Craig Oliver - Doctor of Letters
(honoris causa) DLitt
Craig Oliver, OC, is one of Canada's most respected political journalists and a member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame. A reporter and television host for more than 55 years, he has covered major political events and news stories, interpreting and explaining key issues of the day with insight, candour and skill. Currently, Oliver is CTV’s chief political correspondent and chief parliamentary correspondent. Oliver, who lost his sight due to glaucoma, is an inspiration to visually impaired persons and has been a devoted supporter of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Ottawa Eye Institute. He has won multiple Gemini Awards as well as the President's Award from the Radio and Television News Directors' Association. He has also won the Gold Ribbon Award from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Charles Lynch Award from the National Press Gallery. Oliver is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Geoff Green - Doctor of Letters
(honoris causa) DLitt
Geoff Green, C.M., is an educator, social entrepreneur and adventurer who founded Students on Ice, the award-winning educational program that works to give the world’s youth a heightened understanding and respect for our planet’s global ecosystem, and the inspiration to protect it. Students on Ice has taken more than 1,800 individuals on educational expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic. Green has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Order of Canada, a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. Congress and the Explorers Club Citation of Merit for outstanding feats of exploration and service. He was selected as one of the Top 25 Transformational Canadians in 2010. Green is a member of the American Polar Society’s Board of Governors and is a Fellow of The Explorer’s Club and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He is the Chair of the Ottawa Riverkeeper Organization, and sits on numerous other boards and committees, including the Mingan Island Cetecean Study and The Arctic Circle Club. He is also a national ambassador for the Jardin des Glaciers and the ‘We Canada’ initiative.
Justice Harry LaForme - Doctor of Education
(honoris causa) DEd
Justice Harry LaForme sits on the Ontario Court of Appeal. As a Mississauga Indian and a member of the Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation, LaForme is the first Aboriginal person in the history of Canada to be appointed to sit on any appellate court. A graduate from Osgoode Hall Law School, Justice Laforme commenced his own practice, specializing in Aboriginal law. He has appeared before each level of Court and represented Canadian Aboriginal interests in Geneva, Switzerland; New Zealand; and British Parliament. Justice LaForme served as Commissioner of the Indian Commission of Ontario, as Chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Land Claims, as Co-Chair on the independent National Chiefs Task Force on Native Land Claims. Justice Laforme has received many honours throughout his career, including the 1997 National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the area of Law and Justice. On three occasions, Aboriginal elders have presented him with an Eagle Feather, symbolizing the virtues of honesty, integrity and respect.
Sandy Foster - Doctor of Education
(honoris causa) DEd
Sandy Foster, a longtime resident of North Bay, founded Hope2Kenya (formerly known as Team Tumnini), a grassroots, non-profit organization aimed at improving the lives of children in Kenya, after she embarked on a trip to the African country to build playgrounds at two orphanages. Foster realized that she wanted to do more, so she established a small group to raise funds for future projects. Since 2006, the organization has completed many projects, from school and orphanage renovations, to improving access to water as well as purchasing supplies, food and even cattle for orphans.
Foster and the Hope2Kenya team have made a significant difference in the lives of hundreds of young Kenyans. Foster is a graduate of Nipissing University, earning her Bachelor of Arts in 1990, and was presented with an Alumni Award in 2012
Shelagh Rogers - Doctor of Education
(honoris causa) DEd
Shelagh Rogers is one of Canada’s preeminent broadcasters. Over the past 30 years, she has captivated and entertained millions of Canadians with her work on CBC Radio programs such as Morningside, Basic Black, This Morning, and Sounds Like Canada. Currently, Rogers is the host of The Next Chapter, a weekly news show devoted to Canadian writers and songwriters. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 for her work promoting Canadian culture, her volunteer work in adult literacy, her voice against the stigma of mental illness, and her advocacy for reconciliation. She is the first Ambassador-at-Large for the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough and sees the canoe as a beautiful symbol of a new relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Rogers is a co-editor of the book Speaking My Truth: Reflections on Reconciliation and Residential Schools and was chosen as an Honorary Witness to the brave and essential work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.