Joseph Boyden – Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - 10:00 a.m. ceremony

Joseph Boyden has emerged as one of Canada’s pre-eminent novelists and short-story writers, having won the Giller Prize in 2008 for his second novel, Through Black Spruce. His first novel, Three Day Road, was selected for the Today Show book club, won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the CBA Libris Fiction Book of the Year Award, and more. His latest best-seller, The Orenda, was shortlisted for both the Giller and the Governor General’s Award in 2013 and was just named the winning novel in the 2014 CBC Canada Reads debates.

Delighted to learn of the honorary degree to be bestowed this June, Mr. Boyden said: “I am deeply honoured to be offered this important distinction from a university so important to me. Trent has always made me feel so welcome to its beautiful campus. And now I can consider myself one of you."

Mr. Boyden’s writing focuses on First Nations heritage and culture, a topic that speaks directly to Trent’s long history in Canadian and Indigenous studies. He studied creative writing at York University and the University of New Orleans, subsequently teaching in the Aboriginal Student Program at Northern College. He is currently a lecturer with the University of British Columbia Creative Writing Program.

The acclaimed novelist’s involvement with Trent began as a writer-in-residence in 2006, and continued in 2012-2013 with his term as the Jack Matthews fellow, through which he embodied the values Mr. Matthews espoused as an innovator in Canadian education, learning, and global citizenship. His critical engagement with history and its relationship with the present bespeaks Trent’s fundamental commitment to critical liberal arts education. He has also built many close relationships with students and faculty at Trent, particularly his mentor, Trent Professor Emeritus John Wadland, and participated actively in the 40th Anniversary of the Trent Temagami Colloquium in 2013. Mr. Boyden has taken an active stance in environmental justice through his published writing and commentary, including expressing concern over hydro developments in Moose River Basin.

“Joseph Boyden’s works have reached international audiences and deepened the world’s understanding and respect for the complexity of Canadian culture. His formal inclusion in our alumni community … will expand Trent’s reputation for critical engagement of the study of Canada, the Indigenous peoples of Canada, and our hallmark commitment to social justice as a core value.” – nominator, anonymous

Dr. Wade Davis – Wednesday, June 4, 2014 - 10:00 a.m. ceremony

Dr. Wade Davis is a professor of anthropology and the LEEF chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Between 1999 and 2013 he served as explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society and is currently a member of the NG Council of Explorers. Named by the NGS as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, he has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” Dr. Davis’s work as an anthropologist and botanical explorer has taken him throughout the world from the forests of the Amazon to the mountains of Tibet, from the high Arctic to the deserts of Africa, from Polynesia to the grasslands of Mongolia.

Dr. Davis is the author of 17 bestselling books including The Serpent and the Rainbow, which was later released as a feature film, and Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest, which won the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize, the top literary award for nonfiction in the English language. Davis has written for National Geographic, Newsweek, Outside, Harpers, Fortune, Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, and many other international publications.

His many film credits include Light at the Edge of the World, an eight-hour documentary series produced and written for the National Geographic, Grand Canyon Adventure (IMAX 3D), and Earthguide, a 13-part series on the environment produced and written for Discovery. As a photographer, Dr. Davis has curated several major exhibits including The Lost Amazon, Museum of Natural History Smithsonian, and No Strangers: Ancient Wisdom in a Modern World, Annenberg Space for Photography. His own work has been widely published and exhibited.

A professional speaker for 25 years, Dr. Davis has lectured at more than 200 universities and spoken before a wide range of corporate clients such as Microsoft, Shell, Fidelity, Bayer, Bristol-Myers, Hallmark, Bank of Nova Scotia, MacKenzie Financials, and many others. His five TED talks have been seen by millions of viewers. In 2009 he delivered the CBC Massey Lectures.

Dr. Davis is the recipient of numerous awards, including several honorary degrees, the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Explorer's Medal, The Lowell Thomas Medal, the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration and the $125,000 Lannan Foundation Prize for Nonfiction.

“In Trent’s best interdisciplinary tradition, Dr. Davis spans the worlds of natural science, social science and the humanities. He is passionate about conveying knowledge and wisdom through the arts. His fusion of environmental, Indigenous and social concerns resonates deeply at Trent.” – nominator, anonymous

"It is a very special honour indeed to be recognized in this way by Trent University. Over the years I have been fortunate to speak on campus on a number of occasions and I have always come away inspired by students and faculty alike,” Dr. Davis said. “To be acknowledged by the University in the very year that sees me and my family returning to Canada to live after two decades abroad is as good a welcome home as I could have ever hoped for."

Shelagh Grant – Thursday, June 5, 2014 - 10:00 a.m. ceremony

Professor Shelagh Grant was thrilled to learn of the honorary Doctor of Letters degree to be awarded to her at this year’s convocation ceremonies for long-standing service to Trent University as an educator, and renowned achievement as a scholar of the Canadian Arctic.

“I feel doubly honoured to receive this recognition from Trent, which has contributed so much to my success as a researcher and author,” Prof. Grant said.

Prof. Grant’s scholarship and leadership at Trent University has spanned more than three decades. After undergraduate studies in nursing science at Western University, she began her Trent career by earning an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Canadian Studies in 1981, followed by a Master of History in 1983.

In addition to teaching at Trent for seventeen years, Prof. Grant is an accomplished scholar and prize-winning author. Her books and dozens of academic articles have established her as one of North America’s leading authorities on the history of the Canadian Arctic, sovereignty, and Inuit culture. Since the 1980s, she has been at the forefront of a renaissance of historical writing aimed at redirecting the eyes of Canadian policy-makers and citizens to the significance of our northern territories. Her second book, Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet, 1923, won the Canadian Historical Association’s Clio Award for the best book on northern history in 2003. Her latest book, Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America, reaffirmed her standing, winning the $15,000 Lionel Gelber Prize in 2011 for the best English language book on global affairs, awarded by the Lionel Gelber Foundation and the Munk Institute of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, breaking ground as the first Canadian woman to receive the award. Polar Imperative also won the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize among other prestigious awards.

