TMU to award 11 honorary doctorates at spring convocation

Thirteen distinguished individuals, recognized for their outstanding achievements and lasting contributions, will receive honorary doctorates from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) this spring.

The recipients are: Stephen Bulger, Gregory David, Laura Dottori-Attanasio, Myron and Berna Garron (receiving joint degree), Ashraf Habibullah, Herbert Ho Ping Kong, Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau (receiving joint degree), Heather Munroe-Blum, Janet Rossant, Rosemary Sadlier and Sheila Watt-Cloutier. 

The degrees will be bestowed at convocation ceremonies June 16-25 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

TMU awards honorary degrees to those who have made extraordinary contributions to:

• Academia and/or society in Canada or internationally, particularly in fields of interest to the university;
• The development of Toronto Metropolitan University;
• The betterment of culture, society or the local community.

Learn more about their incredible contributions and accomplishments below.

Stephen Bulger 

Stephen Bulger studied photography at TMU’s School of Image Arts, where his interest in the history of photography led him to organize exhibitions. He later became the founding director of what is now Artspace (external link) , TMU’s student gallery, where he sat on the exhibition review committee and managed over 30 exhibitions.

After graduating from TMU with a BA in 1991, he worked in the photography department at OCAD University while developing plans to open a gallery of his own. 

In 1995, he founded the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto, which has since become Canada's largest gallery devoted to photography, including the work of both established and rising artists. 

Over the course of his career, he has curated more than 320 exhibitions, represented  numerous Canadian and international photographers, published catalogues and books, and participated in many North American and European art fairs. 

Bulger has also played a significant leadership role in the arts sector, serving on the Board of the Art Dealers Association of Canada, and as co-chair of the Canadian Art Foundation. He has also served as chair of the Advisory Board for The Image Centre at TMU, was elected twice as president of the Board for the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) in Washington, D.C. and served two terms on the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board. 

He is also a co-founder of CONTACT, Toronto’s annual photography festival. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Catherine Lash, and their daughters Adelaide and Jane.

Gregory David

Gregory David is the CEO and founder of GRI Capital, the executive chair of The Rossy Foundation, and chair of The David Family Foundation. He serves on corporate boards including Dollarama and Roots and is actively engaged in governance and philanthropy. 

At McGill University, he serves on the Board of Governors and the Investment Committee of the McGill University Investment Plan. Prior to becoming a governor at McGill, he contributed to several advisory bodies, including member of the executive committee of the campaign cabinet for McGill’s bicentennial campaign, chair of the dean’s faculty advisory board with the Faculty of Law, member of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management advisory board and McGill’s Toronto advisory board.

Prior to founding GRI Capital in 2005, David was a senior executive at Dollarama. In 2004, he led the sale of a majority equity stake of Dollarama to Bain Capital. Earlier in his career, he advised Canadian public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions. 

He also worked as an investment principal at Claridge Inc., where he was focused on the media, entertainment, hospitality and food service sectors and began his career at McKinsey & Co., where he worked primarily with the branded goods and retail sectors. 

David holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School, law degrees (B.C.L. and LL.B.) from McGill University and an honours bachelor of commerce from Queen’s University.

Laura Dottori-Attanasio 

Laura Dottori-Attanasio is the president and CEO of Element Fleet Management Corporation, the largest publicly traded pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world. Under her leadership, the company advances innovation and strategic partnerships shaping the future of intelligent fleet and mobility management.

Prior to joining Element, Dottori-Attanasio led the personal and business banking division at one of Canada's largest financial institutions. 

A recognized business leader, Dottori-Attanasio serves on the board of AGF Management Limited and is an active member of several charitable organizations. Dottori-Attanasio has earned a place in the WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada Hall of Fame and was recently recognized as The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business New CEO of the Year.

Dottori-Attanasio holds an honorary doctor of laws degree from Ontario Tech University and a bachelor's degree in finance and economics from the University of Western Ontario. 

Myron and Berna Garron

Myron and Berna Garron are philanthropists whose giving has transformed health care and education across Canada, guided by the memory of their late son Michael.

In 2015, the Garrons made a $50 million gift to Toronto East General Hospital – the largest donation of its kind to a Canadian community hospital at the time – which was subsequently renamed the Michael Garron Hospital. At the Hospital for Sick Children, where Michael was treated, their $30 million gift in 2010 established the Garron Family Cancer Centre, now the largest paediatric oncology centre in Canada. They followed with a $15 million gift in 2021 to support the Garron Family chairs in Childhood Cancer Research.

