Photos: Kerry DeLorey (BJH ’80), Calnen Photography
K ing ’ s names 2 0 0 8 honorary d egree recipients
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he University of King’s College presented four individuals with honorary degrees, the highest award conferred by the College, at its Encaenia ceremonies on Thursday, May 14, 2009, at the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Halifax. Captain Trevor Greene (BJH ’88, DCL ’09) followed his education at the University of King’s College with several years as a journalist and advocate for the homeless, and later joined the Canadian military. In March 2004, during a community meeting with villagers in Kandahar, Afghanistan, a young man struck Greene from behind with an axe to the head. Since the attack, he has pushed through a tough recovery, but in the face of his own difficulties, the solider has sought to reach out to others and share his very personal message of hope. The same core values that lead him to working with such volunteer initiatives as Ethiopia Airlift in his early adulthood, to providing a voice to the unheard with his book on the missing prostitutes of Vancouver and another on homelessness in Japan, and to becoming a CIMIC officer, are now leading him to inspire others with his story of courage and strength. Through filmmaker Sue Ridout’s documentary Peace Warrior, his own forthcoming book on his journey during and after the tragic events in Kandahar, and a sheer willingness to tell his story, Greene has continued to make an impact on those in need, providing a real taste of hope. Dr. Henry Roper (DCnL ’09), dubbed “Mr. King’s” for assuming nearly a dozen positions at the College, began his 30 years at King’s in 1977 as a Junior Fellow in Humanities and Social Sciences. Roper, who has received a BA from Dalhousie, and a BA, MA and PhD from Cambridge, then took on the role of Registrar in 1978 for nearly a decade. While continuing his teachings in Humanities, he has also assumed the positions of Vice President, both Associate Director and
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Director of the Foundation Year Programme, and upon his retirement in 1998, was appointed Inglis Professor. Roper has sat on as many King’s committees as he has assumed academic and administrative positions, and still remains active in the College’s community. This communitymindedness also extends beyond the Quad; he is a patron of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and Symphony Nova Scotia. Along with his impact at King’s, Roper has contributed to the academic field with his research on the educational, religious and municipal history of Nova Scotia, and most recently, he has co-edited the two final volumes of the authoritative Collected works of George Grant, the definitive edition of one of the few great public intellectuals of this country. By the time Stephanie Nolen’s (BJH ’93, DCL ’09) book 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa was published to national and international acclaim in 2007, she had already established herself as one of King’s most successful and distinguished journalism graduates. After attending King’s, she earned her Masters in Economic Development from the London School of Economics before beginning her career as a freelance journalist in the Middle East. Her incisive, insightful and very human reporting quickly won her assignments from major international media outlets, including The Independent and Newsweek, and she eventually returned to Canada to become a senior writer for Maclean’s and later, The Globe and Mail. Nolen has earned an enviable reputation as a war correspondent, but is best known for telling the story of the epidemic of HIV and AIDS in Africa, coverage she provided from a Johannesburg-based correspondent position she convinced initially skeptical editors to create. That she has told this story exceedingly well is clear from her three Canadian National Newspaper Awards for International Reporting and her three
Amnesty International Awards for Human Rights Reporting. Nolen has recently moved to India for a new post in New Delhi. She has also rounded out her still young career by authoring two other nonfiction books: Shakespeare’s Face and Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race. Rt. Rev. Michael Hawkins (BA ’84, HC ’85, DD ’09), who lives in Prince Albert with his family, was ordained in the Diocese of Nova Scotia in 1988 and priest in 1989. He served as Rector of the Parish of Pugwash and River John from 1988 to 1993, and the Parish of Petite Riviere and New Dublin until 2001. He was then called to the Deanship of Saskatchewan, where he has since ministered to the congregation of St. Alban’s Cathedral, Prince Albert, as their pastor, and was recently ordained as bishop of the Anglican diocese of Saskatchewan. His westbound move in the early ’00s was thought of by many as Prince Albert’s gain and surely Nova Scotia’s loss. Hawkins, an active volunteer for the Canadian Mental Health Association, was a founding faculty member of the Eastern Canadian St. Michael’s Youth Conference and has been instrumental in the successful planting of that ministry in the Canadian West. An engaging and widely respected preacher, he has been called upon to exercise the prophetic ministry on numerous occasions as a missioner, guest homilist and conference preacher. “This year’s recipients are exceptional representatives of the ideals we aim to teach at King’s. Though their work is diverse, they share a unity of endeavour: an unyielding dedication to their community, and a thoughtful commitment to the betterment of humanity,” says King’s College President Dr. William Barker. “Convocation has selected a truly impressive roster for our 2009 Honorary Degree recipients. They are sure to captivate this year’s graduating class and to inspire us all.”