As well as her international recognition as a scholar, Prof. Grant has made significant contributions to Trent University as a teacher, serving as an adjunct professor as well as a mentor to students interested in the history of Canada’s north and its peoples. Recently, her legacy as an educator in the fields of Canadian and Arctic studies were recognized through the creation of the Shelagh Grant Endowment Award, supporting long distance travel for graduate student research and translation of dialogues with members of Aboriginal communities. Now retired from regular teaching, Prof. Grant remains active as an adjunct professor in Trent’s Canadian Studies Department and as a research associate of the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies. She has received many accolades, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and being appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2011.

“More than any other historian in the past two decades, [Shelagh Grant] has re-invigorated interest in the history of the Arctic through producing gripping narratives as well as powerful syntheses which connect the stories and the lives of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples who have shaped the history of Canada’s north.” – nominator, anonymous

Richard Johnston – Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - 2:00 p.m. ceremony

Richard Johnston has had a distinguished and eclectic career in the public service. His professional experience includes working as an administrator at Trent, a federal public servant in Health and Welfare, a political organizer for the Ontario New Democratic Party, a provider of services to the elderly through Durham Region Community Care, the executive head of the Ontario Council of Regents, and president of the First Nations Technical Institute and of Centennial College.

He also served as MPP for Scarborough West from 1979 to 1990, becoming known for his work in human services while at the Legislature. He produced two reports on poverty in Ontario, provoking the government to appoint a commission to review social assistance, initiating a standing committee review of domestic violence for the first time at the Legislature, and raising concerns about deaf education in the province which led to sweeping reforms expanding the use of American Sign Language. Mr. Johnston was chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development when it dealt with controversial issues such as extension of funding to the Catholic school system and extra-billing by doctors. After leaving politics, Mr. Johnston was assigned the task of preserving the Toronto Islands community, and his recommendations formed the basis of the legislative solution that continues to this day. In addition, as a volunteer, he has served on Trent’s Board of Governors, the City Summit Alliance, Canadian Labour and Business Council, the Learning Partnership, Festival Players, and Three Oaks Women’s Shelter and was the first chair of the Education Quality and Assessment Council, the first executive director of the Colleges Standards and Accreditation Council, and is vice-chair of Taste the County, the tourism marketing organization for Prince Edward County.

Mr. Johnston has been recognized by receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Association of Community Colleges, an Honorary Diploma from Niagara College, Honorary Fellowship of the Ontario Teachers Federation, and a Consumer Award from the Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped among others. Currently, he lives in Prince Edward County with his wife Vida with whom he owns and operates By Chadsey’s Cairns Winery and Vineyard.

“Trent has always been full of lovely surprises for me and my family, most of whom have attended or worked at the university,” Mr. Johnston said. “I was surprised to be accepted in the first class. I was bowled over to become Assistant to the Master of Peter Robinson after graduation and to be given the privilege of being a don at two colleges. Even the nomination to the Board of Governors came out of the blue. And now this amazing recognition of an honorary degree. All such positive affirmations to boost me along my life’s path. I am very grateful.”

David G. Patterson – Thursday, June 5, 2014 - 2:00 p.m. ceremony

David G. Patterson founded and is the current chair and chief executive officer of the Northwater Group of Companies, which includes the main operating company, Northwater Capital Management Inc.

Mr. Patterson acknowledged Trent’s role in his success when commenting on his honorary degree: “Trent University introduced me to the world of critical thinking which has provided a solid foundation for both my life and business career,” he said. “In my business, I am an investment manager and consultant to CEOs who run the businesses in which we invest. In this role, there is not a day that passes when I don’t draw on understandings and thinking processes that were developed at Trent. Since the 1960s, when I attended Trent, thirteen members of my family have chosen Trent for their undergraduate work. \Accordingly, my family has a great love and affinity for this gem on the Otonabee. I am deeply humbled to be chosen for this honorary degree from such wonderful institution.”

Mr. Patterson is a serial entrepreneur in the investment management industry. Since Northwater’s inception in 1989, Mr. Patterson has led the firm through the successful establishment of three innovative businesses. Northwater was the first Canadian firm to develop synthetic indexing to help pension funds invest more in foreign markets while staying within the then limiting foreign property limits. Next Northwater developed the largest Canadian entry in the hedge fund of funds business - a business that was sold in 2009.

In 2005 Mr. Patterson developed the third Northwter innovation by establishing an intellectual property business for the firm. The IP business has developed to be a $500 million business with a wide spectrum of investments in entertainment properties, patent management and investments in patent-rich early stage venture deals. Northwater is currently investing the third fund in this area. In addition, Northwater has a substantial business in creating risk parity portfolios.

Prior to founding Northwater in 1989, Mr. Patterson held a number of senior positions in capital markets and in the investment and finance industry including president of Security Pacific Futures Inc. in Chicago and director of Futures and Options for Burns Fry Limited. Throughout his career he has had numerous directorships and is currently a director of Textura Corporation of Chicago.

Mr. Patterson holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from Trent University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Toronto.

“David’s commitment to principled leadership … has led to his extraordinary success in socially and environmentally responsible business, his quiet community engagement, and his service to, and support of, Trent University. He is a shining example of leadership in the financial community on the global stage, one that is rooted in the liberal arts and science education he received at Trent.” – nominator, anonymous