Athabasca University Announces Honorary Degree Recipients

June 09, 2008

Athabasca University is recognizing three outstanding leaders in technology, social sciences and health during its annual Convocation ceremonies this week. 353 graduates will attend convocation ceremonies in Athabasca June 12-14, 2008. In total, 1588 students are joining AU’s class of 2008.

On Thursday, June 12, Professor Patricia Anne Monture will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws. Professor Monture is the Director of the Aboriginal Justice and Criminology program at the University of Saskatchewan. Professor Monture is a highly sought-after international lecturer whose research and teaching has been acclaimed in the fields of Indigenous Studies, Law and Sociology and Women’s Studies.

Dr. Janice Morse will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science from Athabasca University on Friday, June 13. Dr. Morse is a Professor of Nursing at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and was formerly a Professor, Founding Director and Scientific Director of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology at the University of Alberta. She has published more than 350 articles and 14 books in the fields of nursing, health sciences and qualitative methodology. Dr. Morse is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Newcastle, Australia.

On Saturday, June 14, Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen will receive and Honorary Doctorate of Athabasca University. Dr. Jepsen is a world-renowned leader in the development of advanced computer display systems and is the founding Chief Technology Officer of One Laptop Per Child, a non-profit, open-source humanitarian company with the goal of providing a laptop computer to every child in the world who needs one. In 2008, Time Magazine named Dr. Jepsen to its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

“It is truly an honour for Athabasca University to be able to recognize these three outstanding individuals,” says Dr. Frits Pannekoek, president of Athabasca University and the Chair of the Honorary Awards Committee. “All three have gained international acclaim for their research and scholarship and have made extraordinary contributions to their communities and society in general.”

Members of the media are invited to attend Convocation ceremonies in Athabasca, 150 km north of Edmonton. Photographs and interviews with the Honorary Degree recipients will be available.

For more information contact:

John O\'Brien
Manager, Media Relations

Email: jobrien@athabascau.ca
Phone: (403) 298-2931

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Updated August 21, 2012