Drew Monkman

A retired teacher, naturalist and writer, Drew Monkman has a love for all aspects of the natural world. As a local Peterborough resident, the retired French immersion elementary school teacher always brought his passion for the environment and natural history to the classroom. For over 20 years, Mr. Monkman oversaw the development of a schoolyard naturalization project and outdoor classroom at his school, Edmison Heights, which has been a model for many similar projects.

Mr. Monkman studied Biology and Geography for two years at Trent University, before completing an undergraduate degree in journalism at Université Laval in Quebec City. He later went on to complete a Master’s degree in Education at the University of Toronto.

Perhaps best known as an award-winning nature writer and naturalist, Mr. Monkman writes a weekly nature column in the local newspaper, The Peterborough Examiner, and is the author of two books, Nature’s Year in the Kawarthas: A Guide to the Unfolding Seasons and Nature’s Year: Changing Seasons in Central and Eastern Ontario. Currently, he is co-authoring a family and classroom guide on nature activities through the four seasons. Mr. Monkman has won a number of awards for his writing and environmental advocacy, including induction into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame, the Carl Nunn Media and Conservation Award from Ontario Nature, and the Environmental Excellence Conservationist Award from the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority.

“His authoritative books are informed by enthusiasm, scholarship and a profound and intimate knowledge of our province. They are monuments to the wildlife and biodiversity of our region and serve to promote love and concern for our environment in all levels of our society.” – nominator, anonymous.

Mr. Monkman also maintains a website where he posts local nature sightings of note. The website also features all of Mr. Monkman’s past columns, his daily Tweets, information on his books as well as information on climate change in the Kawarthas.

Mr. Monkman is a former board member of Camp Kawartha and the past president of the Peterborough Field Naturalists where he continues to lead field trips. He participates in special bird monitoring projects, and is an active member of For Our Grandchildren, a group that works to increase awareness of the threat of climate change. He speaks regularly to a wide number of groups on topics such as nature through the seasons and climate change in the Kawarthas.

Mr. Monkman and his wife of 36 years, Michelle, have four grown children and two grandchildren.

Upon learning of the honorary degree to be bestowed this June, Mr. Monkman commented, “I am thrilled to be receiving this honorary degree. What makes it especially satisfying is that Doug Sadler, a highly respected local naturalist, writer, and educator, who helped awaken and develop my own interest in nature, received the same honorary degree in 1988. It is wonderful to follow in his footsteps."

Peter Raymont

Peter Raymont is a filmmaker, journalist, writer and activist who has produced and directed over 100 films and TV series during his 44 year career, many of which offer provocative investigations of hidden worlds in politics, the media, business and the arts.

Mr. Raymont is the president of White Pine Pictures, an independent, Canadian film and television production company based in Toronto. For 37 years White Pine Pictures has engaged audiences worldwide with compelling, relevant stories in documentary and dramatic form.

Mr. Raymont’s films have received 54 international awards including 13 Geminis (49 nominations), Gold and Silver Hugos, The Sesterce d’Argent among others. His documentary feature, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire received the 2007 Emmy for Best Documentary.
Other films directed by Mr. Raymont include A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman (2007) and Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (2009), both shortlisted for an Academy Award and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. A Promise to the Dead won nine international awards, including the DGC Award for Best Documentary and the 2008 Donald Brittain Gemini Award for Best Social Political Documentary.

Mr. Raymont is the executive producer and co-creator of the award-winning TV series The Border, produced for the CBC, sold to over 25 broadcasters and versioned into 11 languages. The Border was created by Mr. Raymont with his late wife Lindalee Tracey, with Janet MacLean and Jeremy Hole, from their many years of frontline research and their production of The Undefended Border, a documentary series featuring unprecedented access to the behind-the-scenes action of immigration and security policing. He is also the executive producer of the CBC drama series, Cracked, an award-winning crime/medical drama, about a seasoned police officer at the helm of the Psych Crimes and Crisis Unit, who is himself effected by post-traumatic stress disorder. Cracked aired for two seasons across Canada and has been sold to France, Germany, and USA and many other countries.

Mr. Raymont began his career at the National Film Board of Canada in 1971 where he had the opportunity to make several films, and teach film and video production, in the Canadian Arctic.

