University of British Columbia graduates Ben Heppner, a
gifted tenor celebrated in the world’s premier opera houses, and
retired B.C. provincial court justice Alfred Scow are among
14 distinguished individuals to be awarded honorary degrees by UBC
this year.
Prominent in the professions and the community, honorary degree
recipients are recognized for their distinguished achievements in
their respective endeavours and for the contributions their accomplishments
make to the life of the university and the betterment of society.
Honorary degrees will be awarded during UBC’s two graduation ceremonies:
Spring Congregation, May 25-30, and Fall Congregation, Nov. 20 and
21. All ceremonies will take place in the new Chan Centre for the
Performing Arts.
Heppner graduated from UBC’s School of Music in 1979 and gained
international prominence in 1988 as a Metropolitan Opera auditions
finalist and first recipient of the Birgit Nilsson Prize. Heppner
debuted at the famed La Scala Opera one year later.
Scow was the first aboriginal person to earn a Bachelor of Laws
(LLB), practice law and receive a judicial appointment in British
Columbia. He is credited for performing a major role in educating
non-aboriginal people about the legal, cultural, social and historical
issues facing First Nations. UBC’s Tributes Committee cited Scow
for his long and varied service to the university including his
memberships on the Faculty of Law Advisory Committee, the Elder’s
Committee of the First Nations House of Learning and on Senate.
Other honorary degree recipients include: Sally Aw Sian,
an international newspaper publisher and philanthropist; acclaimed
conductor Mario Bernardi; Cheung-Kok Choi, a major
contributor to education in B.C. and abroad; Haig Farris,
a leader in promoting science and technology education and research;
Richard Goldstone, chief prosecutor of the War Crimes Tribunal
of the former Yugoslavia; Shinroku Morohashi, chair of the
Board of Directors of Mitsubishi Corp., who played a pivotal role
in supporting the creation of the Centre for Japanese Research at
UBC’s Institute of Asian Research; Clarence Jules, chief
of the Kamloops Indian Band; pre-eminent organic chemist Raymond
Lemieux; arts patron David Lemon; Masateru Ohnami,
president of Ritsumeikan University; Roy Taylor, internationally
respected for his work in the field of botanical gardens and arboreta;
and acclaimed biochemist P. Roy Vagelos, chair of the board,
Merck & Company, Inc., and supporter of UBC’s leading edge basic
research in advanced genetics and neural diseases.
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