Spring Convocation gets under way with Mac campus ceremony

The latest graduates of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at their May 28 Convocation ceremony. / Photo: Owen Egan
The latest graduates of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at their May 28 Convocation ceremony. / Photo: Owen Egan

By Jim Hynes

“Go now in peace to share the gift of knowledge that has been entrusted to you.”

With these words, Secretary-General Stephen Strople brought the first McGill spring Convocation ceremony of 2010 to a close last Friday, May 28, and sent approximately 350 new graduates from the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences off to face the future.

For the first time in a number of years, the Convocation ceremony on the Macdonald Campus was held in a vast tent. The covering provided welcome shade for the hundreds of friends and family of the new graduates on what was a warm, sunny afternoon.

In her address, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum paid tribute to those friends and family members who have supported the graduating class of 2010, then urged the graduates themselves to become leaders in an increasingly global and complex world.

“Remember that wherever you choose to live and work you will all be called upon to realize a more sustainable relationship with our physical environment and to do so while dealing with an uncertain economy. And there is nowhere that this a more dedicated effort than here at the Macdonald Campus of McGill.”

“As we rise with you to meet the challenges of our world, we all depend on knowledge, on the values and practices we have learned and reflected on, and most significantly, on dedicated and creative individuals, leaders, professionals and citizens. People just like you, graduating class.”

Honorary Doctorate recipient (Doctor of Laws, honoris causa) Jacques Bougie, a former CEO of Alcan Aluminium and successful business leader and philanthropist, delivered the Convocation Address, sharing some career tips and advice with his fellow graduates.

Skyler Veazey (BSc in Food Science) delivered the Valedictory Address. Read her Point of View article on graduation in the next issue of the McGill Reporter.