April 21, 2006 Source: :
http://www.capebretonu.ca/capebretonu_main/newsrel/NewsDetail.asp?NewsID=190 CBU to Celebrate Community and Environmental Health (Sydney, NS) - Cape Breton University will celebrate community and environmental health issues locally and world-wide as Chancellor Annette Verschuren confers three honorary degrees at this year’s Convocation ceremony on Saturday, May 13. Chief Edgar MacLeod with the Cape Breton Regional Police Service; John Malcom, CEO of the Cape Breton District Health Authority, and Dr. Susan Richardson, a research chemist with the US Environmental Protection Agency, Ecosystems Research Division will each receive honorary degrees at the spring ceremony. Chief MacLeod and Mr. Malcom are being recognized for their exemplary leadership in initiating the Community Partnership on Prescription Drug Abuse, which has achieved great success in improving the health of citizens in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Dr. Richardson is being honoured for her research contributions at the forefront of public health issues around drinking water. The community is invited to attend the Convocation ceremony which starts at 2:00 p.m., May 13 in the Canada Games Complex. Edgar Alexander MacLeod, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
Chief Edgar MacLeod, with the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, has made substantial contributions to his profession at the local, regional and national levels. Additionally, he is well-respected for his contributions to the community and to education, especially in areas where health and justice impact on community safety. Currently, Chief MacLeod holds a key role on the Community Partnership on Prescription Drug Abuse, which has successfully lobbied for legislative changes on prescription monitoring in the province, reopened a methadone maintenance clinic in Cape Breton and achieved some success in reducing local use of the painkiller oxycodone. Born and raised in Glace Bay, Chief MacLeod began his policing career in 1973 following his graduation from the Atlantic Police Academy in Charlottetown, PEI. During his 32 years of policing, he has served on the Shelburne, Charlottetown and Sydney Police Departments. He was appointed to his current position as Chief of Police for Cape Breton Regional Police Service in 1993 and is also a graduate of Cape Breton University. He has played a lead role in creating a partnership with the University to provide academic and training opportunities for current and future police officers. As the first police chief of the newly amalgamated Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Chief MacLeod forged a new department out of seven police forces and paved the way for new relationships with various community groups. He is also Past President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) and Past Chair of the CACP National Crime Prevention Committee. In 2003, Chief MacLeod was appointed an Officer to the Order of Merit of Police Forces at a ceremony in Rideau Hall, Ottawa, and was the first recipient of the Michael C. MacDonald Memorial Award for leadership in policing, selected by his peers in Atlantic Canada. Cape Breton University is honoured to collaborate with Chief MacLeod, a community leader who is committed to justice, health and a better society. John Malcom, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa As CEO of the Cape Breton District Health Authority, Mr. Malcom oversees a dedicated staff of nearly 3,000 health care providers who work with 280 hospital and community based physicians to provide primary, secondary and tertiary care to more than 140,000 people. The district health authority and Cape Breton University have developed a strong relationship. Mr. Malcom chairs the Community Partnership on Prescription Drug Abuse, which is coordinated through the University, and a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by CBU and the district health authority to strengthen the existing partnership in health services research and promotion. Through this relationship, the resources and knowledge of both organizations are better utilized to improve the health of the community. The CBDHA provides acute and continuing care through facilities and services in Cape Breton County, northern and central Inverness County and Victoria County. Tow community programs, Addiction Services and Public Health Services, are shared with the Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority. Known as a staunch advocate for smoke-free public places, Mr. Malcom played a lead role in the Tobacco Control Strategy. This included a commitment by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality to move towards a 100% smoke-free policy in public places. The two organizations also partner on the annual Cape Breton Health Research Symposium, which includes the Cape Breton Health Research-Capacity Builder award. Recently Mr. Malcom was seconded to the Capital Health Authority in Halifax, NS as Interim CEO until October. Cape Breton University welcomes the opportunity to recognize Mr. Malcom’s strength of vision and determination to improve the welfare of citizens in this region and across the province. Susan D. Richardson, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa
Dr. Richardson is a research chemist with the US Environmental Protection Agency- Ecosystems Research Division in Atlanta, Georgia. The EPA is well known for developing standards of research and analysis that are used throughout the United States and are commonly adopted in other countries, including Canada. Some of the analysis of Sydney tar ponds material would be performed following EPA protocols. Potable water quality has emerged has an important topic that is vital to community health around the world. Dr. Richardson has been at the forefront of research and analysis on contaminants that affect drinking water sources. She has authored 31 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals over the last five years and was first author on 14 of those. In addition to her popular role as a speaker at conferences, Dr. Richardson also has the prestigious honour of being invited to author the biannual water analysis review article in the American Chemical Society’s Analytical Chemistry journal. Public health research has evolved to include identification and treatment of contaminants such as heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, new research has led many to conclude that ground and surface water are affected by treated wastewater that increasingly includes contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and disinfectants. Dr. Richardson’s research has focused on the identification of new disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water, determination of mechanisms that lead to their formation and integration of scientific approaches that include toxicology and chemistry. Currently, Dr. Richardson’s work centres on the toxicity-based identification of new DBPs, the toxicological and chemical evaluation of alternative disinfectant treatment scenarios, the occurrence of iodinated DBPs in chlorinated drinking waters, and mechanisms of formation for toxicologically significant halonitromethane DBPs. She is particularly interested in promoting new health effects research so that the risks of DBPs can be determined and minimized. Cape Breton University is proud to recognize Dr. Richardson’s achievements in advancing scientific knowledge that directly affect public health. -30- Additional information on honorary degree recipients and Convocation 2006 will follow in the coming weeks. Contact:
Kelly Rose
Communications Officer
Cape Breton University
Tel: (902) 563-1638
E-mail: kelly_rose@capebretonu.ca www.capebretonu.ca
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