October 2, 2006 Source: :
http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?sec=209&too=100&dat=10/2/2006&sta=3&wee=1&eve=8&npa=11364 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS AND SENATOR TO RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREES At this year’s Fall Convocation, honorary degrees will be awarded to: Clara Hughes, Cindy Klassen and Vivienne Poy. Two sessions of Fall Convocation at the University of Manitoba will be held in the Investors Group Athletic Centre, on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at 3:30 pm and Thursday, October 19 at 3:30 pm. Honorary degrees are awarded for distinguished achievement. Candidates for honorary degrees are nominated by members of the University and the public. At this year’s Fall Convocation, honorary degrees will be awarded to: Clara Hughes, Cindy Klassen and Vivienne Poy. Clara Hughes, the only Olympian in the world to have won multiple medals at the Summer Olympic Games as well as the Winter Olympic Games, was born and raised in Winnipeg, her father a professor of English at the University of Manitoba and her mother a painter and weaver. Since sports were not the main focus in her family, she was not interested in individual sports until she watched speed skating during her teenage years. She started speed skating at 16 and in her first year earned a silver medal at the National Championships and was named Manitoba Junior Athlete of the Year. When speed skating waned as a sport in Winnipeg, Hughes was introduced to cycling as an alternative and attended a training camp, discovering a love for this new sport as well. During the next ten years she represented Canada in cycling at many international events, including the Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. In 2000 she returned to speed skating while maintaining a competitive interest in cycling. In 2003, she faced a difficult decision: to miss a winter on ice in order to prepare for the 2004 Summer Olympics or leave cycling to focus on the 2006 Winter Olympics. She chose speed skating. It was certainly a wise decision; she won both gold and silver medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is a role model for her drive to achieve her best and is passionate in her encouragement to children that "You don’t win races by sitting on the couch!" Thursday Session, October 19, 2006, 3:30 pm Cindy Klassen, the first Canadian to win five medals in one Olympic Games, was born and raised in Winnipeg, growing up with a wide range of sports but with a predilection towards hockey. Proficient at many sports, she was a member of the Women’s Field Lacrosse Team at the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Excelling in hockey, she was on Team Manitoba at the Canada Winter Games in 1995 and was a member of the Junior National Team at Lake Placid in 1996. She missed out on being selected for the national team for the 1998 Olympics but continued playing hockey for and attending the University of Manitoba. Wanting another sport to supplement her training, she had chosen speed skating and soon found herself competing at the 1999 Pan American Games in inline skating. Klassen won bronze at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City but while training in 2003 had a serious accident when she lost an edge and fell into another skater, causing a ten-centimetre laceration and 12 torn tendons in her right forearm. Amazingly, she overcame her injuries and began retraining to the point where she could again compete, participating in the 2004 World Single Distance Championship and winning silver and bronze medals despite skating with a splint on her arm. Dubbed Canada’s "Greatest Olympian," in 2006 Klassen won the most Olympic medals in a single Olympics, earning one gold, two silver and two bronze. She also has won the most Olympic medals by any Canadian: five in 2006 and one bronze in 2002. Her relatively short career as a speed skater is epitomized by her determination, hard work ethic, perseverance, commitment, humility and enthusiasm. Her achievements are truly an inspiration and a source of pride for Winnipeggers and Canadians. Thursday Session, October 19, 2006, 3:30 pm Vivienne Poy is the first Canadian of Asian descent to be appointed to the Canadian Senate, assuming this position in 1998. An author, fashion designer and entrepreneur, she was also elected as Chancellor of the University of Toronto in 2003, her term ending in June, 2006. Following her Fashion Arts Diploma from Seneca College, she founded Vivienne Poy Mode in 1981, a major fashion design company involved in manufacturing and retail. She is currently president of Vivienne Poy Enterprises, president of Calyan Publishing, a Board Member of the Bank of East Asia and chair of Lee Tak Wai Holdings, Ltd. She received her doctorate in history from the University of Toronto in 2003. In the Senate she is a member of the Steering Committee for the Human Rights Committee and a member of the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and Security. Poy is the author of three books: two detailing her exploration of her family history in China dating back two thousand years and her most recent work, Citizenship and Immigration: The Chinese- Canadian Experience (2002), based on her presentation as the first Nortel Networks’ Canadian Studies Series lecturer. A dedicated wife and mother of three children, she is a recognized community leader in arts and education, and supportive and offering encouragement to the Chinese- Canadian community in Manitoba and throughout Canada. She notes: "With my appointment to the Senate, I have been given an opportunity to have a direct impact on the public policies and legislation that impact the lives of Canadians." Wednesday Session, October 18, 2006, 3:30 pm. For more information, contact:
Chris Rutkowski
Media Relations Coordinator
Public Affairs
rutkows@ms.umanitoba.ca
Phone: (204) 474-9514
Fax: (204) 474-7631
| 