Honorary Degrees

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).

Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

In recognition of his legacy of leadership and promotion of transformational change and innovation within higher education, and for his passionate advocacy of diversity, inclusion and belonging, the university proudly confers upon Dr. Alan Shepard the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

Dr. Shepard is the 11th President and Vice-Chancellor of Western University–-a post he has held since July 2019–-where he has led with a focus on entrepreneurship, research impact, global engagement, sustainability and partnership for global good. Through the guiding principles of Truth and Reconciliation, he rapidly established Western’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives. He also drove creation of the university’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, while investing to support the recruitment of Black and Indigenous faculty, and the funding of 75 new scholarships for Black and Indigenous students.

He is the President Emeritus of Concordia University in Montreal, and was Provost and Vice-President, Academic at Toronto Metropolitan University where he led the development of the Digital Media Zone, an entrepreneurial-focused business incubator. He has also held senior academic leadership roles at the University of Guelph, Texas Christian University, and the University of Virginia.

Dr. Shepard is a champion of university-industry partnerships, and believes universities are pillars of important social discourse as well as training grounds for the next generation, where young leaders access the tools to succeed in a changing world. Inspired by his own experience as a first-generation student, he prioritizes new models of education, transformational skills, and experiential learning.

His research is focused on relationships, national security, history and rhetoric in early modern Europe; on the emergence of a culture of scientific discourse in early modern literature; and on the challenges facing universities today.

Dr. Shepard has held fellowships in the humanities at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C., and University of Toronto. He studied at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom as a visiting student; received a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society; and holds a doctorate from the University of Virginia.

He is past Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities, past Chair of the Canadian Knowledge Resource Network, and past Vice-Chair of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities. He currently serves as a member of the Council of Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, and is a board member with Stratford Festival, the Greater London International Airport Authority, and the Cardiovascular Network of Canada.