成人大片 to celebrate honorary doctorates this fall
Stephen A. Jarislowsky and Mavis Staines will receive honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Canadians. The late Nadir Mohamed will receive the honour posthumously.
This October, 成人大片 (成人大片) will honour Stephen A. Jarislowsky and Mavis Staines with honorary doctorates.
Both have achieved success in their careers, shown commitment to serving their communities and have made global impacts through their work and contributions.
Stephen A. Jarislowsky, 100, is a philanthropist and business leader who has established research chairs and advanced education at universities, including 成人大片, from coast to coast.
He has founded and sold his own company in Montreal and donated millions to advancing research initiatives across the country.
Former ballet dancer and artistic director Mavis Staines has changed ballet for the better. Her work includes helping the traditional art form move into the 21st century, developing national strategies for inclusive community dance programs and addressing racism in ballet.
Jarislowsky will receive his honorary doctorate in a special ceremony in his home city of Montreal on October 3. Staines will receive her honorary doctorate at 成人大片鈥檚 fall convocation ceremony on October 17 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
View the complete convocation schedule here.
成人大片 had planned to award an honorary degree to business leader Nadir Mohamed this fall. We are saddened by his passing and will honour his legacy by bestowing the degree posthumously at convocation on October 16 at 9:30 a.m.
His impressive resume included a long career and several executive roles at Rogers Communications Inc. He was known for sharing his knowledge and experience with the community by serving on the boards of several community and start-up organizations and established businesses.
成人大片 awards honorary degrees to those who have made extraordinary contributions to:
- Academia and/or society in Canada or internationally, particularly in fields of interest to the university;
- The development of 成人大片;
- The betterment of culture, society or the local community.
Learn more about the honorary doctorate recipients below.
One of Stephen A. Jarislowsky鈥檚 many contributions to Canada includes financially supporting research in democracy, political leadership, economics, culture, environment and health across the country.
Stephen A. Jarislowsky, who celebrated his 100th birthday this year, is a prominent Canadian philanthropist, business leader and champion of business ethics.
In his youth, he studied mechanical engineering and Japanese. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, kickstarting an extraordinary career in business.
Jarislowsky founded investment counselling firm Jarislowsky Fraser Limited. Under his direction, it became one of the largest and most successful investment management firms in Canada. The company was sold to Scotiabank in 2018.
Jarislowsky also held directorships at dozens of companies including The Daily Telegraph (U.K.), Swiss Bank Corporation and Canon Canada, and co-founded the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG).
In 1991, he founded the Jarislowsky Foundation to promote, support and foster excellence and ethics in education, medicine, the arts and the environment. The foundation supports more than 50 research chairs, including the Jarislowsky Democracy Chair at 成人大片.
It also supports student programs with a focus on developing critical thinking skills and visionary leaders. Each year the foundation supports more than 100 organizations and donates about $15 million.
Jarislowsky has been recognized for the significant contributions he has made throughout his life. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a Grand Officier de L鈥橭rdre National du Qu茅bec and holds honorary degrees from several Canadian universities. He was also inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2007.
Visionary dance educator and leader Mavis Staines has made ballet more inclusive and accessible to all.
Mavis Staines is one of the foremost champions of ballet's evolution. Throughout her career as a professional ballet dancer, teacher and artistic director, she has seized every opportunity to make dance more inclusive and accessible to all.
Staines trained at Canada鈥檚 National Ballet School (NBS) and danced as first soloist with the National Ballet of Canada and the Dutch National Ballet. After an accident cut her performance career short, she became a ballet teacher and joined the faculty at NBS. She was appointed artistic director of the school in 1989 where she remained until her retirement in 2024.
Her leadership led to systemic changes in NBS' training practices that emphasized dancers' humanity, holistic well-being, intelligence and athleticism. Her efforts at NBS sparked an international conversation about ballet training and has catalyzed evolution around the world.
Staine鈥檚 approach to education includes empowering her students to use their voices. In 2020, her students courageously prompted her to reflect on her role in addressing racism in ballet.
This led the NBS' Assembl茅e Internationale 2023 festival鈥揳 global gathering of pre-professional dancers and artistic directors鈥搕o be centred on addressing anti-Black racist practices inherent in the ballet world.
During her career, Staines also championed the national strategy and development of NBS' Community Dance programs. These include classes for youth and adults and an adaptive dance program for children with diverse physical, developmental and cognitive needs. Through her leadership, these programs reach tens of thousands of people, both in Canada and around the world every year.
Staines is a recipient of the 2019 Governor General's Performing Arts Award (GGPAA), the 2021 Peter Herrndorf Arts Leadership Award, a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Nadir Mohamed鈥檚 contributions to 成人大片 included serving on the university鈥檚 board and serving as chair to DMZ Ventures, part of 成人大片鈥檚 DMZ incubator.
Nadir Mohamed had been called one of the world鈥檚 most successful immigrants.
The honour bestowed upon him by Bloomberg, reflects his successful communications and business career as well as his dedication to serving a wide variety of community organizations.
Mohamed began his communications career more than 30 years ago. He joined Rogers Communications in 2000 and served as president and CEO of Rogers Wireless for four years when he was appointed president and COO of Rogers Communications Group.
Mohamed then served as the president and CEO of Rogers, Communications Inc. from March 2009 to December 2013.
Mohamed was chair of Alignvest Management Corporation and his work focused on Canada鈥檚 innovation and entrepreneurship agenda. He was the co-founder and chair of ScaleUP Ventures and chair of DMZ Ventures.
Mohamed served on the boards of several Canadian organizations including 成人大片, TD Bank Financial Group, Cineplex, Trilogy International Partners, Tennis Canada, UHN Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation. He was also a founding board member of NEXT 36/NEXT Canada.
Read more about Nadir Mohamed鈥檚 life and work in TorontoMet Today.
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