Alan Astbury, professor emeritus of physics at the University of Victoria, who took over as director of the TRIUMF laboratory in 1994 and was responsible for turning it into one of the best sites in the world for performing experiments in nuclear astrophysics. The degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, was conferred on Alan Astbury on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at the 2:30 pm ceremony.
SFU 2006 Honorary Degree Recipients
SFU presented ten distinguished individuals with honorary degrees during the 2006 Convocation ceremonies in June and October. Receiving the honours were:
Costa Gavras, the director of many award-winning movies including Z, State of Siege and Hanna K. Last April he premiered his most recent film Axe as a guest of SFU’s Hellenic studies program. His films have won numerous awards including an Oscar in 1982 for best screenplay adaptation for Missing. The degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, was conferred on Costa Gavras on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at the 9:45 am ceremony.
Internationally recognized documentary filmmaker Allan King is best remembered for his documentaries Warrendale and A Married Couple. Vancouver-born King also made television dramas and feature films such as an adaptation of W.O. Mitchell’s Who Has Seen the Wind? which was the Grand Prix at the Paris film festival in 1977. The degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, was conferred on Allan King on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at the 9:45 am ceremony.
Rudy North, a founder of Phillips, Hager and North, one of the largest investment firms in western Canada, and president of North Growth Management Ltd. A longstanding friend of SFU, North has supported dialogue through the North Growth Management director of programs at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, was conferred on Rudy North on Friday, June 9, 2006 at the 9:45 am ceremony.
Former B.C. Lion, Clan football player and SFU alumnus Lui Passaglia, who was inducted into the Canadian football hall of fame in 2004 after a record-setting career. Now director of community relations for the Lions, Passaglia has led numerous community initiatives and grassroots programs such as the Read, Write & ROAR! literacy program. The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, was conferred on Lui Passaglia on Friday, October 6, 2006 at the 2:30 pm ceremony.
Dr. Passaglia's citation
Dr. Passaglia's convocation address
The Honorable Monique Bégin, a former federal minister of health and the first woman from Quebec elected to the House of Commons. Formerly dean of the faculty of health sciences at the University of Ottawa, she was appointed in 2005 to the World Health Organization’s commission on social determinants of health. The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, was conferred on Monique Bégin on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 at the 9:45 am ceremony.
Christopher Gaze, artistic director of the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare festival which he founded in 1990. The host of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Tea and Trumpets series, he also performs with Chor Leoni men’s choir. He was inducted into the B.C. entertainment hall of fame in 2002. The degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, was conferred on Christopher Gaze on Friday, October 6, 2006 at the 9:45 am ceremony.
Nobel prize winner (1999) and Columbia University professor Robert A. Mundell, an authority on economic theory, international monetary systems and supply-side economics. The Wall Street Journal has called Mundell, a graduate of Maple Ridge secondary school, as the most important economist of the 20th Century. The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, was conferred on Robert Mundell on Thursday, June 8, 2006 at the 9:45 am ceremony.
Nancy Olivieri, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, best known for her research on thallasemia, a blood disorder. She received an Ethics in Action award in 1999 for informing her patients about the potentially harmful side effect of a new drug. Her humanitarian work includes establishing the Hemoglobal Foundation, involved in rebuilding Sri Lanka after the tsunami. The degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, was conferred on Nancy Olivieri on Friday, June 9, 2006 at the 2:30 pm ceremony.
Maria Tippett, an SFU graduate (1972) and author best known for biographies of major Canadian artists such as F.H. Varley, Bill Reid and Emily Carr. The recipient of a Governor General’s award for non-fiction and the Canadian Historical Association’s MacDonald prize for the best book in Canadian history, she is working on a book about photographer Yousef Karsh. The degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, was conferred on Maria Tippett on Thursday, June 8, 2006 at the 2:30 pm ceremony.
Dr. Tippett's citation
Dr. Tippett's convocation address