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Preview: Spring Convocation, Issues & Experts
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June 07, 2006
Celebrating degrees
Nearly 3,200 students are eligible to participate in SFU’s spring convocation ceremonies, which will be held June 7, 8, and 9. There will be two ceremonies each day, beginning at 9:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Honorary degrees will be conferred on the following individuals:
June 7, a.m. The Honorable Monique Bégin, former federal minister of health;
June 8, a.m. Robert Mundell, Columbia University economics professor and 1999 Nobel prize winner
June 8, p.m. Maria Tippett, author, Canadian biographer and Governor General’s award recipient (non-fiction);
June 9, a.m. Rudy North, a founder of Phillips, Hager and North, and president of North Growth Management Ltd.;
June 9, p.m. Nancy Olivieri, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto.
Olivieri, Mundell to give talks
University of Toronto professor of pediatric medicine Nancy Olivieri will examine the role and responsibility of clinical researchers during SFU’s President’s forum on Wednesday, June 7, from 6:30 -8:30 p.m. Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell will focus on Asian economies, specifically China’s macroeconomic policies, including the exchange rate and its monetary relations with the rest of Asia and the world economy, when he gives a talk on Friday, June 9, 5:30 – 7 p.m. Both will be held at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue. To reserve a seat for Olivieri, call 604.268.7925; for Mundell, 604.291.5100.
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR, 604.29.5151
The sea hunter uncovers a port
World renowned maritime archaeologist James Delgado, co-host of The Sea Hunters television program and executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, says he’s a much better archaeologist now that he has completed his PhD at SFU. His thesis targets 28 years of field work delving into the rise of San Francisco as a port during the gold rush. Known for his worldwide shipwreck explorations, Delgado will soon take up a new post as executive director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Texas. Delgado convocates at the afternoon ceremony on June 7.
James Delgado, 604.257.8301; jpdabg@telus.net
Taking business by storm
Growing up in the school of hard knocks hasn’t stopped Terry Beech from taking the business and political world by storm, or believing that all challenges can be overcome. Before coming to SFU, he became Canada’s youngest city councillor in Nanaimo at the age of 18, and later earned Macleans magazine’s recognition as one of Canada’s top 30 under 30 Canadian leaders. His sharp business acumen has filled his faculty’s awards showcase with hardware — he has single-handedly earned 12 of the faculty’s 32 awards.
Terry Beech, 604.720.7779 (cell), tbeech@sfu.ca
Protestor rises to great heights
Omi Hodwitz goes to great lengths — and heights — to get her message across. The young activist has scaled building fronts, rappelled off of roofs and dangled from bridges and cranes to hang protest banners against the World Trade Organization and others. A former helmswoman on Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, Hodwitz’s honors thesis in criminology challenged the notion that activists are inherently sociologically different from the general public. Hodwitz graduates on June 8.
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR 604.291.4323
Passion for films leads to top honor
SFU’s most prestigious medal is the Gordon Shrum gold medal, given for both high scholastics and extra-curricular activity. Two are typically awarded. Recipient David Brigden of Burnaby is graduating with a bachelor of fine arts degree. Brigden suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for 10 years, and spent years resting and watching films. His passion for film-making transformed his life. The national Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television short-listed him for its 2005 student apprenticeship in cinematography, a rare honour.
David Brigden, 604.812.4978 (cell); dbrigden@sfu.ca
Biochemist takes on technology
PhD graduate Jennifer Gardy, whose field is molecular biology and biochemistry, is the second Shrum medal recipient. The Port Moody resident uses computer science techniques to predict where in a bacterial cell a protein might be located – information that it is critical to developing new drugs and vaccines. Gardy, who has never taken a computing science course, is overseeing the development of new methods for visualizing biological networks on the computer screen.
Jennifer Gardy, 604.827.4005; jennifer@cmdr.ubc.ca
Nearly 3,200 students are eligible to participate in SFU’s spring convocation ceremonies, which will be held June 7, 8, and 9. There will be two ceremonies each day, beginning at 9:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Honorary degrees will be conferred on the following individuals:
June 7, a.m. The Honorable Monique Bégin, former federal minister of health;
June 8, a.m. Robert Mundell, Columbia University economics professor and 1999 Nobel prize winner
June 8, p.m. Maria Tippett, author, Canadian biographer and Governor General’s award recipient (non-fiction);
June 9, a.m. Rudy North, a founder of Phillips, Hager and North, and president of North Growth Management Ltd.;
June 9, p.m. Nancy Olivieri, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto.
Olivieri, Mundell to give talks
University of Toronto professor of pediatric medicine Nancy Olivieri will examine the role and responsibility of clinical researchers during SFU’s President’s forum on Wednesday, June 7, from 6:30 -8:30 p.m. Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell will focus on Asian economies, specifically China’s macroeconomic policies, including the exchange rate and its monetary relations with the rest of Asia and the world economy, when he gives a talk on Friday, June 9, 5:30 – 7 p.m. Both will be held at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue. To reserve a seat for Olivieri, call 604.268.7925; for Mundell, 604.291.5100.
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR, 604.29.5151
The sea hunter uncovers a port
World renowned maritime archaeologist James Delgado, co-host of The Sea Hunters television program and executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, says he’s a much better archaeologist now that he has completed his PhD at SFU. His thesis targets 28 years of field work delving into the rise of San Francisco as a port during the gold rush. Known for his worldwide shipwreck explorations, Delgado will soon take up a new post as executive director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Texas. Delgado convocates at the afternoon ceremony on June 7.
James Delgado, 604.257.8301; jpdabg@telus.net
Taking business by storm
Growing up in the school of hard knocks hasn’t stopped Terry Beech from taking the business and political world by storm, or believing that all challenges can be overcome. Before coming to SFU, he became Canada’s youngest city councillor in Nanaimo at the age of 18, and later earned Macleans magazine’s recognition as one of Canada’s top 30 under 30 Canadian leaders. His sharp business acumen has filled his faculty’s awards showcase with hardware — he has single-handedly earned 12 of the faculty’s 32 awards.
Terry Beech, 604.720.7779 (cell), tbeech@sfu.ca
Protestor rises to great heights
Omi Hodwitz goes to great lengths — and heights — to get her message across. The young activist has scaled building fronts, rappelled off of roofs and dangled from bridges and cranes to hang protest banners against the World Trade Organization and others. A former helmswoman on Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, Hodwitz’s honors thesis in criminology challenged the notion that activists are inherently sociologically different from the general public. Hodwitz graduates on June 8.
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR 604.291.4323
Passion for films leads to top honor
SFU’s most prestigious medal is the Gordon Shrum gold medal, given for both high scholastics and extra-curricular activity. Two are typically awarded. Recipient David Brigden of Burnaby is graduating with a bachelor of fine arts degree. Brigden suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for 10 years, and spent years resting and watching films. His passion for film-making transformed his life. The national Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television short-listed him for its 2005 student apprenticeship in cinematography, a rare honour.
David Brigden, 604.812.4978 (cell); dbrigden@sfu.ca
Biochemist takes on technology
PhD graduate Jennifer Gardy, whose field is molecular biology and biochemistry, is the second Shrum medal recipient. The Port Moody resident uses computer science techniques to predict where in a bacterial cell a protein might be located – information that it is critical to developing new drugs and vaccines. Gardy, who has never taken a computing science course, is overseeing the development of new methods for visualizing biological networks on the computer screen.
Jennifer Gardy, 604.827.4005; jennifer@cmdr.ubc.ca