The University of Ottawa will confer honorary doctorates to two outstanding Canadians, Denise Robert and William Commanda, as part of fall convocation ceremonies on October 30, 2005.
Denise Robert is an Academy Award-winning film producer. As president of the Montreal-based independent production company Cinémaginaire, Ms. Robert has helped create many critically acclaimed, popular films, including Le Confessionnel, C’t’à ton tour Laura Cadieux, Mambo Italiano, and The Barbarian Invasions. Denise Robert has contributed to the flowering of Québécois cinema, the most vibrant and successful film scene in Canada.
William Commanda is an Algonquin elder, and an internationally respected spokesperson on intercultural harmony and respect for the environment. Elder Commanda spent 19 years as the Chief of the Kitigan Zibi Reserve, near Maniwaki, Quebec. He has worked as a guide, a trapper and a woodsman, and is internationally famous as a birchbark canoe maker. He is the driving force behind “A Circle of All Nations”, which seeks to foster racial and cultural harmony, as well as respect for nature.
Some uOttawa staff members will also receive their degree at convocation. Patrick Courcelles, recently named director of the Immersion Program, and Wanda Pilon, interim assistant director, staffing and equity at Human Resources, will each receive their MBA.
Southida Deschamps, manager, finance and human resources at the Faculty of Engineering will receive her bachelor’s degree in administration.
