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Honourary Doctor of Laws (LLD)

Hope, vision and action: Those are the key themes that honorary degree recipient Frank O'Dea used to guide his achievements. And that was his message to the spring classes of 2005, as more than 700 people received degrees, certificates and diplomas on the lawn of Hatley Castle on June 17.

The founders of Royal Roads University might have used these same themes to guide them ten years ago when they established Canada's only public institution created to solely address the knowledge needs of the global workplace.

"From a standing start in 1995, Royal Roads University has grown to serving more than 3,000 learners each year, and we have more than 6,500 alumni working and contributing around the world," university president and vice-chancellor Richard Skinner told graduands, their friends and family, "These have been exhilarating years and we have, quite literally, just begun."

And so it was that RRU would hold its 16th convocation by honouring two people who have dedicated their lives to fostering hope and a vision the spurs action.

The morning ceremony heard from Anne Golden, president and CEO of the Conference Board of Canada. Golden has a widely recognized reputation as a business leader who has made substantial contributions towards public policies that seek to minimize the effects of urban poverty.

In addressing graduands, Golden spoke about how her personal goals are common to those set out by Royal Roads, which makes being honoured by this university of particular significance to her.

Golden spoke on the erosion of public trust in governments, professions and corporations, a theme she says resonates in her role as head of the Conference Board of Canada. Nevertheless, she gave graduands a positive message of hope for the future.

"Poet W.B. Yeats once wrote that 'Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire,'" she said, "I hope that your education at Royal Roads University has prepared you by stoking the fire of your determination to keep learning; and the fire of your determination to be trustworthy members of your professions; and finally, the fire of your determination to be engaged in the community in order to create the conditions for you, and our country, to prosper over the next decades."

In a news conference after the ceremony, Golden said she was pleasantly surprised that she was honoured by Royal Roads on the same day as Frank O'Dea.

"It was a nice surprise," she said, as O'Dea sat next to her also taking questions from reporters, "because Frank and I have both worked very hard to deliver a message of the importance of corporate responsibility. So there are some clear synergies in our work."

O'Dea spoke to graduands in the afternoon ceremony, challenging them to rise to the opportunities they have to give back to the communities that helped them get to the convocation stage.

"It's not the money you make, it's the difference you make that matters most," he told them.

O'Dea described his struggle to overcome alcoholism and poverty to be welcomed into the Order of Canada for his contribution to business, politics and philanthropy over that last three decades. His message resonated with the audience which rose to its feet for a standing ovation after his speech.

As the procession emerged from the marquee into the brilliant sunshine of a late spring day, the Olympic mountain range towered across the Juan De Fuca Strait as graduates and their families mingled on the picturesque grounds of the Edwardian estate that RRU calls home, the day's theme continued to ring in people's ears.

Hope, vision and action: these are three words spring 2005 won't soon forget.

©2005 Royal Roads University

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