September 25, 2006 Source: :
http://newsrelease.uwaterloo.ca/news.php?id=4775 UN's human rights commissioner to receive honorary degree WATERLOO, Ont. (Monday, Sept. 25, 2006) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, is among those receiving honorary degrees at the University of Waterloo's fall convocation to be held Saturday, Oct. 21. A former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada well known for her capacity to deal with difficult problems in the world, Arbour will be awarded an honorary doctor of laws (LLD) at the convocation ceremony for graduates in the faculties of applied health sciences and arts, starting at 10 a.m. in the physical activities complex. She will address the graduates. While a member of the Ontario Supreme Court, Arbour was appointed in 1996 by the Security Council of the United Nations to the challenging job of chief prosecutor of war crimes for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. She played a key role in turning the International Criminal Tribunals into effective instruments for justice in those trouble spots. In 1999, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Her commitment to humanitarianism was underscored by her decision in February 2004 to leave her position on the Supreme Court to become the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights. Also at the morning convocation ceremony, the following honorary degrees will be awarded: George Elliott Clarke will receive an honorary doctor of letters (DLitt).A UW graduate skilled in three distinct areas -- English literature, creative writing and leadership -- Clarke has made widely recognized contributions to the establishment of African Canadian literary culture. He has worked extensively to articulate the experience of African Canadians in the fields of poetry, fiction, drama, opera, journalism and academic scholarship, as well as in political activism, public speaking and formal/informal teaching. Larry Green will receive an honorary doctor of science (DSc).A leading researcher and innovator, Green has advanced the field of health promotion and disease prevention around the world. His most influential book, Health Promotion Planning: An Educational and Environmental Approach, integrates the fields of health education and public policy to enhance planning in major population interventions. He was the first director of the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the Department of Health and Human Services. As well, honorary degrees will be awarded at the convocation ceremony for graduates in the faculties of engineering, environmental studies, mathematics and science, beginning at 2 p.m. Pierre Borne will receive an honorary doctor of engineering (DEng) and address the graduates.A top French expert in the field of systems engineering, continuous systems and discrete event systems, Borne is recognized around the world for many outstanding academic contributions. He is the founding head of the department of automation and industrial information systems at l'École Centrale de Lille, one of France's prestigious schools of engineering. James Murray will receive an honorary doctor of mathematics (DMath).An emeritus professor at the University of Washington, Murray is a pioneer in the field of mathematical biology, including advances in the modelling and analysis of factors behind the spread of rabies. He has identified new areas of research in mathematical biology and his ideas have been applied to a number of pattern formation problems in developmental biology, wound healing and problems in modelling the growth of cancers. Marilyn Jacox will receive an honorary doctor of science (DSc).The author of more than 175 scientific publications, Jacox is a scientist emeritus of the U.S. National Institutes of Standards and Technology in Washington, D.C. She has written a key book on spectroscopic data for transient molecules, such as free radicals, ions and other molecules having a transient existence. Her pioneering work helped to establish the field of matrix isolation spectroscopy for studying such molecules. Also at the morning convocation ceremony, retired political scientist Ashok Kapur will be recognized as a distinguished professor emeritus. In the afternoon ceremony, retired faculty members John Reeve, of electrical and computer engineering, and John Vanderkooy, of physics, will receive distinguished professor emeritus titles.
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