Bruce Cockburn, Dave Levac, Shelley Niro, Louise Penny and Mike Richter to receive honorary degrees at Laurier spring convocation

March 27, 2024
For Immediate Release

WATERLOO — Music icon Bruce Cockburn, former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Dave Levac, celebrated Indigenous artist Shelley Niro, mystery author Louise Penny, and former NHL star Mike Richter will receive honorary degrees as part of Wilfrid Laurier University’s 2024 spring convocation ceremonies. Brantford campus ceremonies will be held at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts on June 4. Waterloo campus ceremonies take place at Lazaridis Hall from June 10 to 14.

Bruce Cockburn
Doctor of Music | June 14, 9:30 a.m., Waterloo

Canadian music icon Bruce Cockburn has enjoyed an illustrious five-decade career shaped by politics, spirituality and musical diversity. His remarkable journey has seen him embrace folk, jazz, rock, and worldbeat styles of music while travelling to countries including Guatemala, Mali, Mozambique and Nepal to find musical inspiration. Cockburn’s many memorable songs include Wondering Where the Lions Are (1979), Lovers in a Dangerous Time (1984), and If a Tree Falls (1989), in addition to many others.

Deeply respected for his activism on issues from Indigenous rights and land mines to the environment and Third World debt, Cockburn has undertaken work with organizations including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and Friends of the Earth. An officer of the Order of Canada, the Ottawa-born artist has been honoured with 13 JUNO Awards, induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, as well as the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.

Dave Levac
Doctor of Laws | June 4, 2 p.m., Brantford

The longest-serving Speaker in the history of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Dave Levac (BA ’76) retired from a nearly 20-year career in politics following the 2018 provincial election. First elected in 1999, Levac served five terms as MPP for Brant, including his last two terms as Speaker. He has been lauded for the fairness and integrity he brought to the position.

A lifelong Brant resident, Levac previously served as an elementary school teacher and principal. As part of this work, he introduced an award-winning conflict resolution program for students and was named an Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association distinguished teacher in 1994. A pillar of the Brant community, Levac’s many contributions include serving as co-ordinator of Queen Elizabeth II’s 1997 visit to Brantford, founding the former Walter Gretzky CNIB Celebrity Golf Tournament, and chairing the annual Thank-A-Vet Luncheon. For his many contributions, Levac has been invested into the Order of Ontario, awarded Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, and presented the YMCA Canada Peace Medal.

Shelley Niro
Doctor of Letters | June 4, 10 a.m., Brantford

A multidisciplinary artist celebrated for her photography, painting, sculpting, beadwork and filmmaking, Shelley Niro is a member of Six Nations of the Grand River, Turtle Clan, Bay of Quinte Mohawk. Through her work, Niro challenges stereotypical images of Indigenous peoples. Among her recent projects is the 2023 film Café Daughter, which tells the story of a nine-year-old girl of Cree and Chinese ancestry struggling to find her place in a small Saskatchewan community.

Recently, works by Niro were featured as part of the exhibit “Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch” at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in New York. Her education includes a diploma in the performing arts from Cambrian College (1972), an honours fine arts degree in painting and sculpture from the Ontario College of Art and Design (1990), and a master of fine arts from Western University (1997). Niro also studied film at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Louise Penny
Doctor of Letters | June 13, 9:30 a.m., Waterloo

A number one New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is creator of the celebrated series of crime novels set in Quebec featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Since publishing the first book, Still Life, in 2005, Penny has won international accolades including nine Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, as well as a Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award. Her books have been translated into 31 languages and sold more than 10 million copies.

A member of the Order of Canada for contributions to Canadian culture, as well as the Order National du Quebec, Penny studied radio and television arts at Toronto Metropolitan University (then Ryerson Polytechnic Institute). She later joined the CBC as a radio host and journalist before writing her first novel. In addition to the Inspector Gamache series, Penny worked with former U.S. first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton to write the geopolitical thriller State of Terror (2021).

Mike Richter
Doctor of Laws | June 10, 9:30 a.m., Waterloo

Among the most celebrated goaltenders in NHL history, Mike Richter played 14 seasons in net with the New York Rangers. During that time, he recorded 301 wins, made appearances at three NHL All-Star Games, and helped the Rangers to a Stanley Cup victory in 1994, the team’s first championship in 54 years. In addition to his play with the Rangers, Richter was a key member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, competing in Olympic Games in 1988, 1998 and 2002.

Following his retirement from the NHL in 2003, Richter studied ethics, politics and economics at Yale University, graduating in 2008. Today, he serves as president of Brightcore Energy, a U.S.-based business working to accelerate the transition to clean energy by helping clients reduce reliance on fossil fuels through a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency and clean energy resources.

Tickets are required for all Laurier convocation ceremonies. Members of the media are asked to RSVP to attend. For more information about convocation, visit wlu.ca/convocation.