Dr. Bonnie Henry to be honoured at Fall Convocation

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s calm and knowledgeable guide through the COVID-19 crisis, is receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Royal Roads University.

Celebrating Henry’s deeply held and widely exhibited belief that the public must be well-informed, Royal Roads President Dr. Philip Steenkamp said the university is pleased to recognize her extraordinary achievements.

“Dr. Henry’s tireless courage in leading us on this often-challenging journey, for the good of each of us and our greater community, is inspiring to us all,” said Steenkamp. “Her leadership, built on decades of experience and rooted in compassion, has positively affected countless lives and helped direct the very path our province is now on.”

Royal Roads University graduates will be joined by Henry at the university’s fall convocation ceremonies, to be held online Friday, Nov. 6.

“The power of community; supporting each other through adversity, working together with a common purpose, and inspiring to do and be better. This is what has given us the resilience to see this pandemic through. This same sense of community is reflected in Royal Roads University and its graduates, and I am humbled to receive this honour,” said Henry. 

Royal Roads’ relationship with its newest honorary degree recipient will be strengthened even more in the spring of 2021, said Steenkamp, as Henry will be a featured speaker for the university’s Changemakers Speaker Series.

“Our Changemakers series features speakers on topics that explore the complex challenges facing humanity and innovative ideas about how we might solve them,” Steenkamp said. “How fitting to hear from a woman lauded by The New York Times as one of the most effective public health officers in the world.”

Honorary degree recipients exhibit a standard of excellence that inspires graduates and sets an example for positive change in the world. Those who reflect the university’s vision of inspiring people with the courage to transform the world are honoured. In conferring an honorary degree on a person, Royal Roads not only honours that person, but also illuminates what the university values as a community.

The fall convocation ceremony will be available to view live Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. on the university’s website and social media accounts.