Mr. Edmond Vanhaverbeke and Ms. Sylvia Lisk Vanhaverbeke
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa
In recognition of their long history of championing higher education and student success across Durham Region, their dedication to volunteerism, their philanthropic support of health care, the arts and conservation, and their loyalty to Ontario Tech through major contributions to campus infrastructure, the university proudly confers upon Mr. Edmond (Ed) Vanhaverbeke and Ms. Sylvia Lisk Vanhaverbeke the honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws.
The longtime Newcastle residents have donated to several annual entrance scholarships, the Student Relief Fund, and Ontario Graduate Scholarships at Ontario Tech. The university recognized their generous capital support through the naming of the Vanhaverbeke Family Atrium in the Business and Information Technology Building, and an alcove in the Campus Library. The Vanhaverbekes are founding Ontario Tech donors and also members of the university’s E.P. Taylor Legacy Society which recognizes those who have made a bequest to the university in their will.
Their many charitable community endeavours include supporting the Lakeridge Health Bowmanville Hospital Foundation, Durham East Food Bank, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Big Brothers and Sisters of Clarington, Durham Region Hospice, Northumberland Learning Connection, and the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra. The Edmond and Sylvia Vanhaverbeke Foundation has also supported Durham College and Trent University Durham. They donated 200 acres of land to the Ganaraska Conservation Authority in honour of Ed’s mother Laura. Since 2016, Sylvia and Ed have sponsored and settled three families of Syrian refugees in Newcastle.
Ed is the Owner and President of Syvan Developments Limited, a company that redeveloped underused or vacant commercial and industrial properties in Oshawa and Clarington. Syvan now owns and manages industrial buildings in Southern Ontario, and funds private mortgages. Ed was previously Owner and President of Edvan Realty Limited, an independent real estate brokerage firm in Bowmanville.
He has received awards from the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Newcastle Village and District Historical Society, and the Ontario Heritage Trust, and was named a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient. Ed is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Executive MBA Program.
Sylvia is an Advisor with Syvan Developments Limited and currently chairs the pastoral team at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Newcastle. Her background in theology has led to several prominent appointments as a retreat facilitator. She’s served with the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada and became the first Roman Catholic Chair of the World Day of Prayer International Committee.
Her numerous community causes include Gathering 4 Grannies of Clarington (for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, to help children orphaned by AIDS), and Focus (a Bowmanville group of women supporting women’s rights and children’s shelters). Her many awards include recognition from the Municipality of Clarington and Durham YMCA, and the Rotary Club of Clarington.
Sylvia is a former Trustee with the Peterborough-Victoria-Newcastle-Northumberland Roman Catholic School Board and Chaplain at St. Mary’s Secondary School in Cobourg. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from York University, and a Master of Divinity degree from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto.
The noted global travellers have visited every continent including Antarctica (Ed only).
