The conferring of honorary doctorates (Doctor of Laws, honoris causa) at convocation is a satisfying duty for a University of Calgary chancellor. An honorary degree is the highest honour awarded by our institution. It is our way to profile extraordinary individuals as well as the level of excellence to which we all aspire. Our Senators […]
On Thursday morning we held the convocation ceremony for the fall 2016 University of Calgary graduates in Medicine, Environmental Design, Business, Kinesiology, Nursing, Engineering and Science. During this ceremony, we also conferred the Order of the University of Calgary on Dr. Janice Heard. The Order honours individuals who have provided significant and distinguished service to […]
I am delighted to see a public service announcement about explorer David Thompson that has been aired repeatedly during prime time on CBC TV. Rick Hansen (the Man in Motion) narrates the short vignette. This is what he says: “In 1788, David Thompson was working for Hudson’s Bay Company when he suffered an accident, breaking […]
I was at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston earlier this month for my annual medical exam. This exam is part of the Longitudinal Study on Astronaut Health, an occupational surveillance program for former astronauts (see my earlier blog about this proactive medical surveillance program.) In addition to the usual physical exam and laboratory […]
One of my favourite Old Testament heroes is Gideon. Gideon was a prominent judge who led the Israelites in several key battles around 1150 BCE. In one story, Gideon recruited 32,000 Israeli volunteers in preparation to fight the Midians. This army, however, was deemed by God to be much too large so Gideon was directed […]
This summer I have been reading the book Two Days in June (ISBN 978-0-7710-2387-3) by author and journalist Andrew Cohen. The book describes in depth the thoughts and actions of John F. Kennedy during an eventful two-day period of his presidency in June 1963. I always thought that I knew a lot about this great […]
I serve on the Board of Governors of the University of Calgary. Bonnie DuPont is our chairperson. Her term on our Board is sadly coming to an end. When she joined our Board in 2006, Bonnie worked to drive improvements in the university’s governance, risk management and human resources strategies. She brought a thoughtful and […]
Last week I spent an enjoyable morning in the anatomy lab of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Professor John Bertram and his staff of instructors today hosted a couple of high school classes and introduced them to the subject of human anatomy. I was invited by John to observe the session since […]
There was a buzz of excitement on campus last weekend as the University of Calgary turned 50 years old. While Friday, April 29 marked the official anniversary date, there was much fun and frivolity throughout the weekend as we celebrated the important milestone. Many former students, faculty and staff returned to campus to join the […]
I visited the Calgary Youth Science Fair (CYSF) this weekend to tour the exhibits and chat with the student participants. This is the fifth year that the University of Calgary has hosted the Fair at the Olympic Oval – a great partnership and a perfect setting. At this afternoon’s Awards Ceremony, I presented the CYSF […]