The Garrons' generosity extends beyond Toronto. In 2024, they gave $25 million to the IWK Foundation – the largest individual donation to health care in Atlantic Canada – supporting mental health and addictions services for youth in the Maritimes. That same year, a $25 million gift to the University of Toronto Scarborough will fund the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health. They have also supported CAMH, St. Joseph's Health Care and Dalhousie University, where a scholarship honours Michael's dream of becoming a marine biologist.

Myron and Berna Garron were named members of the Order of Canada in 2022 and received the G. Raymond Chang Award from the University of the West Indies in 2025.

Ashraf Habibullah

A globally recognized leader in structural and earthquake engineering, Ashraf Habibullah is the founder and CEO of Computers and Structures, Inc., (CSI). 

Habibullah graduated from the NED Engineering College in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He also holds a master's degree in structural engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He founded CSI in 1975 and has led the development of the company’s products, including SAP2000 and ETABS, for 50 years.

Today, CSI is recognized globally as the pioneer in the development of software for structural and earthquake engineering. CSI's software is used by thousands of engineering firms and is in more than 160 countries.

Beyond engineering, Habibullah is co-founder of the critically acclaimed Diablo Ballet and founder of the Engineer’s Alliance for the Arts, an organization that introduces young students to the artistic aspects of bridge engineering.

Habibullah regularly donates his time and resources as a speaker to support humanitarian organizations, hospitals and educational institutions worldwide. He’s also donated software to thousands of universities to ensure that the technology necessary to produce safe structures reaches everyone.

In 2024, Habibullah was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for his distinguished contributions to engineering, his development of structural engineering software that is used by engineers globally and his advocacy of the engineering profession.  

In 2025, Habibullah was awarded the highest civilian award, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, from the Government of Pakistan.

Dr. Herbert Ho Ping Kong 

Dr. Herbert Ho Ping Kong, was born into a Hakka Chinese family in Jamaica, and graduated from the University College of the West Indies (1965).

In the early 1970s, he joined McGill University as professor of clinical studies and became the founder and first director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal in 1981.

In 1984, Ho Ping Kong became professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, before rising to associate physician-in-chief of the Toronto Hospital (now UHN), and chief of medicine at the Toronto Western Division of the Toronto Hospital in 1999. 

Ho Ping Kong was awarded multiple national and international awards including the 3M Teaching Fellowship of Canada, the Sir William Osler Award and the Musgrave Gold Medal Award. 

He held the Gladstone and Maisie Chang Chair in the Teaching of Internal Medicine from 2004 to 2015, a UofT and UHN endowed chair, and the Osler professor of expert medical practice at UHN in 2016.

In 2008-09, Ho Ping Kong and colleague Dr. Rodrigo Cavalcanti established The Centre of Excellence in Education and Practice (CEEP) at UHN’s Toronto Western Hospital, where Ho Ping Kong was the interim director for eight years. 

He co-authored The Art of Medicine - Healing and the Limits of Technology, which was given to the graduating classes of medical schools across Canada.  

Ho Ping Kong spearheaded a program for physicians from the University of the West Indies to pursue academic Internal Medicine subspecialty training at UHN. 

Ho Ping Kong retired from clinical practice in 2017. In 2023, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario.

Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau

Together, Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau have dedicated themselves to advancing arts, education and health initiatives across Canada. The couple co-chairs the National Arts Centre's Next Act Campaign and has donated millions to causes that strengthen communities from coast to coast. 

McCain is chancellor of Acadia University and a distinguished leader in philanthropy, arts advocacy and education. A steadfast supporter of the arts in Canada, she serves as a board member of the Sobey Art Foundation, the Art Canada Institute and the Council for Canadian American Relations. Her previous leadership roles include chair of the Toronto Foundation, president of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, chair of the Canadian Art Foundation and chair of the Arts Access Fund, as well as board roles with the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, Soulpepper Theatre Company and Arts for Children of Toronto. In 2025, McCain was an advanced leadership fellow at Harvard University. She holds a graduate degree in arts administration from New York University and a bachelor's degree from Acadia University.

