Honorary Degree Nomination Guidelines

Nominations for honorary degrees from Royal Roads University will be accepted on an ongoing basis and the nominators of candidates selected to receive an award will be invited to attend events celebrating the award with the RRU board of governors. For a list of past recipients please click here.

Eligibility and exclusions:

Canadians and non-Canadians are eligible to be nominated.
Normally, active members of faculty, staff and the board of governors are not eligible.
Politicians currently in elected office are not eligible for consideration.
Normally, honorary degrees are not awarded in absentia or posthumously; however, the board may elect to waive this restriction.

Criteria for selection:

External candidates for an honorary degree should be persons who have made a significant contribution to the larger community Royal Roads University serves.
Priority will be given to individuals whose personal qualities and/or record of achievement relate to RRU’s mission, vision, values or program emphases: sustainable development, entrepreneurship, empowering leadership, conflict management, communications, or learning technologies.
Preference may be given to candidates with a connection to the Province of British Columbia, but a candidate’s geographical location will not be a limiting factor.

Additional factors to be taken into consideration may include:

Accomplishments of note, or a career notable for a cumulative record of distinguished achievement.
Service to the community at large or to a profession or discipline.
Service to Royal Roads University of longstanding or exceptional merit which has advanced the university.
Humanitarian or philanthropic work.
Special anniversaries: the university may choose to celebrate a special anniversary by recognizing appropriate individuals important to its history or the history of Royal Roads Military College or Hatley Park National Historic Site.
Balance and diversity: the board will strive to recommend candidates reflecting the diversity in Canadian society.

Documentation:
Submissions to Royal Roads University recommending candidates can be made at any time and will be kept in a pool until such time as a decision is required in preparation for the next convocation(s). All nominations and discussion related to any potential candidate will be treated as strictly confidential. Candidates are not to be informed of their nomination until and unless the board has made a decision to award the honorary degree.

Nominations of potential candidates should be made in writing to the RRU President's Office and should include:

a summary of the candidate’s history or curriculum vitae
a detailed specification and documentation of the achievements that the nominator believes qualify the candidate for consideration for an honorary degree
a perspective on the relationship between the university and the candidate
contact information for the candidate (ideal but not mandatory).

Nominations may be submitted to president@royalroads.ca or mailed to:

Honorary Degree Nominations
President's Office
Royal Roads University
2005 Sooke Rd.
Victoria, B.C.
V9B 5Y2