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OTTAWA, June 12, 2011  —  Today the University of Ottawa will proudly award diplomas to 964 students of the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as to 445 from the Faculty of Law (Common Law and Civil Law sections). This will be done during three ceremonies, at 9:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, in Southam Hall.

Along with our talented students, four leading figures will be honoured:

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston is the 28th Governor General of Canada. A lawyer by training, he taught at four universities, and served notably successful tenures as principal of McGill University and president of the University of Waterloo. He has also served on many key advisory committees shaping public policy, and has authored or co-authored two dozen books.
Ceremony IV – Faculty of Social Sciences I – 9:30 a.m.

Lise Bissonnette joined the influential Quebec newspaper Le Devoir in 1974, serving as editorialist, editor-in-chief and publisher, and establishing herself as a leading opinion maker. After leaving Le Devoir, she oversaw the creation of Quebec’s Bibliothèque et Archives nationales and the Grande Bibliothèque, an ultramodern library in Montreal. She is also an accomplished novelist and essayist.
Ceremony V – Faculty of Social Sciences II – 2:30 p.m.

The Honourable Warren Winkler is chief justice of Ontario and president of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He has served on the bench since 1993. Justice Winkler is known for his mediation work on issues including, notably, claims arising from the Walkerton tainted water incident. He is also a leader in class action jurisprudence in Canada.
Ceremony VI – Faculty of Law, Common Law Section – 7:30 p.m.

The Honourable J.J. Michel Robert was appointed chief justice of Quebec in 2002. Prior to that, he represented the federal government before the Keable Commission on RCMP actions in Quebec, as well as in the 1981 Supreme Court patriation reference. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal of Quebec in 1995.
Ceremony VI – Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section – 7:30 p.m.