Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
June 02, 2004
Summer convocation largest in U of G’s history
The University of Guelph will host the largest convocation in its 40-year history, with more than 2,600 students receiving degrees during eight ceremonies June 15 to 18 in the Gryphon Dome. The country’s leading arts producer and the scientist who introduced the athletic world to glycogen loading will be among six honorary degree recipients at the summer convocation.
Honorary degree recipients are John Cripton, producer and impresario; Robert Gordon, president of Humber College; Burnley “Rocky” Jones, lawyer and human rights activist; Eric Hultman, exercise biochemistry researcher; Fuller Bazer, animal scientist; and Pedro Sanchez, leader in increasing food production in developing countries. Retired physics professor Gabriel Karl and retired psychology professor Dan Yarmey will be named university professor emeriti.
Convocation begins June 15 with a ceremony for the College of Arts at 10 a.m. Cripton, one of Canada’s leading arts advocates, will receive an honorary doctorate of letters, and Gordon, co-creator of the University of Guelph-Humber, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws.
Karl, one of Canada’s top theoretical physicists, will be named university professor emeritus and will give the convocation address at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony for the College of Physical and Engineering Science and Faculty of Environmental Science. Karl retired this spring after 33 years at U of G.
There are three June 16 ceremonies for the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences. At the 9:30 a.m. ceremony, Jones, who has lectured on human rights throughout North America, will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree and will address graduands.
Carolyn Clark, the vice-president of human resources for Fairmont Hotels, will give the convocation address at the 1:30 p.m. ceremony. Clark is a member of U of G’s board of governors and is affiliated with several organizations, including the Canadian Hospitality Foundation, the Conference Board of Canada and Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council.
Yarmey, a faculty member at Guelph for 37 years, will be honoured June 16 during the 5:30 p.m. ceremony. He is a leading international scholar in the psychology of law.
On June 17 at 10 a.m., Hultman, a leader in the field of exercise skeletal muscle and liver metabolism for 45 years, will receive an honorary doctorate of science and give the convocation address at the College of Biological Science ceremony. The results of Hultman’s early research introduced the athletic world to the glycogen loading technique still used by endurance athletes around the world to ensure optimal muscle glycogen levels prior to competition.
Bazer, a leader in the field of reproductive biology, will receive an honorary doctorate of science and will address College of Biological Science and Ontario Veterinary College graduands at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony. Bazer is a professor and the O.D. Butler chairholder in the animal science department at Texas A&M University. He is also the associate vice-chancellor for agriculture and life sciences and executive associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
On June 18 at 2:30 p.m., Sanchez, a campaigner against world hunger, will receive an honorary doctorate of science at the Ontario Agricultural College ceremony. Sanchez was awarded the World Food Prize in 2002 and is co-chair of the United Nations Millennium Project Task Force on World Hunger.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt (519) 824-4120, Ext. 53338, or Rachelle Cooper, (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982.
