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(Wolfville,
NS) - Acadia University will award over 900
degrees at its annual spring convocation May 14 and 15. Students
will graduate from the faculties of Arts, Pure and Applied Science,
Professional Studies, and Theology. During the ceremonies, Acadia
will also grant honorary degrees to six highly regarded individuals.
On Sunday, May 14,
Ms. Janina Fialkowska will be awarded a Doctor of Music before
giving the Convocation address. Ms. Fialkowska, a member of the
Order of Canada, is an internationally-recognized concert pianist
distinguished as one of the great interpreters of Chopin and Liszt.
She appears regularly with the foremost North American orchestras,
and has been a guest artist with the London Philharmonic and the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. She is the founder of
the award-winning community outreach program, Piano Six, which
brings internationally renowned Canadian pianists to small
communities at affordable costs. She has been affiliated with Acadia
University’s School of Music for several years.
Dr. Richard
Longenecker will be honoured with a Doctor of Divinity on May
14. Dr. Longenecker is a distinguished New Testament scholar who has
developed an international reputation teaching in several
theological schools for 40 years and lecturing widely in North
America. Dr. Longenecker has given outstanding leadership in
evangelical biblical scholarship, serving as president of the
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and making significant
contributions to the Institute for Biblical Research. He is an
accomplished author of many books and commentaries. After a long
career at Wycliffe College in Toronto, Dr. Longenecker retired and
accepted a distinguished appointment at McMaster Divinity College.
On Monday, May 15,
during the morning ceremony, Dr. Paul Corkum will receive a
Doctor of Science. Dr. Corkum, an Acadia alumnus, is one of the
world’s most distinguished physicists. He is currently the program
leader in Femtosecond Science at the National Research Council’s
Stacie Institute for Molecular Science in Ottawa. In his
30-year-career, Dr. Corkum has made several breakthrough discoveries
in plasma physics and strong field atomic physics. He has been
recognized by the journal, Science and Nature, as making one of the
10 most important scientific advances in 2002 for his development of
attosecond electron pulses.
Dr. Maria M. Klawe
will also receive an honorary Doctor of Science on May 15 before she
gives the morning Convocation address. Dr. Klawe is a computer
scientist and dedicated educator who has made significant research
contributions in several areas of mathematics and computer science.
She is the founder of the E-GEMS project, a collaborative effort on
the design and use of computer games in enhancing mathematics for
grades 4 to 9. A tireless champion for women in science, Dr. Klawe
has worked to engage women in science, particularly computer science
through innovative programs. She is currently Dean of Engineering
and a professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. On July
1, she will begin her role as the first woman president of Harvey
Mudd College in California.
During the afternoon
Convocation on May 15, Mr. Peter Irniq will receive a Doctor
of Civil Laws before he gives the afternoon address. As the former
Commissioner of Nunavut, Mr. Irniq has been a major representative
of the Inuit peoples. His role as spokesperson for Canada’s newest
territory and the Inuit culture took him throughout the country and
abroad. Mr. Irniq has a long and distinguished record as an elected
official in the former Northwest Territories and as a senior Inuk
civil servant working with Renewable Resources. He has been involved
in many initiatives, councils and committees with widespread
responsibilities in areas such as environmental protection, health
services and cultural preservation.
Mr. George Bishop
will also receive an honorary Doctor of Civil Laws on the afternoon
of May 15. Mr. Bishop, an Acadia alumnus, is well-known as a past
chair of the Board of Governors (1999 – 2004). Mr. Bishop, a
recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award and a Fellow Chartered
Accountant, is currently president of Scotia Investments Limited,
Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company and Bedford Village Properties. A
strong supporter of the community, he has served as chairman of the
Eastern Kings Memorial Hospital, governor for Junior Achievement and
the director of the Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations.
Sunday, May 14
- 3:00 p.m. Faculty of Arts, and Theology
Monday, May 15
- 10:00 a.m. Faculty of Pure and Applied Science
- 2:30 p.m. Faculty of Professional Studies
Acadia University, in
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, has long been recognized as one of Canada’s
premier undergraduate institutions. With its nationally and
internationally recognized research initiatives, small class sizes
and technology-rich teaching and learning environment, Acadia offers
students an experience that includes academic achievement combined
with personal growth and development. For more information about
Acadia, visit our website at
http://www.acadiau.ca.
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