“Mr. Raymont’s filmmaking ties together the multiple commitments to much that has also defined Trent University’s history such as the production of a distinct Canadian culture, explorations of the evolution of the Canadian North, a concern with indigenous rights and history and a passion for issues of social justice.” - nominator, anonymous

After learning about his honorary degree from Trent, Mr. Raymont said, “I am surprised, delighted and humbled to be honoured by Trent University, an institution I greatly respect. To be included among many of my heroes, including Tommy Douglas, Margaret Lawrence, Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Tim Findlay, Ron Thom, Romeo Dallaire, James Orbinski, Don Tapscott, David Suzuki and Gwynne Dyer, is very special. As a resident of nearby Stoney Lake, I am especially delighted to be honoured by Trent. I plan to paddle down the Otonabee River for the convocation!”

Michael Thrasher

Elder Michael Thrasher (KA-WHYWA-WEET), Turtle Clan, is a nationally recognized teacher of First Nations philosophy, tradition, and knowledge. He spent much of his youth in northern Saskatchewan working alongside his father, honing his business and wilderness skills while operating a remote hunting and fishing lodge north of Lake Athabasca. After leaving the north to further his education, work and travel, Elder Thrasher returned to Canada and came into contact with a number of influential elders from Alberta’s First Nation communities. From these initial meetings began a process of apprenticeship, learning, and training that provided Elder Thrasher with the foundations of traditional Indigenous knowledge and ceremony with roots dating back to the early civilizations of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

In the early 1970s there was a renaissance in Indigenous knowledge as Elders and Traditional Knowledge holders from all across Canada became more public in their desire to see Indigenous knowledge systems used. As part of this revitalization, Trent University, which had launched Canada’s first Native Studies (now Indigenous Studies) program in Canada, broke new ground investigating how Indigenous knowledge could be integrated into the university landscape. Trent invited a number of Elders, including Elder Thrasher, as wascapeos (helper/apprentice), to spend time with students and explore the opportunity before them. This effort resulted in the very first Elders Conference, now an annual event at Trent, which Elder Thrasher participates in each year.

Throughout his career, Elder Thrasher has dedicated his life to teaching and sharing Indigenous ways of knowing, meeting with countless numbers of Aboriginal peoples, First Nation communities, organizations, and institutions to foster healing and reconciliation. Today, Elder Thrasher is widely recognized for his ability to utilize traditional Indigenous knowledge to address contemporary issues. He has given lectures and taught courses on the topic and has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students across Canada, including a number of doctoral candidates at Trent. As a valued Elder and colleague with the Indigenous Studies program at Trent, Elder Thrasher has been instrumental in bringing the original vision to fruition, integrating traditional knowledge into the University through the development of initiatives such as the PhD program, another first in Canada. Through these efforts and in collaboration with other Elders and traditional teachers, Elder Thrasher has accomplished one of his lifetime goals – protecting, promoting, and integrating Indigenous Knowledge into the academy and initiating an entirely unique approach to intercultural-interdisciplinary dialogue, academic discourse, and knowledge creation.

Recently, Elder Thrasher was one of four Elders invited to conduct the sacred pipe ceremony at the opening of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and recently was given the prestigious honour of delivering the 2014 Newbery Lecture at the University of Sudbury.

“I can think of no one as deserving of this recognition for one’s lifetime contributions as Michael Thrasher. He has striven to ensure the integrity of his people’s knowledge while balancing the need to share it and pass it onto future generations, all in light of our ever-changing times and advancing technologies he finds himself and other Indigenous peoples amidst.” - nominator, anonymous

Responding to the honour of receiving an honorary degree from Trent, Elder Thrasher says: “I’d like to accept this honour on behalf of all those who have come before. The countless numbers of Elders and Traditional Knowledge Holders who have sacrificed so much over so many years to keep this body of knowledge alive, which I now have the privilege of sharing with others. It is a privilege to be considered worthy of receiving such an honour and my deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks go to the Trent community and all my relations, kahkiyaw niwahkomâkanak.”

Stephen Stohn

Since graduating from Trent, Stephen Stohn ‘66 has enjoyed an outstanding career in the entertainment industry. Starting his 50-year career as a performing artist, he is now a songwriter and a founding partner of a prestigious entertainment law firm.

Mr. Stohn is president of Epitome Pictures Inc. and their related companies, and executive producer of numerous television series including, Degrassi, Open Heart, Instant Star and The L.A. Complex and their related websites, webisodes, new media and social media initiatives. He was executive producer of the lifestyle television series Savoir Faire and Room Service, and executive produced Riverdale, English Canada's first prime-time soap opera, as well as two feature films, Me? and The Clown Murders, starring Canadian icon John Candy. As founding partner in the entertainment law firm, Stohn Hay Cafazzo Dembroski Richmond LLP, Mr. Stohn provides strategic legal advice to performers, advertisers, agencies, merchandisers, recording artists, songwriters, multimedia/internet creators, broadcasters and film and television producers.

