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Honorary degree recipients represent MRU’s hopes and dreams for all graduates

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As Mount Royal University returned to in-person convocation this month, a number of outstanding individuals who represent MRU’s hopes for all of its graduates were given the university’s highest symbol of recognition, an honorary doctor of laws.

Award-winning singer, songwriter, author and actor Jann Arden; broadcaster Harnarayan Singh; Indigenous elder and adviser Doreen Spence; business leader and philanthropist Don Taylor; and business and community leader Cathy Williams were honoured for their outstanding achievements and community service at ceremonies held June 1, 2 and 3. As part of the celebrations, each recipient addressed graduates with messages of inspiration and hope for the future.

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Williams’ message for students, for example, is, “don’t be afraid of failure, have a ‘plan B’ and help others understand their own potential.”

Out of 2,217 eligible graduates (including many from the postponed fall convocation), an estimated 1,300 returned to campus to participate in one of six ceremonies over three days. In addition to Indigenous grads walking the stage during the ceremonies, an Indigenous graduation celebration, organized by MRU’s Iniskim Centre, took place on June 4.

Convocation ceremonies are steeped in tradition and protocol, from the gowns, mortarboards, sashes and other regalia worn by participants, to the music played to the conferral of degrees. Honorary degrees, for example, date back to the Middle Ages and are often accompanied by the Latin words “honoris causa” – which means “for honourific reasons” – and recognizes an individual’s outstanding achievement in the academic, private or public sector.

MRU’s honorary doctor of laws recipients have achieved great things in their fields and are leaders and builders who have given back to their communities. MRU’s focus on work-integrated learning, community engagement and fostering critical thinking and problem solving in graduates made their participation in convocation and their words of wisdom all the more inspiring.

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Jann Arden is an award-winning and multi-platinum-selling singer/songwriter, author and actor, and member of the Order of Canada. Arden’s television series, Jann, is Canada’s most popular comedy TV series. She has recorded 15 albums, including her latest, Descendant. Whether she is captivating audiences with her heartfelt music, entertaining them with her quick wit or sharing her written word in a boldly honest voice, Arden is a Canadian original — a brilliant multi-dimensional talent.

While Arden has enjoyed commercial and critical success in the Canadian music and entertainment industries, she feels her achievements are, in part, a result of not being afraid to fail.

“I can’t think of an experience that didn’t benefit from being resilient and being steadfast. I’ve learned so much from failing over the years, and I fail much more than I succeed,” Arden says. “My dad used to say, ‘If you’re not failing, you’re not trying,’ ” Arden recalls. “That’s always stuck with me.”

Saying he wants ‘to provide hope and inspiration to others,’ sports broadcaster Harnarayan Singh received an honorary doctor of laws at a convocation ceremony at Mount Royal University. SUPPLIED
Saying he wants ‘to provide hope and inspiration to others,’ sports broadcaster Harnarayan Singh received an honorary doctor of laws at a convocation ceremony at Mount Royal University. SUPPLIED

Harnarayan Singh is a sports broadcaster, journalist, author and member of Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada team. Singh received the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) award for excellence in television and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by a former governor general of Canada for his contributions to Canadian society. His memoir, One Game at a Time, was published in 2020.

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Making his way into the mainstream means a lot to him personally, Singh says, and is also representative of the changing face of Canada.

“I just want to be able to provide hope and inspiration to others out there that this door is now open and everybody should be and are welcome now to be a part of mainstream media,” Singh says.

Doreen Spence is an Indigenous elder, teacher and adviser to MRU. Spence was one of the first Indigenous women in Canada to graduate as a licensed practical nurse and has been an advocate for Indigenous Peoples’ rights. She was Canada’s representative and presiding Elder to the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.

“I see myself as an activist Elder, constantly keeping an eye out, decoding and decolonizing the curriculum — that has been my focus over the years,” Spence says.  “I have no words in the English language to express what this means to me. It is the ultimate gift one could get.”

Don Taylor is a business leader and philanthropist who built Engineered Air into a thriving global enterprise. Taylor became an officer of the Order of Canada in 2016. He was also inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame in 2007. Don and Ruth Taylor’s support for MRU has literally made an indelible mark on campus. In 2010, their Foundation provided $21 million to build the Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts, which houses the 600-seat Bella Concert Hall, the highly respected Mount Royal Conservatory, plus classrooms and rehearsal spaces.

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“For this honour to come from a school that I have tried to support, combined with the fact that Mount Royal recognizes that effort, means an awful lot,” Taylor says.

Cathy Williams is a business and community leader and current owner and managing director of Options Canada. Williams served on the Mount Royal University board of governors from 2003 until 2010 and as board chair from 2007 to 2010. She was board chair as the institution successfully completed the process to earn approval for moving to university status in 2009.

Williams was recently diagnosed with aphasia, a progressive neurological condition that impacts her ability to express herself verbally. It’s not a well-known disease, yet it affects an estimated 100,000 Canadians, according to the Aphasia Institute. Hollywood actor Bruce Willis recently brought more exposure to the illness with a public acknowledgement of his own diagnosis.

Williams asks for no sympathy and credits her family and friends for providing all the support she has received. “It’s challenging, but challenges come when we don’t expect them to and I have a great community helping me.”

This story was provided by Mount Royal University for commercial purposes.

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