Dr. Strang, Brison, Raptors star Lowry among Acadia’s honorary degree recipients

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, former prime minister Paul Martin; former KingsHants MP Scott Brison; and Toronto Raptor Kyle Lowry are among 13 recipients of honorary doctorates from Acadia University.

The recipients are for both the 2021 and 2020 convocations years. The class of 2020 had held off on official convocation events in the hopes of having one this year, but the pandemic didn't allow for that.

Both classes will now have websites with convocation events, including the virtual conferring of degrees and addresses to the grad class. Graduates of 2020 have already received their degrees in absentia.

Martin, who served as prime minister from 2003 to 2006, is one of seven people receiving honorary doctorates for the 2021 spring convocation. He will deliver the keynote address at the virtual ceremony.

“Acadia's honorary degree recipients are excellent role models for our graduates. Each one is a distinguished individual who has made a significant impact in their community,” Acadia president Peter Ricketts said in a release. “By recognizing their outstanding achievements with honorary degrees, we acknowledge them for their many contributions to society. Like them, we know our graduates will take their place in the world and make a difference.”

Acadia said that it is honouring Strang and deputy chief medical officer of health Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, because they “have shown outstanding leadership during a time of provincial crisis, and through their achievements Acadia is recognizing the amazing work of the entire Nova Scotia public health department.”

Also among the 2021 nominees are Lowry; retired senator and chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Murray Sinclair; and patron of the arts and education and recent chair of Acadia University's most successful fundraising initiative, Nancy McCain.

Lowry and his wife, Ayahna Cornish-Lowry, are committed to improving the lives of the disadvantaged in Toronto and Philadelphia and set up the Lowry Love Foundation, a charity that gives back to the community.

On behalf of the Acadia Divinity College, Acadia will honour Rev. Dr. Malcolm Card, a minister and missionary who dedicated his career to helping others abroad and within the Atlantic and Canadian Baptist ministries.

Rather than a single livestreamed event, Acadia's Virtual Convocation will be an online web experience incorporating the formal ceremony and personalized by each of Acadia's four faculties — arts, pure and applied science, professional studies, and theology.

The virtual main ceremony will launch on May 9, 2021, at 3 p.m. (ADT) on the convocation website. Graduates and their friends and families will be able to stream their convocation experience live or whenever they choose.

While the online ceremony will include the official conferring of their degrees by Chancellor Bruce Galloway (‘68, ‘03 HON), it will not replace an in-person celebration, which will be planned for a later date

Iwhen in-person events are considered safe.

The six honorary recipients for 2020 are Brison, once named a “young global leader” by the World Economic Forum and now a banking executive and economic recovery chair for Nova Scotia and chancellor of Dalhousie University; former Acadia president and Ivany Report author Ray Ivany; water resource engineering pioneer and educator Terry Hennigar, who is considered the grandfather of hydrogeology; Nova Scotia Business Hall of Famer and lawyer, businessperson, community leader and volunteer, R. Diane Campbell; Canadian and global Christian leader and renowned conference speaker, Rev. Dr. Gary V. Nelson, and internationally acclaimed stem cell researcher, teacher, and advocate for women in science Connie Eaves.