The Faculty of Social Sciences confers degrees at two Convocation ceremonies today at the Great Hall in Hamilton Place. At the morning ceremony, graduands will receive degrees in anthropology, economics, geography, labour studies, political science, psychology, and religious studies. Gerontology, health studies, kinesiology, social work and sociology degrees will be conferred in the afternoon.

Honorary degree recipients for these ceremonies are: Hugh Brody and Enrico Mancinelli (morning) and Ethilda (Tilly) Johnson and Roger Neilson (afternoon). Brody and Neilson will address the graduands.

Other awards to be presented at these ceremonies include the President's Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership, which will be given to political science professor William Coleman.

The valedictorians for these ceremonies are Franka Prce (a.m.) and Nicholas Armstrong (p.m.).

Faculty of Social Sciences, Morning Convocation

Hugh Brody

Doctor of Laws

Hugh Brody is a writer, anthropologist and filmmaker. He has taught philosophy at Queen's College in Belfast, Ireland, geography at McGill University in Montreal, and social anthropology at Cambridge University in England, but he has not spent his life as an academic.

A graduate of Oxford's Trinity College (BA, MA in philosophy, politics and economics) , Brody has spent much of his life studying and documenting the lives of Canada's native people, their culture, language and history. Much of his work has focused on the lives of Canada's northern peoples, the Inuit.

His accomplishments include working closely with Justice Thomas Berger on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, chairing the Snake River Independent Review and being a member of the World Bank's Morse Commission. In 1975 he was named an honorary associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge.

Brody has studied Indian alcoholism and crime on Edmonton's skid row, Inuktitut (the language of Canada's Inuit), land use and occupancy in the Northwest Territories (where he interviewed hunters and elders about Inuit cultural and economic change), present-day Inuit culture, and the hunting and gathering practices of the Dunne-za and Cree of the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. He has done extensive mapping and analysis of indigenous culture and economic systems and has served as an expert witness in native land use inquiries and hearings.

His films include Nineteen, Nineteen, On Indian Land, Hunters and Bombers, Time Immemorial and The Washing of Tears. He is the author of Inishkillane, The People's Land, Means of Escape and the highly acclaimed Maps and Dreams.

Enrico Mancinelli

Doctor of Laws

In 1952, at age 27, Enrico Mancinelli emigrated from central Italy to Canada. He first worked at Hamilton's National Steel Car and later at Frid Construction Ltd. In 1958, he became a member of the Labourers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), Local 837 and has, over the years, served in various executive and management positions for the local and provincial levels.

In 1971 he founded LIUNA's first pension plan which has grown to include members and their families from Quebec and the Maritimes in addition to Ontario. He currently co-chairs the Labourers' Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada. Mancinelli was instrumental in establishing LIUNA'S long-term care facilities and an annual scholarship trust fund for post-secondary students.

He has also been a leader in the organization's local urban revitalization initiative that resulted in the restoration of the former CN rail station into a banquet and conference centre. An active fundraiser and supporter of numerous local and national charities, Mancinelli was recognized in 2000 by both the Jewish National Fund of Canada at its annual Negev Dinner, and by the Government of Canada with the Canadian-Italian National Award.

Faculty of Social Sciences, Afternoon Convocation

Roger Neilson

Doctor of Laws

Roger Neilson has been a mentor, teacher, coach, benefactor and friend to many young hockey hopefuls over the years. Following graduation from McMaster University in 1956, Neilson became a teacher and embarked on a coaching career with the Peterborough Petes.

Among the many teams that have benefited from his expertise are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. He has just completed his second season as assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators. Neilson has served as a coach or scout for an NHL team in each of the last 25 seasons.

Neilson has coached hockey for 50 years. He has been behind the bench as coach for 1,000 career games.

His teams have made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs 11 times. Neilson has also found time to contribute his talents to running hockey schools and coach clinics, with excess funds being donated to support academic scholarships and/or minor hockey projects. Each summer he assists with the Christian Hockey camp programs and, most recently, has established the Roger Neilson Hockey Camp in Israel.

Ethilda Verona Johnson

Doctor of Laws

Since 1971, local businesswoman and humanitarian Ethilda (Tilly) Johnson has been a familiar and welcome face to shoppers at the Hamilton Farmers' Market where she was one of the first to operate a Caribbean and tropical food outlet in a Canadian market.

Born in 1928 in Jamaica, Johnson operated a small seamstress's shop in Kingston where she created her own clothing design for women. In 1960 she moved to England where she worked as an assembler at TMC Telephone Company.

She moved to Hamilton in 1968 and opened the city's first West Indian store, Tilda's Tropical Delight, on Concession Street. Three years later, she established her Caribbean vendor's stall in the downtown market. Over the years, Johnson has developed a reputation for giving. Indeed, many in Hamilton have benefited from the little “extras” she has provided to those in need.

In 1997, through her energy and personal financial resources, she helped to establish the Tilly Johnson Scholarship Fund, a longtime dream of hers. The scholarship awarded from these funds provides assistance to needy African-Canadian or Caribbean students pursuing post-secondary education. Since its creation, 10 students have received funds. Two awards were provided in 2000, one of which went to a current McMaster student. This initiative is typical of Johnson's vision and generosity of spirit.

While she has had a very challenging life, Ethilda Verona Johnson has never been afraid to give back. Her optimism and willingness to help have provided many benefits to our community.