Directory of honorary doctorates

Monique F. Leroux has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group, the largest cooperative financial group in Canada, since 2008. Prior to joining Desjardins in 2001, she held senior positions with Quebecor Inc., the large multimedia group, and the Royal Bank, as well as with the international accounting firm Ernst & Young. She also holds positions on many national and international boards, including the European Association of Co-operative Banks and the Internationa...
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Michel Brûlé, a University of Ottawa alumnus (Electrical Engineering), is President of M&M Investments, which provides strategic services and venture capital to help start-up companies become profitable. He has founded six technology companies, including InnoMediaLogic, whose 2000 sale was recognized as the best venture capital deal in Canada that year. He is seen as one of the earliest “angel investors,” and was named 2010 Canadian Angel of the Year by the National Angel Capital Organizati...
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Environmental and cultural activist, poet, singer-songwriter and filmmaker Zachary Richard is a native of Louisiana, a descendant of the Acadian deportation. Living in both the U.S. and Canada, he has recorded music in French and English, and his work has reinvigorated Cajun musical traditions. He has also published three volumes of poetry, receiving the prestigious Prix Champlain in 1998.  His documentaries have chronicled the lives of the Acadian people. Zachary Richard is co-founder of ...
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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.   
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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.
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Bernard Grandmaître had a rich career in public service. He was an Ontario MPP from 1984 to 1999, and served as a cabinet minister, holding the portfolios of revenue, municipal affairs and Francophone affairs. In this latter role, he played a key role in 1986 passage of the landmark French Languages Services Act, which guaranteed the right of individuals to receive services in French from the Ontario government and other designated bodies. Prior to his time at Queen’s Park, he was active in mun...
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Mary Robinson became Ireland’s first female president in 1990. In 1997, she became United Nations high commissioner for human rights, a position she held for five years. She was president of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative from 2002 to 2010, and currently serves as president of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice.
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Jules A. Hoffmann, an internationally renowned biologist, shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his 1996 discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity, specifically, how fruit flies fight infections.  His work has allowed us to understand the similar defence mechanisms employed by other living beings, including humans. It has promising applications in areas such as defences of the pest mosquito, the vector of malaria and autoimmune disease.  Dr. Hoffmann...
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Jacques Samarut is world-renowned for his research on cancer-causing retroviruses and on the mechanisms of action of hormone receptors in embryonic development and cancer. He is the president of the new École normale supérieure de Lyon, and held leading positions with ENS prior to its reorganization.  He is also president of the scientific council of the Institut national de la recherche agronomique in Paris.  Jacques Samarut founded and chaired the Rhône-Alpes génopôle genomic resear...
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The Right Honourable David Johnston is Canada’s 28th governor general. 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.
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