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David Williams and Charles Scriver to receive honorary degrees at 69热视频

Published: 24 October 2007

A. Jean de Grandpr茅 to be named Chancellor Emeritus during Fall Convocation ceremonies

69热视频 will recognize two exceptional individuals with honorary degrees and name a Chancellor Emeritus at Fall Convocation. Canadian astronaut and 69热视频 alumnus Dr. David Williams and Dr. Charles Scriver, a pioneer in the field of human genetics and eminent pediatrician, will each receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree, while A. Jean de Grandpr茅, 69热视频 alumnus, 15th Chancellor (1984-1991) and Governor Emeritus, will be named Chancellor Emeritus. The trio will share the stage along with 1,558 graduating students during Convocation ceremonies on Friday, November 9, in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts in Montreal.

David Rm Williams
Doctor of Science, honoris causa
Friday, November 9, 10 a.m.
Canadian astronaut and 69热视频 alumnus Dr. David Williams was a highly respected specialist in emergency medicine and had just been named ER director at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto in 1992 when he heard that the Canadian Space Agency was recruiting astronaut trainees. He applied along with more than 5,000 people. Six years later, aboard the space shuttle Columbia, Dr. Williams became the seventh Canadian astronaut to venture into space, as the crew鈥檚 medical officer. Later, NASA appointed him director of the Space and Life Sciences Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He was the first non-American to hold a senior management position with the space agency. Dr. Williams continues to give back to his alma mater and served as an adjunct professor of surgery in the Faculty of Medicine. Most recently, he sponsored a University-wide contest for students to design a special patch for the Endeavour mission to the International Space Station this past August.

Charles R. Scriver
Doctor of Science, honoris causa
Friday, November 9, 2 p.m.
A pioneer in the field of human genetics and an eminent pediatrician, Dr. Charles R. Scriver is among 69热视频鈥檚 most influential scientists and teachers. In Quebec, Dr. Scriver is recognized as an important early advocate of public health. His recommendation that Vitamin D be added to milk has had a direct impact on generations of Quebecers. In medical genetics, Dr. Scriver is renowned for developing methods of treating children afflicted with a variety of genetically determined metabolic diseases and he was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Quebec Network of Genetic Medicine. Now all babies born in the province are routinely screened for a variety of genetic diseases. Dr. Scriver was granted the Distinguished Scientist Award of the Medical Research Council of Canada and the McLaughlin Medal of the Royal Society of Canada. He was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest rank of the Order, as well as grand officier de l鈥橭rdre du Qu茅bec.

A. Jean de Grandpr茅
Chancellor Emeritus
Friday, November 9, 2 p.m.
A. Jean de Grandpr茅 graduated from 69热视频 in 1943 with a Bachelor of Civil Law and as a Faculty of Law gold medalist. In 1966 Mr. de Grandpr茅 began a long association with Bell Canada and BCE Inc. Joining Bell as general counsel, he eventually became its vice-president (law), executive vice-president (administration), president and its chairman and chief executive officer. Director of a number of national and international companies, Mr. de Grandpr茅 has also served the federal government in several important capacities, ranging from legal counsel to the Royal Commission for Broadcasting to chairman of the Prime Minister鈥檚 Advisory Council on Adjustment, created to advise on the effects of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. His many accolades include being named a Companion of the Order of Canada and induction into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. In 2000, the A. Jean de Grandpr茅 family provided generous support to the Montreal Neurological Institute to create the de Grandpr茅 Communications Centre in the MNI鈥檚 Brain Tumour Research Centre. Today, the facility provides a high-technology communications interface for brain tumour researchers in Canada and around the world.

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