Honorary degrees celebrate local heroes, international leaders
From left to right, top to bottom: Dr. Frances Fox Piven, Chandra Kudsia, Mario Cupido, Michael Schade, Dr. Robert Walker, John Paul (Jack) Evans, Hon. Maria Mutagamba, Dr. Edward Calabrese, Dr. Mladen Vranic, Dr. Thomas Mason and Elaine Carty.
McMaster’s Spring Convocation ceremonies are honoring outstanding achievements from home and the world over, as the University presents honorary degrees to leaders in fields ranging from midwifery to atomic energy, including a Ugandan cabinet minister who fights for clean water and the last post-doctoral fellow to work with Charles Best.
Approximately 5,000 graduating students and their families will gather at Hamilton Place to celebrate the completion of their studies during the week of June 10.
McMaster’s honorary degree recipients are:
Elaine Carty, Doctor of Science (Faculty of Health Sciences)
A nurse, midwife and one of Canada’s pioneers in women’s health issues, Carty helped introduce midwifery into the Canadian health care system. She was the founding director of the University of British Columbia’s midwifery program and has earned an array of awards, including Distinguished Alumnae Award from the Yale University School of Nursing.
Mario Cupido, Doctor of Laws (DeGroote School of Business)
Cupido is a respected figure in Hamilton’s business, community service and sports communities. A realtor in Hamilton for more than half a century, he has served on the boards of the Hamilton Good Shepherd Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation. He inaugurated the Celebrity Sports Dinner and helped establish the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame and was also a long-serving trustee and former vice-chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Roman Catholic Separate School Board.
Dr. Edward Calabrese, Doctor of Science (School of Nursing and Med Radiation Sciences)
A pioneer in understanding hormesis, the process which occurs when a low-dose presence of a substance is beneficial while a high dose is harmful, Calabrese’s research has led to transformations in fields from drug development to environmental regulation.
Michael Schade, Doctor of Laws (Faculty of Humanities and Arts & Science Program)
A Grammy and Juno award-winning German-Canadian opera singer, Schade is one of the leading Mozart tenors on the stage today. Along with his personal interest in fundraising to support leukemia research, Schade is an active fundraiser for the Canadian arts community.
Chandra Kudsia, Doctor of Science (Faculty of Engineering, morning ceremony)
McMaster alumnus Kudsia is a world leader in engineering technologies for satellite communication and aeronautics. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Engineering Institute of Canada.
Dr. Robert Walker, Doctor of Science (Faculty of Engineering, afternoon ceremony)
Walker is the president and chief executive officer of Atomic Energy Canada Limited. He has served as assistant deputy minister of Science and Technology in the Department of National Defence and as CEO of Defence R&D Canada, a national network of defence research centres. He has also served as chairman of the NATO Research and Technology Board.
Dr. Mladen Vranic, Doctor of Science (Faculty of Science, morning ceremony)
A global leader in diabetes research, Vranic was Charles Best’s last postdoctoral fellow. His research on diabetes has made it easier for those with the disorder to compete in the Olympic Games, revolutionized glucose turnover in physiology and diabetes and elevated the understanding of the importance of exercise in diabetes prevention.
Dr. Thomas Mason, Doctor of Science (Faculty of Science, afternoon ceremony)
A respected condensed-matter physicist, Mason is a McMaster alumnus who served as director of the famed Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He has also served as president and CEO of UT-Battelle, making him responsible for America’s largest Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences research program.
Hon. Maria Mutagamba, Doctor of Laws (Faculty of Social Sciences, morning ceremony)
Mutagamba is Member of Parliament, former minister of Water, Lands and Environment and current minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage in the Ugandan cabinet. A champion for water-related causes, Mutagamba has served as vice-chair of the UN Task Force on Integrated Water Resource Management, patron of the Global Water Harvesting Network and president of the African Ministers’ Council on Water.
Dr. Frances Fox Piven, Doctor of Laws (Faculty of Social Sciences, afternoon ceremony)
Piven is a leading scholar on poverty, welfare, social movements and electoral politics. She has served on the boards of the American Civil Liberties Union and Democratic Socialists of America, was a founder of the National Welfare Rights Organization and helped created Human SERVE (Service Employees Registration and Voter Registration).
John Paul (Jack) Evans, Doctor of Laws (Faculty of Social Sciences, afternoon ceremony)
Evans joined McMaster University as Registrar and served 25 years as a senior University officer. A strong advocate of the student role in university governance, his work to engage student leadership at McMaster created a now widely-followed template for student relations.
