This year the University of Guelph and the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences has chosen to bestow honorary degrees on two people whose work has had far-reaching social impact.
Larry McDermott [1] is Executive Director of Plenty Canada [2] – a non-profit organization that supports Indigenous peoples and other communities in their environmental protection and sustainable development goals.
His work with Plenty Canada has seen him lead projects in Africa, South America, and Asia –applying Indigenous knowledge systems to assist local communities.
In Canada, he serves as Co-Chair of the Canadian Environment Network Biodiversity Caucus and Co-chair of the UNESCO Canadian Biosphere Reserve Association Indigenous Advisory Committee. McDermott also served as a Commissioner for the Ontario Human Rights Commission from 2009-2016.
Ambassador (ret) John R Schram [3] worked for 36 years with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. During his time as part of the External Affairs Team in South Africa, he actively supported the struggle against apartheid, helping the country transition to democracy – contributions for which Nelson Mandela personally thanked him [4].
He later served as Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Botswana; Ambassador to Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Angola and Zimbabwe; Minister Counsellor in the Canadian Embassy, South Africa, and counsellor at the Canadian High Commission in London.
In 1998, he was awarded the Grand Medal of Ghana – the first diplomat to do so since the award’s inception in 1958.
Both of these men have worked hard to better the lives of those in the world around them. They will each receive honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) degrees from the University of Guelph during the June 2018 Convocation [5].
