Nipissing University Convocations

International award winning novelist, Jane Urquhart

Two extraordinary Canadians joined graduating Nipissing University Students to receive honorary degrees during the second day of commencement ceremonies at the main campus today.

General John de Chastelain received an honorary degree, Doctor of Education and delivered the convocation address to the graduates of Nipissing's Faculty of Education, Intermediate / Senior division.

The retired general attended Fettes College in Scotland and Mount Royal College in Calgary. General de Chastelain was a member of the International Body on Arms Decommissioning in Northern Ireland and one of three International Chairmen involved in the Northern Ireland peace talks. His work brokered the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement April 10, 1998. Since September 1997, he has been Chairman of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning in Northern Ireland.

International award winning novelist, Jane Urquhart, gave the convocation address to graduates of Nipissing's Faculty of Arts and Science and received and honorary degree, Doctor of Letters.

Urquhart was born in northern Ontario spoke to the students about the landscape of Northern Ontario and the landscapes of their lives. Urquhart's fiction has earned accolades including the Governor General's Award for Fiction, the Marian Engle Prize, the Trillium Award, The Harbourfront International Festival Prize, and France's prestigious Le Prix de Meilleur Livre Ãtranger. Her books have also been short-listed and long-listed for a number of international prizes including the Giller Prize, Orange Prize, The International Dublin IMPAC literacy award and the Booker Prize.