Meet the trailblazers receiving honorary doctorates this fall
Mark Bonham and Janice Fukakusa will receive honorary doctorates from TMU in recognition of their incredible career accomplishments and community contributions.
Two prominent figures who have had profound impacts on Toronto and its residents will receive honorary doctorate degrees from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) this fall.
Janice Fukakusa made her mark on the TMU community as the university’s first female chancellor and has served on the boards of several Toronto organizations including University Health Network and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Foundation.
Toronto philanthropist Mark Bonham’s support helped transform Toronto’s Casey House into a global leader in HIV/AIDS care. He also helped create the Friends of Ruby Home, a transitional house for LGBTQI2S young people.
Fukakusa and Bonham will receive their honorary degrees at convocation ceremonies at the Mattamy Athletic Centre at 50 Carlton St. These events will also be streamed live.
Convocation ceremonies will take place on October 15 and 16. View the complete convocation schedule here.
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.
Janice Fukakusa
Doctor of Laws
Honoris Causa
Janice Fukakusa holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Toronto and a master of business administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business.
A chartered professional accountant and chartered business valuator, Fukakusa held top-level roles in the Canadian banking and finance sector before retiring in 2017. She was chief administrative officer and chief financial officer of RBC and was a member of its group executive, responsible for setting the bank’s overall strategic direction.
A long-time member of the Toronto Metropolitan University Board of Governors, Fukakusa served as chair for five years, beginning in 2013. Named the university’s first female chancellor in 2018, she was re-appointed for another three-year term in 2021.
Fukakusa is a member of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and has been inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame. In addition to serving on the boards of Brookfield Corporation, Cineplex, Loblaw, RioCan and the University Health Network, she is chair of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Foundation and chancellor of the selection committee for the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. She also has served as chair of SheEO and the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Mark Bonham
Doctor of Laws
Honoris Causa
Mark Bonham completed a bachelor of commerce at the University of Toronto and a master of science in economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Bonham has had a varied career. He founded two publicly traded mutual fund management companies, led an award-winning Canadian winery and has operated his own consulting firm. In 2017, he was named to the OUTstanding list of the top 100 LGBT+ executives, presented by the Financial Times.
Today, Bonham is executive director of the Veritas Foundation, which assesses Canadian charitable organizations and advises donors on how to achieve their philanthropic goals. In honour of his own charitable endeavours, Bonham received the Outstanding Philanthropist award from the Greater Toronto chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2018.
With Bonham’s support, Toronto’s Casey House was transformed from a hospice into a specialty stand-alone hospital and global leader in HIV/AIDS care. At the University of Toronto, he has established scholarships, a research chair in international finance and the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies.
Bonham served as the capital campaign co-chair for the Friends of Ruby Home, which opened in 2020. The local transitional house was custom built for LGBTQI2S+ young people who are at risk and in need of long-term, secure housing.
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