Carleton recently presented a couple of honorary degrees at Convocation to recognize the contributions and accomplishments of recipients.
These degrees are conferred at each Convocation to present role models to the graduating class, in hopes their messages will inspire the students and follow them into their futures, according to Carleton president Roseann Runte. But how are those recipients chosen?
There is a well-defined process for granting honorary degrees, according to Clerk of Senate and Carleton professor Donald Russell. Nominations are solicited from the wider Carleton community, including students, staff, Board members, and alumni, along with other faculty.
The Senate Honorary Degrees Committee then reviews each nominee in depth and picks some to bring forward to Senate, where a final decision is made in closed session. After the approval of the names, they organize them into a list and try to match them up with the Convocation, according to Runte.
“Our practices ensure that the candidates that come forward to Senate are individuals that truly inspire us by their singular accomplishments and by the way that they live their lives,” said Russell via e-mail.
Honorary degree recipients vary from great musicians, journalists, artists and engineers to former prime ministers, and people who have worked in accessibilities, according to vice-president (student enrolment) Suzanne Blanchard.
“Sometimes it’s linked to the complete world and sometimes it’s also linked to our specifics at Carleton, like accessibility and music,” Blanchard said.
Stephen Lewis, Rick Hansen, Craig and Mark Kielburger, Angela Hewitt and Chief Justice Sinclair are among a few honorary degree recipients at Carleton.
But honorary degrees don’t come without their criticisms.
Root Gorelick, a professor of biology sitting on the Carleton Senate and the Board of Governors, wrote a blog reporting on the university’s Senate following the open session regarding honorary degree nominees. In the blog, Gorelick criticizes the Senate for not following the established set of rules; for not allowing debate at the highest levels of governance, calling it a ‘breach of parliamentary procedure’.
“Maybe it’s not a Canadian way of thinking that process matters, but to me it’s important. If you’re going to go through the effort to make rules, at least live by them,” he said.
When asked about the honorary degrees themselves, Gorelick said the degrees were given to a mix of people—from truly inspiring recipients to those who were more lack-luster.
Gorelick spoke of an honorary degree recipient who gave a huge amount of money for Carleton’s political management program. According to him, it was very much a political gesture.
“Maybe giving out honorary degrees is a form of fundraising. Maybe that’s valid,” he said.
Regarding his decision to write blogs about these issues, Gorelick said, “I think it is an important matter and it’s one that nobody is discussing at all. It’s as though Senate is a black hole. Something happens there and nobody cares what comes out of it . . . The university never hears about them, which I’m a bit incredulous about.”
Gorelick explained he doesn’t particularly care about the honorary degree issue per se.
“What I care about is due process. That’s the main reason I think I wrote about it, because it’s a systematic problem that we have with university governance,” he said.
