UVic awards three honorary degrees at fall convocation

An internationally acclaimed film director, a well-known community fund-raiser, and one of Canada's foremost artists will be awarded honorary degrees at the University of Victoria's 53rd Convocation on Saturday, Nov. 28.

Atom Egoyan, Donna Thomas and Ted Harrison will share the spotlight with more than 1,000 graduands at the three ceremonies, which take place at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the University Centre Farquhar Auditorium.

The three honorary degree designates (by ceremony):

¥ Atom Egoyan has spent the last 14 years creating films that have earned international acclaim for exploring the effects of the mediated image in contemporary society. Born in Cairo and raised in Victoria, he moved to Toronto at the age of 18, where he began his meteoric rise within the independent filmmaking industry. Egoyan's impressive list of film credits and honors include: Family Viewing (1987), which established him as one of the leading filmmakers of his generation; Exotica (1994), winner of (among others) eight Genie awards; and most recently, The Sweet Hereafter (1997), a triple-winner at the Cannes Film Festival. Egoyan receives an honorary doctor of fine arts at the 9 a.m. ceremony.

¥ Since moving to Victoria 22 years ago, Donna Thomas has left an indelible mark on various community groups and organizations, including UVic. She helped St. Michaels University School, the Canadian Paraplegic Association and the United Way in their efforts to raise funds. And from 1991-96, she served as national campaign chair for the UVic Challenge Campaign, where her energy and drive helped the campaign meet its $25 million fund-raising goal a full two years ahead of schedule. To accomplish this, she put the work of her company--First Victoria Investments Ltd.--on hold. For her efforts, she received a Community Leadership Award from UVic in 1994. Thomas receives an honorary doctor of laws at the 1 p.m. ceremony.

¥ Artist, author and teacher, Ted Harrison has for nearly 30 years interpreted Canada's Yukon through painting and words. His work is shown regularly throughout Canada, and many of his paintings can be seen in major corporate and private collections in Canada, Europe and the U.S. His books--including an illustrated version of the well-known Robert Service poem, The Cremation of Sam McGee--have achieved international recognition and earned awards for excellence for design and content. His distinctive painting style was selected as the basis for the design of the Yukon Pavilion at Expo '86, and, in 1996, a Harrison painting graced one of Canada Post's Christmas stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UN Children's Fund. Harrison receives an honorary doctor of fine arts at the 3:30 p.m. ceremony.

-- 30 --