At this year’s Fall convocation ceremonies on Nov. 20 and 21, the university will honour the achievements of artist, poet and community champion Tom Wilson; and John Ioannidis, a pioneer and international leader in evidence-based medicine and meta-science.

Honorary degrees are awarded to individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding scholarship, artistry, public service and contributions to their communities.

In order of presentation, here’s a look at the exceptional individuals who will receive honorary degrees this Fall:

Tom Wilson

Faculty of Humanities | Wednesday, Nov. 20; 2:30 p.m.  

Iconic musician, visual artist, poet, author and activist, Tom Wilson is part of Canadian artistic lore — and a familiar and beloved figure here in Hamilton, his hometown.

A veteran Canadian rock star, Wilson has won numerous awards for his music and songwriting. He has blurred genre lines in bands the Florida Razors, Junkhouse and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and is also a successful solo artist, performing under his own name, and as his acid funk alternative music persona, Lee Harvey Osmond.

In his 50s, Wilson learned he had been adopted from the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec and that he is Mohawk. In exploring this newly discovered aspect of his identity, he became a powerful advocate and champion for Indigenous issues and Indigenous peoples.

His experiences led Wilson to write his bestselling autobiography Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home. Named a CBC Best Book of 2017 and a finalist for the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and the Hamilton Literary Awards, Beautiful Scars also inspired a critically acclaimed documentary in 2022.

Wilson’s contributions to Hamilton and its communities are extensive. In addition to his advocacy, he’s a strong supporter of the Hamilton Music Collective, and organized a concert series that raised thousands of dollars for an initiative that reduces barriers to music education for students living in poverty.

He also has deep ties to McMaster and its students: In 2020, Wilson created the Tom Wilson Indigenous Scholarship Award in Honour of Bunny Wilson. Named for the woman who raised him, the award supports Indigenous high school students and aims to empower a new generation of Indigenous youth and leaders.

Two years ago, he donated his personal and artistic archive to McMaster’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections to ensure his work is preserved and available for scholarly study.

Wilson’s many achievements have earned him the City of Hamilton Arts Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was recently appointed to the Order of Canada.

John Ioannidis

Faculty of Health Sciences | Thursday, Nov. 21, 9:30 a.m. 

Stanford professor of medicine John Ioannidis is a tireless advocate for evidence-based science and the world’s leading authority on medical research credibility.

Ioannidis is one of the 10 most-cited scientists in the world, and has had an enduring and profound influence on critical thinking and health care practice.

He has authored 1,200 scholarly papers, including one in 2005 titled “Why most published research findings are false,” which is one of the most accessed publications in the world, and which helped launch the field of meta-science, revealing how often researchers can develop the wrong conclusions.

A compelling advocate for sound research principles, Ioannidis has delivered more than 700 talks and lectures worldwide. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was a strong voice for evidence-based science in the media.

A professor of medicine and epidemiology and population health at Stanford University, he is the former director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center and is co-director of the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS).

Ioannidis has previously served as chair of the department of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the University of Ioannina Medical School, and director of the Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Modeling at Tufts University.

He has served on the executive board of the Human Genome Epidemiology Network and as senior advisor on knowledge integration for the National Cancer Institute. Ioannidis has been president of the Association of American Physicians, as well as of the Society for Research Synthesis Methodology. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the Association of American Physicians and several other professional academies while also receiving the inaugural Harwood Prize for Intellectual Courage from the American Institute for Economic Research.

His list of honours includes the Albert Stuyvenberg Medal from the European Society of Clinical Investigation, the European Award for Excellence in Clinical Science and the Chanchlani Award for Epidemiology.