Vancouver, BC – May 28, 2024 – University Canada West is delighted to announce it will be presenting Honorary Doctorates to Dr. Roslyn Kunin, Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling at its Spring 2024 Convocation ceremonies on May 28 and 29.
Dr. Roslyn Kunin is known as one of Canada’s foremost experts in community economic development and for her respectful and culturally sensitive work with Indigenous and new immigrant communities.
Dr. Kunin was educated in Quebec and Ontario, earning a BA in Economics from Concordia University and a MA in Economics from McMaster University, before finishing her studies and becoming the first woman to earn a PhD in Economics at the University of British Columbia in 1970.
Throughout her career, Dr. Kunin has taught at several Canadian universities including Simon Fraser University and UBC, worked in the private sector and provided regular commentary in the media, including columns in Business in Vancouver, BC Business and many local newspapers throughout the province.
She worked for 20 years as a Regional Economist for the federal government in British Columbia and Yukon and 10 years as Executive Director of the Laurier Institution.
As a consulting economist and expert on the development of rural and small towns, and Indigenous communities, Dr. Kunin is credited with increasing the public’s understanding of British Columbia’s economic and political landscape.
In 1998 she edited Prospering Together: The Economic Impact of the Aboriginal Title Settlements in B.C., which explained, in plain language, the importance and economic impact of the treaty-making process. The book was ahead of its time and became instrumental in helping move the province forward collectively in a progressive manner.
Dr. Kunin has chaired and served on several boards throughout Canada, including the Statistics Canada’s National Statistic Council, Chair of the WorksafeBC Board, Chair of the Haida Enterprise Corporation, Vice-Chair of Actsafe Safety Association and Director of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.
She has served as Chair of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, Director of the Business Development Bank of Canada, Director of the Canada West Foundation, Governor of the University of British Columbia, Chair of the Vancouver Crisis Centre and Vice-President of the YWCA.
She has been awarded the Crystal Ball Award by the Association of Professional Economists, the Woman of Distinction Award by the YWCA, is a recipient of the Canada 125 medal for service to Canada, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia.
She has received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Victoria and the Institute of Corporate Directors has granted her the ICD.D designation, which represents a lifelong commitment to excellence in the boardroom.
“We are delighted to bestow an Honorary Doctorate on Dr. Roslyn Kunin in recognition of her efforts to increase tolerance and mutual respect in British Columbia and Canada,” said UCW President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Bashir Makhoul. “Through her focus on how the science of economics can be used to improve community well-being and prosperity, her work has unfailingly served the greater good in our society.”
Dr. Kunin will receive a Doctor of Laws degree during UCW’s Spring 2024 Convocation ceremony at Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Wednesday, May 29.
Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling have dedicated their lives to breaking down the traditional silos of music, dance and theatre, using them as a vehicle to raise awareness about pressing issues in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, such as homelessness, poverty and justice for Indigenous and other marginalized people.
Mr. Hunter has been active in the performing arts for over four decades as a theatre and festival producer, director, performer, teacher and creator, and he has made the Downtown Eastside his home for nearly 50 years.
He co-founded Terminal City Dance in 1975 and Vancouver Moving Theatre in 1983. As Executive Director of Vancouver Moving Theatre, he has toured to more than 40 national and international festivals throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. Mr. Hunter is Co-Founder and Artistic Producer of the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, which started in 2004 to promote, present and facilitate the development of artists, art forms, cultural traditions, history, activism and stories about Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. He has served as Artistic Producer for all Vancouver Moving Theater productions, including the groundbreaking In the Heart of a City: The Downtown Eastside Community Play and Weaving Reconciliation Our Way. In 2016, Mr. Hunter served as Project Coordinator of the Survivors Totem Pole Raising Ceremony.
He has served on the Vancouver Foundation Arts and Culture Advisory, on numerous BC Arts Council and Canada Council Advisories, as a cultural consultant for the City of Port Coquitlam, and as a member of the City of Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary Advisory Neighbourhood Matching Fund Advisory, Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group, and Co-Vice Chair of the City of Vancouver Arts and Cultural Policy Council.