In 2011 Mr. Stohn was inducted into the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame, nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, and won a Peabody Award. In 2012 and 2014 he was nominated for an additional two Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also been nominated 26 times in Canada's national television awards ceremony, the Canadian Screen Awards (formerly known as the Gemini Awards), and has won 13 times.

During his time at Trent in the 1960s, Mr. Stohn founded both Arthur newspaper and Trent Radio before graduating with a B.A. in Economics. Following his time at Trent, for nearly 20 years, Mr. Stohn was a director and then chair of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and executive producer of the Juno Awards, Canada’s national music awards show. He was also chair of MusiCounts, the music industry charity associated with CARAS; and for nine years was a director and chair of the Strategic Planning Committee of Ontario Media Development Corporation.

Mr. Stohn has also been active in lobbying for reform of Canada's copyright laws, and has participated as a director, committee member or founder of a number of cultural industry associations as well as co-chair of numerous entertainment law conferences under the auspices of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Canadian Bar Association. He has also appeared on numerous occasions as an expert witness before the Copyright Board of Canada. Currently, Mr. Stohn chairs the Orange Lounge Recordings and ISAN Canada, is director with the Canadian Retransmission Collective and the Producers Audiovisual Collective of Canada, and is a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada (SOCAN).

Commenting on his honorary degree, Mr. Stohn acknowledged Trent’s role in his success: “I was a student during the early days at Trent, when we were forming many institutions—the student government, the student newspaper, Arthur, Trent Radio, and more—laying the foundation not only for future students at Trent, but also for my lifelong career in the entertainment world. It’s a particular thrill to be honoured for that career, by my own alma mater, where it all began.”

“Stephen Stohn’s experience and contributions to arts and culture in Canada make him a truly deserving recipient of this honour. He is a professional lawyer recognized as one of the Top 500 in Canada, a multi-award winning executive producer, a passionate lobbyist for the reform of Canada’s copyright laws, a member of the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, and an outstanding and generous volunteer leader. As a student at Trent in the mid 60’s, Stephen co-founded Trent Radio and Arthur, two organizations that have had a long lasting and far-reaching impact on the Trent University community for decades since.” - nominator, anonymous

Martha Friendly

Canada’s leading child care advocate, Martha Friendly is a highly respected researcher, and a major architect of policy thinking on child care issues. For more than 40 years, she has spearheaded research projects and been a leader in advocacy campaigns, all of which have contributed to the fight for universal, high-quality, accessible, and inclusive early childhood education and child care in Canada.

She is the founder and executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU), Canada’s only policy research institute for early childhood education and care and has published extensively on ECEC in a variety of academic and community-based venues. She has also been a main contributor to various child care advocacy groups such as the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada. Before immigrating to Canada from New York in 1971, Ms. Friendly was a researcher on one of the first assessments of the American Head Start program based at Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. Once settled in her new hometown of Toronto, she became involved in child care research. A combination of the research skills and inclinations developed as a PhD student in social psychology, a commitment to child care as a key feminist issue and personal awareness of the value of good child care for families and children contributed to her focus on child care research, advocacy and social policy.

In 1975, she became a research coordinator at The Child in The City Programme, an interdisciplinary research group at the University of Toronto. As an outcome of this project, Ms. Friendly went on to found the CRRU. Under her leadership, the CRRU has grown into a nationally and internationally recognized knowledge producer and mobilizer on early childhood education and care (ECEC).

Ms. Friendly is the author of many scholarly publications including two books on child care policy, most recently, About Canada: Childcare (2009), co-authored with sociologist Susan Prentice. As a researcher and an activist, Ms. Friendly has worked collaboratively with other scholars, policy makers, social justice, advocacy and early childhood professional groups towards a common goal of a publicly funded national ECEC program for all families and children. Most recently, CRRU partnered with the Canadian Child Care Federation and the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada to organize ChildCare2020, Canada’s fourth national child care policy conference. Ms. Friendly was the primary author of the conference’s paper, “Child Care in Canada by 2020: A Vision and the Way Forward.”
Martha lives in Toronto with her husband, Michael Friendly. They have two grown children and twin two-year-old grandsons.

“Martha Friendly’s contributions to social and educational dialogue about early childhood education have immeasurable advanced the debate in Canada. Her dedication to excellent, comprehensive research has put child care on the political and social map.” - nominator, anonymous

Speaking of receiving an honorary degree from Trent, Ms. Friendly said: “I’m thrilled to have been chosen by Trent. It’s tremendously gratifying that the University has chosen someone who has spent her career on child care policy. I cannot help but think that this may signal that this issue has “come of age” and is a good omen for the future.”