Sam Sullivan, a former Mayor of Vancouver and a well-known advocate for people with disabilities, received an Honorary Doctorate from University Canada West on Tuesday, October 24.

“Graduation is both an exciting and frightening time of life,” Dr. Sullivan said during his convocation address at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, where he received a Doctor of Laws degree. “So many of you are here from so many different places. Although every life change is different, there are some general principles that can be advantageously applied.”

When Dr. Sullivan was 19, he experienced a serious skiing accident, where he became paralyzed, except for his shoulders and a few arm muscles.

“All of my hopes and expectations of life were ended. Being able to play music used to give me great joy and I played professionally in a band. That was no longer a possibility. No more skiing and camping in the wilderness. And I especially wondered what would happen with a young woman who I thought was so wonderful.”

“I had to deal with my new world where all the things that gave me joy were no longer possible.”

Faced with such a traumatic, life-altering event, Dr. Sullivan decided to stop his assumptions and expectations about life and start from scratch.

His first step was learning to get in and out of bed by himself.

“I doubted that I could ever do this but when I did, this was one of the most personally rewarding achievements I have ever made.”

Next up, he made “a rigorous analysis” of all his movements to get up and get dressed and do them more efficiently.

“That inspired me to set more goals. I kept making goals and achieving them then setting more goals and one day I looked up, and I was the Mayor of Vancouver!”

Dr. Sullivan has gone on to lead a rich life dedicated to public service and as an advocate for people with disabilities.

“We are delighted to bestow an Honorary Doctorate on Sam Sullivan, recognizing his dedication to public service and commitment to empowering people with disabilities,” said UCW President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Bashir Makhoul. “His efforts have transformed the disability landscape and the way that disabled people here in British Columbia navigate life.”

Dr. Sullivan served in elected public office for the City of Vancouver, first as a City Councillor from 1993 to 2005, and then as the 38th Mayor of Vancouver from 2006 until 2009. He also served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Vancouver False Creek from 2013 until 2020.

He founded the Sam Sullivan Disability Foundation, which has raised $20 million and supported quality-of-life initiatives like sailing, kayaking, wilderness hiking, music creation, gardening and providing custom assistive devices for 10,000 people with disabilities.

Dr. Sullivan also founded the Global Civic Policy Society, advocating for better policies to reduce the price of housing, solve the drug addiction problem and educate the public about BC history.

He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of BC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and serves as an Honorary Major in the BC Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.

In 2004, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada.

“I learned how important it was to be grateful for everything you have,” he told the Convocation attendees. “I didn’t think about what I had lost, but what I was gaining every day. And the biggest miracle of all. That young girl is now my wife and she is with me here today.”

In his message to students, Mr. Sullivan acknowledged that graduates are in the middle of some serious life changes.

“But no matter how uncertain things might seem, there are things to achieve and people who need you. The past can be a heavy burden. But you can make it into a good memory and learn that there are many goals and achievements and relationships that you will cherish,” he said.

You can see more about Fall 2023 Convocation, including pictures and ceremony videos, here.

Published on October 24, 2023.