Mr. Hunter is the recipient of nine individual Canada Council Awards, and co-recipient of several awards including the Jessie Richardson Award for Significant Artistic Achievement in Spectacle Design (1998), BC Community Achievement Award (2008), Vancouver Mayor’s Award – Community Arts (2009) and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013).
Ms. Walling is an artist, mother, immigrant (from Oklahoma, USA) and 12th generation descendant of Northern European refugees, and she has made the Downtown Eastside her home since 1975.
Trained in dance, mime and music, she collaborates with artists of many genres, traditions and ancestries to create productions that interweave localized content, accessible storytelling, spectacle, live music and living cultural practice. She co-founded Terminal City Dance in 1975 and toured masked drum dance productions on four continents between 1975 and 1983, she also co-writes theatrical scripts and performs as an actor, dancer and singer.
As Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Vancouver Moving Theatre, Ms. Walling has written, directed or co-directed more than 40 productions since 1983, including Samarambi: Pounding of the Heart, The Good Person of Setzuan, and Tales from the Ramayana. She initiates artistic projects tailored for her community in the Downtown Eastside, co-writing In the Heart of a City: The Downtown Eastside Community Play; We’re All In This Together; Bah Humbug!; and tributes to the East End’s historic black, Ukrainian, Coast Salish, Japanese and urban Indigenous communities –East End Blues and All That Jazz; Bread & Salt; Against the Current; The Big House community gathering and cultural feast; and Weaving Reconciliation Our Way.
Ms. Walling Co-Founder and Associate Artistic Director of the Heart of the City Festival and co-developed TRACKS: 7th Canadian Community Play & Art National Symposium, Downtown Eastside Arts for All Institutes and the Train of Thought National Tour. She contributes to interdisciplinary intercultural research with lectures, articles and publication.
Ms. Walling is the recipient of more than 14 Canada Council awards and co-recipient of several awards including the Jessie Richardson Award for Significant Artistic Achievement in Spectacle Design (1998), BC Community Achievement Award (2008), Vancouver Mayor’s Award – Community Arts (2009) and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013).
In 2021, in recognition of their ongoing engagement with Indigenous artists and communities, Ms. Walling and Mr. Hunter were adopted into the St’langng Laanaas clan of the Haida Nation. Ms. Walling was honoured with the name hl Gat’saa (Supporter of All Things), while Mr. Hunter was named Nang Gulgaa (Industrious One).
In 2023, Mr. Hunter and Ms. Walling were inducted into the Order of Canada for their visionary, community-engaged arts practise with, for and about Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, most notably for their work with Vancouver Moving Theatre.
“We are thrilled to bestow Honorary Doctorates on Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling, recognizing their dedication to using the arts to advocate for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community,” said Dr. Makhoul. “Throughout their lives and careers, they have helped to lift up the city’s most disadvantaged neighbourhood and its residents.
“Dr. Roslyn Kunin, Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling are inspiring role models to our students and alumni, and most deserving of an Honorary Doctorate.”
Mr. Hunter and Ms. Walling will receive Doctor of Laws degrees during UCW’s Spring 2024 Convocation ceremony at Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Tuesday, May 28. Dr. Kunin will receive a Doctor of Laws degree during a ceremony on Wednesday, May 29.
About University Canada West (UCW)
University Canada West (UCW) is an innovative business and technology-oriented institution in Vancouver, Canada, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees for domestic and international students.
UCW offers a range of career-focused programs including, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts in Business Communication, Associate of Arts and Master of Business Administration. Courses are offered at our two downtown Vancouver campuses – our West Pender Campus in the heart of Vancouver’s financial district and our state-of-the-art Vancouver House Campus.
Contact:
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview contact Jessica Kerr, UCW Public Relations Manager, at [email protected].
