Honorary degree recipients

SFU's honorary degree is the highest honour conferred by the university. The degrees are awarded to distinguished individuals in recognition of their scholarly, scientific or artistic achievement, or in recognition of exceptional contribution to the public good. Honorary degree recipients' achievements celebrate our values and serve as an inspiration to our students, graduands and our community.

2023 honorary degree recipients

June recipients }
October recipients }

Past honorary degree recipients

Recipient list }

June 2023 honorary degree recipients

Past honorary degree recipients

Nominations for Honorary Degrees

Honorary Degree Recipient Speeches

At Convocation June 2023, SFU will confer honorary degrees on Adelle Blackett, Donald Dingwell, barbara findlay, Dany Laferrière, Joy MacPhail, Svend Robinson, and Zainub Verjee.

Adelle Blackett, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Adelle Blackett is an acclaimed scholar, educator, advocate and international leader in human rights, trade law and labour rights, whose tireless work has advanced social justice. A law professor at McGill University who holds a Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development, she is helping to transform the narrative on anti-Black racism, as the principal drafter of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education.

The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on Adelle Blackett on Friday, June 9 at the 9:45 a.m. ceremony.

Donald Dingwell, Doctor of Science, honoris causa

Canadian geoscientist Donald Dingwell is regarded as one of the world’s leading volcanologists. He is internationally known for his experiments on the physical properties of volcanic systems, including their kinetic processes and eruptions. Dingwell and his team have been pivotal in advancing what we know about the physiochemical properties of molten systems, and their influence on magmatic, volcanic and ore-forming processes.

The degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, will be conferred on Donald Dingwell on Thursday, June 8 at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

barbara findlay, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

barbara findlay K.C. describes herself as a fat old white cisgender queer lawyer with disabilities, raised working class and christian on the prairies. She has spent her life advocating for queer and trans people, doing unlearning racism and unlearning oppression work, and doing community organizing. She says that all of her own social locations inform her work as an activist and an ally.

The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on barbara findlay on Wednesday, June 7 at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

Credit: J.F. Paga

Dany Laferrière, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa

Dany Laferrière is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and author who has been building his highly-raised body of work since 1985. The author of How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired, The Return, which received the Prix Médicis, and A Nomadic Heart (both written and drawn), Laferrière was named Commander of the Legion of Honor, the highest order of merit in France, and joined the Académie française in 2013.

The degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa, will be conferred on Dany Laferrière on Wednesday, June 7 at the 9:45 a.m. ceremony.

Joy MacPhail, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Joy MacPhail is a renowned leader and social advocate who served as an NDP Vancouver-Hastings MLA from 1991-2005 and made significant contributions to politics while tirelessly advocating for under-served and marginalized communities. In her multiple capacities as an economist, social activist, politician and entrepreneur, MacPhail has dedicated her life to promoting social justice and creating a better life for all British Columbians.

The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on Joy MacPhail on Friday, June 9 at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

Svend Robinson, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Svend Robinson is a well-known community leader, activist and lawyer who served as an NDP Member of Parliament (MP) representing Burnaby for more than 25 years (1979-2004)—one of the longest-elected MPs in Canadian history. The first openly gay member of Parliament, Robinson has been a long-standing human rights champion and feminist, often challenging the status quo while standing up for Indigenous rights, old-growth forests and the dying with dignity movement.

The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on Svend Robinson on Tuesday, June 6 at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

Zainub Verjee, Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa

As a trailblazer, Zainub Verjee has built a formidable reputation as an artist, writer, critic, arts administrator and public intellectual in Canada and abroad. Through her work and scholarship, she has raised the level of cultural policy debate and discussion on arts in Canada and beyond. Verjee’s firm belief that art is a public good is rooted in the transformational power of arts and culture. Currently, she is the executive director of Galeries Ontario/Ontario Galleries—the voice of Art Galleries and Art Museums in Canada.

The degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, will be conferred on Zainub Verjee on Tuesday, June 6 at the 9:45 a.m. ceremony.

October 2023 honorary degree recipients

At Convocation October 2023, SFU will confer honorary degrees on Stanley Douglas, Esther Duflo, Larry Grant and Phyllis Webstad.

Stan Douglas, Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa

Stan Douglas is one of Canada’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, lauded for his distinctive style of telling the stories of transitional periods through various mediums. His work is represented by the world’s top contemporary galleries and exhibitions, including the prestigious Venice Biennale, where he recently represented Canada. Collectively his work reflects intellectual and artistic freedom, and pivotal moments in the history of particular spaces, using technologies to upset conventional modes of representation.

The degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, will be conferred on Stanley Douglas on Thursday, October 5 at the 9:45 a.m. ceremony.

Credit: College de France Patrick Imbert

Esther Duflo, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Dr. Esther Duflo is one of the world’s most highly accomplished economists—and the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics—who has bettered countless lives through her mission of alleviating global poverty. Her commitment to addressing areas of health, education, financial inclusion, environment, and governance have led to policy change and real public good.

The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on Esther Duflo on Thursday, October 5 at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

Larry Grant, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Elder Larry Grant (sʔəyəɬəq | 洪禮興) is a widely-respected educator and community leader of Musqueam and Chinese ancestry whose tireless efforts have played a key role in revitalizing Musqueam language, culture, and presence throughout Metro Vancouver. An adjunct professor in UBC’s First Nations Endangered Languages program and manager of the Musqueam Language and Culture Department, he has inspired countless generations to learn more about Indigenous histories, rights, and relations in Canada, including the history of First Nations and early Chinese migrants.

The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on Larry Grant on Friday, October 6 at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

Phyllis Webstad, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

As founder of Orange Shirt Day, Phyllis Webstad, who is Northern Secwépemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation, has tirelessly shared her personal story over the past decade, as a revered speaker and as an author of children’s books, facilitating dialogue by raising awareness of the Indian Residential School system and creating a space for healing.

The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on Phyllis Webstad on Friday, October 6 at the 9:45 a.m. ceremony.

For more information, contact Ceremonies and Events at convo@sfu.ca.