Convocation 2012

Nipissing University held four convocation ceremonies last week in North Bay and one this week in Brantford. Over the course of the celebrations some 1,900 degrees and/or certificates were conferred*.This year also marked the first spring convocation ceremonies to be held in the beautiful new air-conditioned Robert J. Surtees Student Athletics Centre; that was pretty cool.
All of the convocation ceremonies will be available on our website next week.
One of the highlights from North Bay was the Right Honorable Paul Martin accepting an honorary degree.  Mr. Martin’s commitment to improving Aboriginal Education, a commitment shared by Nipissing University, is well documented and he spoke about that in his convocation address. Following his address, Mr. Martin spoke to Nipissing University’s communications office for a short video about his message to graduates, his accomplishments and what this honorary degree means to him.

Former Nipissing University president, Dr. Dave Marshall received the designation President Emeritus during the June 13 Schulich School of Education ceremony. His successor at Nipissing’s helm, Dr. Dennis Mock accepted an honorary degree on the morning of June 14. In his address to the graduates, Mock reminisced about his time at Nipissing and spoke about the importance of living in the moment and seizing the day.
Later on the afternoon of June 14, Grand Chief Stan Louttit accepted an honorary degree and delivered a heartfelt address that made clear his commitment to his people and the importance of family.
On Friday, Roxanna Joyal accepted her honorary degree and spoke to graduates about her experiences leading Me to We and how graduates can leave a legacy by leveraging their education to create positive change in the world.
Details of the Honourabl?e Mr. William Davis’ convocation address in Brantford were unavailable at press time.
Each of the honorary degree recipients granted an interview with Nipissing similar to Mr. Martin’s and we’ll have them available for you in next week’s edition of NU News.
*total number of degrees/certificates awarded since last June.