This Committee considers and makes recommendations to Senate on the conferring of honorary degrees, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Honorary Member of the University.
The Secretary for the Honorary Degrees Committee is Ashley Day.
Membership 2026-2027
Ex-Officio
| Name | Membership/Title |
|---|---|
| Bill Rosehart [Chair] | President and Vice-Chancellor |
| Thomas Duever | Interim Vice-President, Academic & Provost |
| Nenone Donaldson | Vice-President, Advancement & External Relations |
| Lynn Judge | Chair of Honorary Member Committee |
| Justin Wan | Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs |
Elected - Faculty
| Name | Faculty |
|---|---|
| John Abraham | Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo (AFIW) |
| Gerald Voorhees | Faculty of Arts |
| David Clausi | Faculty of Engineering |
| Su-Yin Tan | Faculty of Environment |
| Helen Chen | Faculty of Health |
| Jun Liu | Faculty of Mathematics |
| Chris Yakymchuk | Faculty of Science |
Elected - Students
| Name | Membership/Title |
|---|---|
| Andrew Chang | Undergraduate Student |
| Misha Khan | Undergraduate Student |
| Dean Eaton | Graduate Student |
Elected - Alumni
| Name | Membership/Title |
|---|---|
| Cathy Newell Kelly | Alumni |
Terms of Reference
- To consider and make recommendations to Senate for candidates for honorary degrees who meet the established criteria.
- To consider and make recommendations to Senate for the conferring of the title "Distinguished Professor Emeritus" on those candidates who meet the established criteria.
- To consider and make recommendations to Senate for the conferring of the title "Honorary Member of the University" on those candidates who meet the established criteria. Nominations will be forwarded to the Senate Committee from the Honorary Member of the University Committee. The Senate Committee will also be responsible for appointing members to the Honorary Member of the University Committee.
Membership and frequency of meetings:
- the president of the university, chair
- the vice-president, academic & provost
- the vice-president, advancement
- the associate provost, graduate studies
- the chair of the Honorary Member of the University Committee
- one member of Senate from the federated university and affiliated colleges
- one elected faculty member of Senate from each faculty of the university
- two members of Senate from the elected undergraduate student members
- one member of Senate from the elected graduate student members
- one member of Senate from among the alumni members
The committee will normally meet not more often than four times per year.
Amended by Senate, January 15, 1996
Amended February 22, 2010 (title only)
Amended by Senate, November 19, 2012
Amended by Senate, November 18, 2013
Amended by Senate, February 26, 2018
Amended by Senate, January 16, 2023