Thompson Rivers University will bestow four Honorary Doctorates during spring Convocation ceremonies held on June 4 and 5 in Kamloops and another on June 26 in Tianjin, China.
They will be awarded to Lorne Cardinal, actor and director; Mark Madyrga, meteorologist and avid community volunteer; Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, lawyer and legal scholar; Christopher Rose, local educator and national leader in autism therapies and advocacy; and Mark Rowswell a cultural ambassador in China
More than 1,500 students will receive their degrees, diplomas and certificates at four Convocation ceremonies on the TRU Kamloops Campus.
June 4:
10am, Convocation for Faculties of Arts and Student Development
Lorne Cardinal, loved by Canadians as Officer Davis Quinton in Corner Gas will receive an honorary degree. Mr. Cardinal earned his first theatre credits at Cariboo College in 1987/88 and appeared in one of this institution’s earliest staged productions at the Pavilion Theatre with the Cariboo College Actors’ Workshop Theatre. His acting career has focused on Aboriginal issues in much of his work, reflecting his Cree heritage and his personal commitment to social education and the promotion of Canada’s Aboriginal culture through art.
2pm, Convocation for the Faculty of Science and School of Nursing
Mark Madyrga, the well known Global TV weather personality who never hesitates to direct a ray of sunlight toward his hometown of Kamloops will receive an honorary degree. Mr. Madryga is being recognized also for his efforts as a volunteer media spokesperson for hundreds of community events.
June 5:
10am, Convocation for the Schools of Advanced Technologies & Mathematics, Business & Economics and School of Trades & Technology
Christopher Rose will receive an honorary degree. Rose is well known as a local pioneer in positive interventions and his tireless support for autistic children, long before autism was understood to be a significant issue by health authorities and governmentHe is being recognized for his commitment to open access to education for all members of society
2pm, Convocation for the School of Education, Social Work & Human Service, and Tourism
Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond will receive an honorary degreeHonoured for advancing the principles of equity, diversity and justice in the law, she is currently British Columbia’s first Representative for Children and Youth. She broke new ground for Aboriginal women in this country when she accepted a position at Dalhousie Law School, becoming the first tenured law professor of Aboriginal heritage in Canada. She was also the first Aboriginal woman to serve as a provincial court judge in Saskatchewan.
June 26:
TRU delivers Bachelor of Business Administration degrees with Tianjin University of TechnologyAt the Convocation ceremony for 140 Chinese BBA students, TRU will award an honorary degree to Mark RowswellKnown as Dashan by millions of Chinese, he is considered to be the best-known Canadian in Asia He has gained celebrity through his skill in the Chinese performing art of xiangsheng, a popular form of verbal jousting that requires the strict training of a martial art and results in dialogues similar to Abbot and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” Dashan is being recognized for his efforts to build global connections between cultures and economies through international education.
Biographies:
TRU Office of the President, (p) 250.828.5001
