In honor of ALES 100 celebrations, the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences hosted a very special spring convocation ceremony June 2, 2015.
Convocation is a time of celebration, we wanted to honor that tradition by making this a special one for the class of 2015 during our 100th year. We made history by hosting first exclusive ALES convocation. At this one of a kind event, graduates from only our Faculty crossed the stage to receive their degrees. The audience included guests from our Faculty’s past and present.
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Honorary Degree Recipient
Dr. Robert (Bob) Church ’62 BSc (Ag) will be awarded an honorary doctor of science degree. Bob has been instrumental in developing the genetics industry in Alberta and Canada, both as a researcher and administrator. He played a leading role in the ground-breaking research that has led to better genetic testing, personalized medicine and genetic modification. He started the world’s first livestock embryo transfer company, and was part of the team that developed Canada’s first in vitro fertilization program for humans. The hybridization techniques he helped pioneer have also led to breakthroughs in cancer treatments. He was a founding board member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and he chaired the committees that designed the Networks of Centres of Excellence program and established the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He also co-chaired the committee that recommended the establishment of Genome Canada. In Alberta, Church worked with former Premier Peter Lougheed to establish the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research in 1980. He was named to the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1993 and to the Order of Canada in 2000.