Honorary Degree Recipients

Ms. Laura Elliott

Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

In recognition of her distinguished contributions to education, public service and university governance, and her longstanding commitment to student success, the university proudly confers upon Ms. Laura Elliott, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

Throughout her career, Ms. Elliott has demonstrated a sustained commitment to strengthening education. She is a respected leader whose career spans more than 35 years in Ontario’s education sector. She served as Director of Education and Secretary with the Thames Valley District School Board from 2013 to 2019, following senior leadership roles with the Durham District School Board and the Ontario Ministry of Education. Earlier in her career, she served as Manager of Membership Records with the Ontario College of Teachers and Superintendent of Education with the Durham District School Board.

Ms. Elliott currently works as an advisor to school boards and, prior to this role, served as Executive Director of the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) contributing her expertise through leadership development, school partnerships and education-sector initiatives. She also served on the boards of CODE and the Public Council of the Ontario Directors of Education, as President of the Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association, and as a Senate member at Western University.

Her commitment to Ontario Tech University has been equally significant. A member of the university’s Board of Governors from 2018 to 2026, Ms. Elliott served as Board Chair for four years (2022 to 2026) bringing extensive experience in governance to the role. With student success at the forefront, her collaborative-leadership style helped guide the university through a period of growth, while championing innovation and strong community partnerships. Through her advocacy, she strengthened the university’s connections within Durham Region and beyond, and has been a dedicated ambassador for Ontario Tech.

Ms. Elliott’s ongoing commitment to learning, including in the areas of Indigenous Peoples and human rights, reflects the values of education, inclusion and service that have defined her career.

She holds a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University, a Master of Education in Educational Administration, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science from Western University. She has also pursued further studies through the Rotman School of Management, Ivey Business School and the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Mr. Kevin Chan

Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

In recognition of his distinguished contributions to technology, public policy and civic engagement, and his commitment to responsible innovation and public service, the university proudly confers upon Mr. Kevin Chan, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

Mr. Chan is a Senior Director at Meta, leading a global team focused on the future of the internet, including artificial intelligence (AI), wearable devices, virtual reality and the creator economy. He established Facebook’s Canadian public policy function, serving for seven years as its head and later Director of Policy. His work has included platform integrity, election integrity and the advancement of Indigenous languages online.

He led Facebook’s Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, work that was recognized through a Harvard Technology and Democracy Fellowship. He also helped advance the translation of Facebook into Inuktitut, a project the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization named a project of “digital empowerment driving the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.” He is co-author of the groundbreaking AI paper, Omnilingual ASR: Open-Source Multilingual Speech Recognition for 1,600+ Languages, whose dataset has been downloaded over 500,000 times on Hugging Face since their launch in November 2025.

His work at Meta has also involved meaningful partnerships with Ontario Tech University, including the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism, and the Mindful AI Research Institute. His commitment to community and governance has included service on Ontario Tech’s Board of Governors from 2018 to 2023.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Chan held senior roles in public service and higher education, including Deputy Secretary-General at McGill University, Director of Policy, Parliamentary Affairs and Research with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and Director in the Office of the Clerk of the Privy Council. He is currently Chair of the Board of MediaSmarts, Canada’s Centre for Digital Media Literacy, and has contributed his expertise to numerous other civic, educational and community organizations, including serving as a member of the Ontario Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee.

His service has been recognized with the Meritorious Service Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, King Charles III Coronation Medal and Public Service Award of Excellence. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, he served as a Mission Specialist in the 2026 Heroic Age Expedition to the Labrador Sea to conduct the first-ever human survey of Quest, Shackleton’s last ship, and is recipient of the Quest Medal.

Mr. Chan holds a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, an Honours Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School at Western University, and an Associate of the Royal Conservatory diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music.