.

He has supervised dozens of graduate students, including many whom are now among Canada’s top pain researchers. He has also shaped education as an administrator, serving terms as associate dean at UBC’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and director of its Clinical Psychology graduate program. He has chaired UBC’s Behavioural Research Ethics Board since 2008 and been editor-in-chief of Pain Research & Management since 2006.

Dr. Craig has earned lifetime achievement awards from the Canadian Psychological Association and the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Christopher Norman

Renowned folk musician

Tuesday, October 6 (12:30 p.m. ceremony)


Christopher Norman is one of the most celebrated flute players in the world and an influential figure in traditional folk music. As a musician, he has delighted audiences, critics and academics with his compositions and performances; brought lovers of the flute and traditional music together with his annual music festival; and created custom flutes for players across the globe.

Mr. Norman was born in Halifax and discovered a passion for traditional Maritime, Celtic and French Canadian musical styles at a young age. His compositions and albums demonstrate both his passion for traditional folk music and his ability to creatively fuse it with classical forms. His original work has been heard on National Public Radio, the CBC and the BBC, while his playing has graced several feature films, including the Academy Award-winning Titanic soundtrack. Mr. Norman has appeared on more than 40 albums and won numerous awards for his recorded work.

He is a renowned performer who plays regularly as a soloist, as part of a duo with violinist David Greenberg and with his own Chris Norman Ensemble. He has also toured with international groups such as The Baltimore Consort and Concerto Caledonia. Beyond the studio and the stage, Mr. Norman has earned acclaim as a maker of custom flutes and as director of the Boxwood Festival and Workshop, an annual celebration of traditional flute music held in Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

A 2012 recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for contribution to the arts in Canada, Mr. Norman has made a deep and broad-ranging impact in the global music community.

More info: Convocation website