Students from across Canada and around the world converge at Royal Roads University

Victoria, B.C. - Students from across Canada and around the world will converge under the signature white marquee at Royal Roads University tomorrow. The occasion is spring convocation and this year will see degrees awarded in three inaugural programs: the MA in Disaster and Emergency Management; the MA in International Hotel Management and the MA in Tourism Management as well as a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Tourism.

Of 689 graduating, about 300 are expected to attend either the morning or afternoon ceremonies to be held at the edge of Esquimalt Lagoon.

“It is always an honour and a privilege to be a part of the journey that transforms these exceptional professionals and we are all proud and confident that they leave here with a new sense of their capabilities and a new sense of their goals in life,” says university president Allan Cahoon.

During the morning proceedings which begin at 9:30, the university will confer an honorary degree on former federal Conservative cabinet minister Mary Collins. She is currently director of the Secretariat of the BC Healthy Living Alliance and before that served for five years in Russia working with the World Health Organization and on a health care reform project in the Chuvash Republic.

Collins was the first woman in Parliament to hold the position of Associate Minister of National Defence. In that role, she introduced policy that would see women integrated into all occupations within the Armed Forces and when she was Minister responsible for the Status of Women, she declared October as Women`s History Month. As Minister of National Health and Welfare, Collins introduced the first tobacco package labelling regulations.

Also in the morning, Hudson Mack, news director and senior anchor of A Channel News, will be presented with a Chancellor’s Community Recognition award. This accolade recognizes Mack’s tireless support of community initiatives by helping raise public awareness of important causes with his signature voice and his genuine charm.

During the afternoon proceedings which begin at 2:00, the university will confer an honorary degree on Peter Legge, co-founder, chair and chief executive officer of Canada Wide Media Limited. Legge now runs the largest privately-owned magazine publishing company in Western Canada, one that has grown from one magazine in 1976 to 55 magazines and online properties today.

In addition to a long and successful career in advertising, marketing and publishing, Legge is an internationally-renowned speaker on leadership and business topics as well as a generous philanthropist. His award-winning motivational presentations teach people the importance of persistence, passion and a positive attitude.

Both Legge and Collins are members of the Royal Roads University Fellows Council, established in 2008 to guide the university as it responds to current and emerging labour force and marketplace needs in British Columbia and across Canada.

For the first time, Royal Roads University will also be conferring a posthumous degree. Alumnus Trevor Maber will accept for his father, Dr. Barry Maber, who was a learner in the MA in Conflict Analysis and Management program. Dr. Maber died of a stroke last July in his hometown of Saskatoon where he was an accomplished physician who served as a medical officer in the armed forces and in private practice. Well-respected and admired by his colleagues in the RRU community and beyond, Dr. Maber was also a clinical associate professor with the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan.

Of the total number of learners graduating, 633 will receive degrees, certificates or diplomas from graduate level programs and 56 from under-graduate level programs. Just over half are women; 10 are from First Nations communities; and 298 are from countries other than Canada including Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China, Columbia, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia, New Zealand Thailand, Taiwan, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Royal Roads University was established by the Province of British Columbia in 1995 as a special purpose university charged with advancing professionals in the workplace. It is the only public university in Canada exclusively designed for this demographic and, as such, all its programs and research are focused on applied, real-world relevance and experience.

For media queries, contact:
Communications Officer, Phil Saunders
phil.saunders@royalroads.ca  250-391-2526, cel 250-812-5065 or,

Community Relations Director, Stephanie Slater
stephanie.slater@royalroads.ca  250-391-2712, cel 250-361-5020