A First Nations luminary, a health-care leader and a former privacy commissioner are being honoured at Royal Roads University’s fall convocation ceremony.
Receiving an honorary doctorate of laws will be Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, a hereditary chief of the Ahousaht First Nation and former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He also served as chancellor at Vancouver Island University.
Maj.-Gen. Lise Mathieu will receive an honorary doctorate of laws for her work in transforming Canadian Forces Health Services, while David Flaherty, B.C.’s first privacy commissioner, will be presented with the Chancellor’s Community Recognition Award for his philanthropy and support of the arts.
About 690 students from the faculties of management and social and applied sciences will receive degrees, certificates and diplomas at the ceremony, being held Nov. 10 at the Royal Theatre.
Royal Roads president Allan Cahoon said the convocation is one of the last formal events being held as part of the institution’s 75th anniversary — 55 years as a naval and military college and 20 as a university. He said there are links between those being honoured and the traditions of Royal Roads.
“There’s a connection between the military, the past leadership, our origins in terms of heritage from First Nations land.”
Recognizing Atleo singles out not only a man of great accomplishment but also someone with a connection to Royal Roads, where he has been a supervisor for masters students taking indigenous leadership courses, Cahoon said.
“It speaks for itself in terms of why him.”
Mathieu, who has also been involved in the leadership program at Royal Road, is being honoured after a 31-year career in the Canadian Forces that included being named a commander of the Order of Military Merit.
Cahoon said Mathieu is a person not often herself in the limelight, but is very deserving.
“She was shocked to think that we would even recognize her,”he said.
Mathieu played a key role in the direction the military took in the health field, he said.
“It was moving from the classic kind of tradition of the military having everything of its own to an integrated system that was more responsive to their needs, and then working with larger community partners.”
There are many things that make Flaherty worthy of being honoured, Cahoon said, noting that the former privacy commissioner has done many things of note outside of his professional achievements.
“I like to recognize people when they go outside of what they are trained to do, and do something above and beyond.”
Flaherty’s service to the arts includes two terms as president of Pacific Opera Victoria.
“He’s someone who has a variety of backgrounds, from an academic portfolio to freedom of information to philanthropy,” Cahoon said.
The Nov. 10 convocation will have sessions at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Both can be viewed online at livestream.com/royalroads.
