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McGill Honorary Doctorates 2017

Published: 25 April 2017
Each year McGill University is proud to confer honorary degrees to highly talented and engaged individuals who serve as an inspiration for our community of students, professors, researchers and staff.
 
This year, we will honour two Nobel prize winners, Arthur McDonald and Paul Nurse, and two former prime ministers of Canada, the Right Honourable Paul Martin and the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney. We will celebrate the passion and creativity of two Quebec artists: filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin and Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin. We will mark the achievements of two groundbreakers: Kathleen Taylor, the first woman to chair the board of a major Canadian bank, and Stephen Toope, the first non-British vice-chancellor of Cambridge University.
 
We will pay tribute to Pamela Matson for her efforts toward securing a sustainable future for all. We will also recognize the visionary achievements of physician-author Dr. Atul Gawande, anthropologist Marshall Sahlins, ethnomusicologist Beverley Diamond and architect Douglas Cardinal, as well as the tireless engagement of philanthropists Suzanne Lévesque and Reeta Roy.
 
“This year’s honorary doctorate recipients excel in a diverse range of areas and are a source of inspiration and pride,” said Professor Suzanne Fortier, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill. “Their work is transformative, changing how we understand ourselves and our world. Their leadership serves as a wonderful role model for us all. It will be a pleasure to welcome them to our campuses to receive our University’s highest honour.”
 
The honorary degrees will be conferred during convocation ceremonies on May 30 and 31, and June 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, 2017. The June 2 ceremonies will be held on the Macdonald Campus; the other ceremonies will be held on the lower field of the downtown campus. A special ceremony will take place at the Maison Symphonique on May 14, 2017.
 
 
Sunday, May 14, 2017 (3 p.m.) – Maison Symphonique
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Doctor of Music, honoris causa
 
Tuesday, May 30, 2017 (10 a.m.) – Health Sciences
Atul A. Gawande, Doctor of Science, honoris causa
 
Tuesday, May 30, 2017 (10 a.m.)
Suzanne Lévesque, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa
 
Tuesday, May 30, 2017 (6 p.m.) – Continuing Studies
Alanis Obomsawin, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa
 
Wednesday, May 31, 2017 (10 a.m.) – Engineering
Douglas J. Cardinal, Doctor of Science, honoris causa
 
Wednesday, May 31, 2017 (3 p.m.) – Music
Beverley Diamond, Doctor of Music, honoris causa
 
Thursday, June 1, 2017 (10 a.m.) – Management
Kathleen P. Taylor, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
 
Thursday, June 1, 2017 (3 p.m.) – Law
Stephen J. Toope, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
 
Friday, June 2, 2017 (2:30 p.m.) – Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Pamela Matson, Doctor of Science, honoris causa
 
Monday, June 5, 2017 (10 a.m.) – Science
Sir Paul Nurse, Doctor of Science, honoris causa
 
Monday, June 5, 2017 (3 p.m.) – Science
Arthur B. McDonald, Doctor of Science, honoris causa
 
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 (10 a.m.) – Arts
Reeta Roy, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
 
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 (3 p.m.) – Arts
Brian Mulroney, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
 
Wednesday, June 7, 2017 (10 a.m.) – Arts
Marshall David Sahlins, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa
 
Wednesday, June 7, 2017 (3 p.m.) – Education
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

 

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