Morneau played a central role in shaping Canada's economic and fiscal policy, serving as Canada's 39th minister of finance and governor at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Prior to his government service, he built the multinational human resources firm Morneau Shepell (now TELUS Health), where his roles included president, CEO and chair. He serves as chair of the Advisory Board of Magnet at TMU, chair of the Ditchley Canada Foundation, and holds fellowships at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the Rotman School of Management, the London School of Economics and Nuffield College, University of Oxford. He holds a graduate degree from the London School of Economics, an MBA from INSEAD and a bachelor's degree from Western University.

Through their shared commitment to community and culture, McCain and Morneau continue to shape the institutions and initiatives that define Canadian public life.

Heather Munroe-Blum

Heather Munroe-Blum is chair of the Gairdner Foundation, co-founder and co-chair of the Canadian Children's Literacy Foundation, co-chair of the Leader's Council of McGill's Tanenbaum Open Science Institute and advisor to the McGill University Health Centre Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity. 

She is the former chair of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, former vice-president (Research and International Relations) at University of Toronto and the first woman to serve as (president) vice-chancellor at McGill University.

She was a founding member of Canada's Science, Technology and Innovation Council, Genome Canada, the MaRS Innovation Centre in Toronto and the Quartier de l’Innovation in Montréal.

Munroe-Blum has served on the Executive of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. She was a member of the U.S. National Research Council’s Panel on Research Universities, a member of the Association of American Universities; and on the board of the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences at Stanford.

She is an officer of the Order of Canada, of l'Ordre National du Québec, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the recipient of numerous national and international honorary degrees. She was also inducted into the Canadian Women’s Executive Hall of Fame.

Janet Rossant

Janet Rossant is one of the world’s leading developmental and stem cell biologists. 

She holds the titles of senior scientist emeritus at SickKids in Toronto, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and president and scientific director emeritus of the Gairdner Foundation. 

Rossant’s research explores the biology of the early embryo and its stem cells and their applications to understanding and treating human disease. She has also been actively involved in ethics and public policy discussions around human stem cell research and genetic modifications. 

She led the Research Institute at the SickKids from 2005 to 2015. She has received many honours and recognition for her work, including election to the Royal Societies of London and Canada and the US National Academy of Sciences. 

Among other awards, in 2018 she received the North American L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award and in 2021 the ISSCR Achievement Award.

Rosemary Sadlier 

Rosemary Sadlier is a distinguished author, educator and social justice advocate whose leadership has helped transform national recognition of Black history in Canada.

Widely recognized as one of the key architects of the national recognition of Black History Month and Emancipation Day, Sadlier has dedicated decades to research, education and advocacy that highlight the contributions of people of African descent in Canada. 

She served for 22 years as president of the Ontario Black History Society, where she advanced major initiatives commemorating significant people, places and events in Black Canadian history. Among these was her leadership in establishing a national day to honour Lincoln Alexander and chairing the effort that resulted in a permanent bust of him being installed at Queen's Park.

Sadlier is the author of eight books on African Canadian history, including the widely acclaimed The Kids Book of Black History in Canada. Her work has informed curriculum development, museum exhibitions and public policy across Canada.

In recognition of her exceptional contributions to education, public history and social justice, she has been appointed to the Order of Ontario and has received honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto and OCAD University.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier 

Sheila Watt-Cloutier is a globally respected Inuit leader, author and advocate born in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. Her work has brought international attention to the human impacts of climate change in the Arctic. 

As past chair of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) – which represents 155,000 Inuit across Canada, Greenland, Alaska and Chukotka – Watt-Cloutier served as an elected political spokesperson for Inuit for over a decade. She was instrumental in the global negotiations that led to the 2001 Stockholm Convention banning persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that contaminate the Arctic food web, and worked with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to defend Inuit rights against the impacts of climate change.

Her many honours include a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, the United Nations Champion of the Earth Award, the Right Livelihood Award, the Sophie Prize and Norway's Rachel Carson Prize. She was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 2006, named one of 25 Transformational Canadians by the Globe and Mail and CTV and commemorated on a Canadian stamp in 2012. She holds honorary doctorates from more than 20 universities across North America.

Watt-Cloutier is the author of the 2015 book The Right to Be Cold, shortlisted for several prestigious awards, and has taught university courses on the human dimension of climate change.