Ontario Tech to celebrate graduates at fall convocation ceremony in downtown Oshawa

Ontario Tech University will hand out more than 330 degrees and celebrate the achievements and milestones of its newest alumni at Fall Convocation on Thursday, October 17 at the Regent Theatre in downtown Oshawa.

Two honourary doctorate degrees will also be awarded to three people who “embody the university’s vision, mission and values” and for their outstanding scholarly and public service contributions to the school and to the community.

The university will celebrate graduates from the faculties of Education, Engineering & Applied Science, and Health Sciences at a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. and award degrees from the faculties of Business & Information Technology, Science and Social Science & Humanities at 2 p.m.

Ontario Tech will also present degrees to its spring and summer-semester graduates from across all faculties, including the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. At the end of the day the university’s alumni network will be expanded to more than 31,000 members.

The Honorary degrees will be presented to:

Ed Vanhaverbeke and Sylvia Lisk Vanhaverbeke

Edward Vanhaverbeke and Ms. Sylvia Lisk Vanhaverbeke, 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.

Dr. Alan Shephard

Dr. Alan Shepard, 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. Shepard, the 11th President and Vice-Chancellor of Western University, established Western’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives, drove creation of the university’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and invested in the recruitment of Black and Indigenous faculty and helped fund 75 new scholarships for Black and Indigenous students.

The full Convocation ceremony schedule and other details are available on the Ontario Tech Convocation website.

All ceremonies can be viewed live online on the Convocation ceremonies live feeds website.