Honorary Degree Recipients + Convocation Speakers

Ms. Jan Reimer

Tuesday, November 26, 3 p.m.

Jan Reimer’s accomplishments have been remarkable and widely acknowledged. She was recognized as Edmontonian of the Century, received the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals and is one of the YWCA Edmonton’s Women of Distinction. She received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case (2006) and has a school and a park named after her.

What is exceptional about Jan is the depth and breadth of her work and passion. Whether contributing to society at large as Mayor of Edmonton, City Councillor, or private citizen, Jan consistently enables social development. As mayor she introduced Edmonton’s recycling and waste reduction strategies, the City’s first initiatives on addressing climate change, and was a strong advocate for preserving and protecting Edmonton’s river valley and watershed.

For the last twenty-three years, she has served as the Executive Director for the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (an organization that supports the sheltering movement in Alberta and works to end violence against women), Jan is a well-known resource on gendered violence prevention and intervention.

Under her leadership, the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters hosted the first ever World Conference of Women’s Shelters. More than 800 delegates from 60 countries attended. The conference also provided the impetus for both a Canadian and a Global Network of Women’s Shelters. Jan Reimer is a founding member of both organizations. The Global Network has gone on to host 4 World Conferences and Women’s Shelters Canada played a pivotal role in supporting shelters across Canada during the pandemic as well as in advocating for a National Action Plan. The organization has grown to include teams skilled in data collection, action-based research, anti-bias and anti-violence training, and collaborative problem solving. This has included shared annual shelter data with the public to show what is happening in Alberta women's shelters, conducting the first ever men's attitude survey on gender-based violence in Canada which further developed ACWS’ innovative work engaging men and boys and seeing three books published: Standing Together, Project Impact and We Need to Do This.

University of Alberta Senate Donation

The University of Alberta Senate is donating the following volume to the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library to commemorate the awarding of an honorary degree to Ms. Jan Reimer:

Book artist and printmaker Susan Lowdermilk designed and produced this engaging artist’s book featuring a poem by Emily Dickinson (1830–1886). With masterful skill as a paper engineer, Lowdermilk created a book with four pop-up spreads that beautifully complement Dickinson’s observations on the wonders of nature. Lowdermilk explains that the book “speaks to the inherent interconnection of environmental elements. Today, as our planet experiences increasing climate instability, Dickinson’s message is a relevant reminder to honor and protect our environment” (susanlowdermilk.com). The book’s pop-up elements were printed on a Vandercook No. 14 Proof Press while the text was printed letterpress on a 1912 Chandler and Price by Kristin Walker at Twin Ravens Press. This copy is number 6 in an edition of 30.

Dr. Randy Gregg

Wednesday, November 27, 10:00 a.m.
Convocation Speaker: November 27, 3:00 p.m.

As a physician, philanthropist and role model, Dr. Randy Gregg has helped thousands of people of all ages enjoy the benefits of sport and recreation while building a better community for everyone.

From captain of the U of A Golden Bears and Canadian Olympic hockey teams to a storied NHL career including five Stanley Cup wins with the Edmonton Oilers, he has parlayed his leadership on the ice into a lasting legacy. As a student he played for the Golden Bears, and in 1979 served as Captain. The team won two national championships during his tenure and Randy was awarded the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union’s Player of the Year Award in 1979. His dedication is recognized annually by U Sports through the Dr. Randy Gregg Award, presented to a student-athlete who has shown outstanding achievement in ice hockey, academics and community involvement. He was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022.

After retiring from hockey, he established a medical practice in Edmonton and dedicated himself to providing sport and recreation opportunities to people from all walks of life. He volunteered as team doctor for Canadian national teams and established FunTeam Alberta, a non-profit organization that fosters equitable access to sports for children, youth and adults. As Honorary Chair of Ronald McDonald House, he helped lead the fundraising to build the House in Edmonton supporting hundreds of families in crisis. More recently, he led the establishment of the Edmonton Riverhawks baseball team, making elite summer collegiate baseball sporting events affordable and accessible for families and sports fans.

University of Alberta Senate Donation

The University of Alberta Senate is donating the following volume to the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library to commemorate the awarding of an honorary degree to Dr. Randy Gregg:

• George A. Meagher. Lessons in Skating: With Suggestions Respecting Hockey, Its Laws, and American Hockey Rules. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1900.

While the main focus of this rare book is on skating, the author includes a few final chapters on hockey where he explains the rules of the game in Ontario and Québec as well as the “playing and championship rules of ice hockey” of the Amateur Hockey League of New York (95). In his chapter titled “Hockey on the Ice”, George A. Meagher (1866–1930) shows marked enthusiasm for the game: “It would be difficult to conceive a wilder, more madly fascinating, and gloriously exciting game than ‘Hockey.’ We have just to look about us to see how intensely popular this sport has become in Canada … It ‘embodies’ all the ‘good points’ of most games, such as football, lacrosse, baseball, etc., and has more additional requisites in which general athletic knowledge and ability may be displayed than any field game extant. In Paris, London and Glasgow the Canadian game of hockey was introduced in the artificial ice rinks by the writer in the year 1895, and is now played across the water with as much éclat as it is in Canada” (82). This illustrated book is highly sought after by collectors with an interest in early books on skating and hockey, and it is a welcome addition to Bruce Peel Special Collections. This copy has an attractive green cloth binding with an illustration of a skate on the cover and hockey sticks on the spine.