2011 Thunder Bay Convocation Program

THUNDER BAY CAMPUS CONVOCATION Friday, May 27, 2011 PACI Morning Ceremony - 9:30 a.m. for the Granting of Degrees in the Faculty of Medicine Thunder Bay Community Auditorium Afternoon Ceremony - 2:00 p.m. for the Granting of Graduate and Undergraduate Degrees and Diplomas Saturday, May 28, 2011 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium Morning Ceremony - 9:30 a.m. Afternoon Ceremony - 2:00 p.m. for the Granting of Graduate and Undergraduate Degrees and Diplomas FORTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL CONVOCATION FOR THE CONFERRING OF DEGREES AND DIPLOMAS Arthur V. Mauro CHANCELLOR On January 1, 2010, Mr. Arthur V. Mauro, prominent Canadian businessman and philanthropist, began his term as Lakehead University’s seventh Chancellor. Mr. Mauro says that he has a tremendous sense of gratitude to have been asked to take on this role in the city where he was born and raised. “It is one of my regrets that Lakehead University did not exist when I finished secondary school. I would have attended.” Arthur Mauro was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He went to Winnipeg in 1946 to study at St. Paul’s College, a Catholic College in the Jesuit tradition. He then studied law at the University of Manitoba and was called to the Bar of Manitoba in 1953. Until 1969 he practiced law, specializing in transportation and communication law. Mr. Mauro has had an impressive business career. In 1967, he was appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission on Northern Transportation, and in 1969 became a senior executive with Great Northern Capital Corporation. From 1972 to 1976, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Transair Limited, and joined the Investors Group in 1976 to become its President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman. In 1987, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was later promoted to Officer in 1992. He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Manitoba in 1987 and an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from Lakehead University in 1997. In 2004, he was awarded the Order of Manitoba for his contributions to the economic, civic and cultural life of Manitoba. At present, Mr. Mauro is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. Since his student days, Arthur Mauro has actively supported the University of Manitoba, as a lecturer and then as Chancellor from 1991 to 2000. In September 2001, he made a major contribution to St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba to establish the Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice, dedicated to the advancement of human rights, conflict resolution, global citizenship, peace, and social justice through research, education, and outreach. Although Mr. Mauro has long since left the Lakehead, he has never forgotten his roots. He has fond memories of growing up on Secord Street in Port Arthur, being a student at Port Arthur Collegiate Institute, and graduating from St. Patrick’s High School. His commitment to Thunder Bay and to Lakehead University was demonstrated in 2005, when he matched donations made to the Advanced Technology & Academic Centre (ATAC) capital campaign by members of the local Italian community. The Chancellor’s primary responsibilities include fostering the mission, vision, and values of Lakehead University and building bridges between the University and its stakeholders as well as the broader public locally, nationally, and internationally. “I am pleased to serve as Lakehead’s Chancellor and look forward to contributing to its institutional success over the next three years,” says Arthur Mauro. “As a longstanding member of the Thunder Bay community, I am proud not only to support Lakehead in this capacity but also to represent its character and the excellence it embodies.” Brian J. R. Stevenson President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Brian Stevenson took office as president of Lakehead University in August 2010. Prior to taking the helm at Lakehead, he served the University of Winnipeg as provost and vice-president (academic) from 2006 to 2010, where he was also a professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics. During his tenure at U Winnipeg, Dr. Stevenson was involved in a significant re-invention and renewal of many aspects of the University including the establishment of a new Faculty of Business and Economics, a new Academic Plan, new graduate programs, the promotion of internationalization, and a new enrolment strategy. Throughout his career, Dr. Stevenson has built a stellar record of leadership in academia and government; he has held senior positions at a number of high-profile organizations and universities including the federal government in Ottawa, the University of Alberta, and the Organization of American States in Washington. While at the University of Alberta, he excelled at building the institution’s profile around the world. In only five years he was instrumental in increasing international enrolment dramatically and was also responsible for establishing an international residence. Dr. Stevenson received his BA (Honours) and MA from the University of Victoria, and holds a doctorate from Queen’s University. He first taught at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), and later at the University of Alberta where he also served as vice-provost and associate vice-president. He later served as senior policy advisor to the Canadian Ministers of International Trade and Foreign Affairs and was a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. Recognized as a specialist in international relations and foreign policy, Dr. Stevenson has authored and/or co-edited a number of books and articles on Canadian politics, foreign policy, Canada-Mexico relations, Canadian security in Latin America, and the relationship between the Organization of American States and Canada. He has authored and presented dozens of conference papers in Canada, the United States, and Latin America, and has made contributions as a board member of the Canadian Council for the Americas and the Canadian Foundation for the Americas. Dr. Stevenson is a member of the Advisory Council of Fulbright Canada’s Network on North American Studies in Canada (NNASC) and the Editorial Board of Foreign Affairs (Latinoamérica). In addition to being a professor in the Faculty of Business Administration at Lakehead University, he also currently serves as chair of the Board of Directors for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti A native Montrealer, Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti moved to Western Canada and went on to become one of Alberta’s foremost educators and physicians. Dr. Francescutti received his combined MD / PhD from the University of Alberta in 1987. It was during his training as a general surgery resident that Dr. Francescutti became fascinated with the subject of trauma. He then continued on to pursue post-graduate studies, including a Master of Public Health and a residency in preventive medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Community Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine. Dr. Francescutti also holds an honorary fellowship in the American College of Physicians, and is a member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Dr. Francescutti has gained experience in a wide variety of health-care settings countrywide. He has worked as an emergency medical technician in the Canadian Arctic, a blood-bank technologist at the Montreal General Hospital, and a researcher and educator at the University of Alberta. In 1995, he returned to Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital as an emergency and preventive medicine physician. In this particular role, Dr. Francescutti continued to witness first hand the devastating impact of preventable injuries. This interest led him to spearhead a number of public safety awareness initiatives and campaigns. Dr. Francescutti was the founder of an award winning multimedia head and spinal-cord injury prevention program for teenagers called HEROES. He also developed an innovative emergency medical response computer program which enabled emergency responders to better treat and track patients’ injuries on the scene. Dr. Francescutti is the former director of the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research, and has given numerous presentations and lectures internationally on the topics of health and injury. He has also chaired a number of committees and task forces which dealt with public health and injury prevention. In 2005, Dr. Francescutti was named one of Alberta’s 100 most influential physicians of the century by the Alberta Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons Alberta. In 2005, he was awarded a Champion for Children Award and a Paul Harris Fellowship from the North East Edmonton Rotary Club. In 2010, Dr. Francescutti was named the 41st President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. A great communicator and motivator, Dr. Francescutti encourages Royal College members to leverage their expertise and play a more active role in discussions over possible improvements to Canada’s health care system and the health status of Canadians. Dr. Francescutti strongly believes that the health care system needs realistic standards of care and far greater accountability of service providers. Tom Brzustowski DOCTOR OF SCIENCE Born in Warsaw, Poland, Tom Brzustowski came to Canada with his family in 1948. He graduated with a BASc in Engineering Physics from the University of Toronto in 1958 and a PhD. in Aeronautical Engineering from Princeton University in 1963. A professional engineer, Brzustowski was a professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo from 1962 to 1987, teaching and carrying out research in thermodynamics and combustion. During that time he was Department Chair, later Associate Dean of Engineering, and finally Vice-President Academic of the university for more than twelve years. Joining the Government of Ontario in 1987, Tom Brzustowski was appointed Deputy Minister, first of Colleges and Universities and later of the Premier’s Council.

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