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News Release

June 15, 2007

Guelph-Humber to Honour Wendy Mesley

Two-time Gemini Award-winning reporter and television host Wendy Mesley will receive an honorary degree from the University of Guelph-Humber June 18. More than 550 students will receive honours bachelor’s degrees from the University of Guelph and diplomas from the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning during two convocation ceremonies held at the Pearson Convention Centre.

Mesley will be honoured at the 3 p.m. ceremony. The veteran journalist and current co-host of Marketplace, a CBC prime-time investigative consumer program, is the first external person and the first woman to be honoured by Ontario’s newest university.

She will be awarded an honorary doctorate of letters and address some 260 graduands from the following programs: media studies, computing, early childhood, family and community social services, and justice studies.

“Wendy is an excellent role model for all of us, and she’s especially fitting for students on the cusp of starting their professional lives, no matter what field they’re pursuing,” said Guelph-Humber vice-provost John Walsh.

“Throughout her career, Wendy has been steadfast in her commitment to the integrity of her craft and to the pursuit of truth, despite the challenges and opposition she has faced along the way.”

Mesley began her journalism career in 1976 as a radio reporter and has worked in television at CBC since 1979. She was the legislative reporter in Quebec City, covering a number of hot political issues, including the first referendum on sovereignty, and interviewing some of the highest-profile political figures of the time, including Pierre Trudeau and René Lévesque.

In 1994, she helped create the hard-hitting current affairs show Undercurrents and served as the show’s host until 2000. Mesley worked on the show Disclosure in 2001, and joined Marketplace in 2002. On Marketplace, she tackled the cancer-care industry at a time when she was battling the disease herself.

In addition to two Gemini Awards, Mesley’s work earned her the 2006 John Drainie Award, which recognizes distinguished contributions to Canadian broadcasting.