UOIT confers four honorary degrees at 2014 Convocation

For their immense contributions to enrich and improve society, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) proudly conferred honorary degrees to four distinguished Canadians during its 2014 Convocation Ceremonies.

UOIT presented honorary Doctor of Laws degrees to Mr. Robert J. Deluce, Mr. Gary Edgar, Ms. Mary Jo Haddad, and Dr. Ilse Treurnicht during ceremonies held on June 5 and 6. Each addressed UOIT’s Class of 2014, the university’s largest-ever graduating class of more than 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students.

Honorary degree recipient background information:

Robert J. Deluce

From left: Dr. Marc Rosen, Professor, UOIT Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science; Tim McTiernan, PhD, UOIT President and Vice-Chancellor; Robert J. Deluce, Doctor of Laws, UOIT; The Honourable Perrin Beatty, UOIT Chancellor.

Mr. Robert J. Deluce is one of Canada’s most knowledgeable and respected airline owners. He embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that drives many of the students and graduates of UOIT.

Raised in a family with deep roots in aviation, his successful career has spanned ownership, financing, restructuring, operating and managing a number of airlines in Canada. As the President and Chief Executive Officer of Porter Airlines, he has led his company to revolutionize short-haul flying.

Mr. Deluce is an outstanding example of how one’s creative vision, passion and persistence can carve a niche in a volatile industry, and overcome long odds to build one of the most successful companies in Canada.

Gary Edgar

From left: Dr. Thomas McMorrow, Assistant Professor, UOIT Faculty of Social Science and Humanities; Gary Edgar, Doctor of Laws, UOIT; Tim McTiernan, PhD, UOIT President and Vice-Chancellor.

Through his leadership skills and passion to advance First Nations rights, Mr. Gary Edgar exemplifies the qualities UOIT strives to instill in all graduates – to challenge, innovate and connect.

As Chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island during the mid-1990s, Mr. Edgar negotiated hunting and fishing rights for the First Nation, establishing processes toward First Nations self-government and creating local employment strategies both on and off-reserve.

His efforts also helped to develop a retail storefront in downtown Port Perry, Ontario that raised the Band’s profile in the surrounding community and eventually led to the creation of the only licensed charitable gaming facility in Ontario.

His diplomatic skills unified his community and paved the way to make the Great Blue Heron Charity Casino a reality. Mr. Edgar also led the creation of the casino’s charitable arm – the Baagwating Community Association – which oversees the distribution of Great Blue Heron’s charitable funds.

The Baagwating Community Association supports numerous local charities.

Mr. Edgar’s influence and tenacity have had a tremendous impact on the building of social capital between the Scugog First Nation and the Durham Region community.

Mary Jo Haddad

From left: Tim McTiernan, PhD, UOIT President and Vice-Chancellor; Mary Jo Haddad, Doctor of Laws, UOIT; Dr. Manon Lemonde, Associate Professor, UOIT Faculty of Health Sciences; The Honourable Perrin Beatty, UOIT Chancellor.

As a compelling health-care visionary, and a powerful champion for pediatric health, UOIT is delighted to celebrate Ms. Mary Jo Haddad’s extraordinary leadership within the health-care sector.

Ms. Haddad began her career as a registered nurse, working in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit for nearly a decade.

In the early 1980s, she joined The Hospital for Sick Children and quickly moved up the ranks. She was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 2004. She retired last December.

Under her leadership at SickKids, innovation has always been at the forefront. Emphasizing the development of future health-care leaders, her distinguished career has focused on increased collaboration, integration and sharing with other health centres in the province, across the country and around the world.

Ms. Haddad’s contributions and achievements serve to inspire and motivate our graduates to continue to strive for success with unwavering commitment and humanity in all that they undertake. 

Dr. Ilse Treurnicht

From left: Tim McTiernan, PhD, UOIT President and Vice-Chancellor; Dr. Christopher Collins, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science, and Canada Research Chair in Linguistic Information Visualization; Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, Doctor of Laws, UOIT; The Honourable Perrin Beatty, UOIT Chancellor.

Dr. Ilse Treurnicht is a leader in the field of innovation whose bold vision and unwavering commitment has helped bring together the worlds of business, science, capital and social ventures.

A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Treurnicht epitomizes strategic vision and leadership. After earning a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Oxford, she began her business career as an entrepreneur, with senior management roles in a number of emerging technology companies.

Later she became President and Chief Executive Officer of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a start-up venture capital fund focused on the advanced technologies sector.

In 2005, Dr. Treurnicht joined MaRS Discovery District, a leading innovation centre located in downtown Toronto where she is currently Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Treurnicht defines how science and entrepreneurship, along with research and commercialization, can connect to create Canada’s next generation of growth companies.