Six selected for spring honorary degrees

Stephen Lewis, United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, is part of a distinguished group of six who will accept honorary degrees during the university's spring convocation ceremonies June 1-4.

Along with Lewis, honorary degrees will be presented to retired Supreme Court Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, Kwa-guilth artist Richard Hunt, Victoria arts activist and fundraiser Jane Heffelfinger, American health information specialist Dr. Morris Collen, and Percy Wilkinson, a Victoria centenarian with a lifelong record of public service.

Passionately committed to fight-ing the scourge of HIV/AIDS, Stephen Lewis was appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to work closely with African leaders, United Nations colleagues, and the Economic Commission of Africa to find ways to prevent the epidemic's spread, protect the vulnerable and promote scientific breakthroughs.

Lewis has served with the UN for the past 20 years, including as deputy executive director of UNICEF and Canadian ambassador to the UN. Last year he was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest honour for lifetime achievement. He was also named Maclean's magazine's first "Canadian of the Year." (June 3, 2:30 p.m., LLD)

Retired Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé was nicknamed "The Great Dissenter" during her time on Canada's highest court. One hundred of her 254 written judgments were dissents, many of which became the basis of future majority judgments and legislative reforms, particularly in the areas of family law and human rights. She identified and helped the judiciary address gender and racial biases in decision-making and spoke out against discrimination and inequality. (June 3, 10 a.m., LLD)

Richard Hunt was born in Alert Bay but has spent most of his life in Victoria. He apprenticed with his late father, Henry Hunt, and was the chief carver in the Royal B.C. Museum's Thunderbird Park until the mid-'80s when he began his career as an internationally admired artist. He has produced an amazing array of work that includes Kwa-giulth masks, totems, drums, rattles, prints, jewelry and art on clothing. His design, "The Kulus," was used for the bronze medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. (June 1, 2:30 p.m., DFA)

There are few areas of Victoria arts, culture, and health care that haven't benefited from the efforts of Jane Heffelfinger. She has actively supported Pacific Opera Victoria, was the arts and culture chair of the Victoria Commonwealth Games, and served as a director of the CBC. Her fundraising skills have advanced the Greater Victoria Hospital Foundation and the UVic Foundation. (June 2, 2:30 p.m., LLD)

A physician, scientist and advisor to American presidents, Dr. Morris Collen is known as the father of multiphase health testing and medical informatics - the use of computers and statistics to manage health information. His contributions to his field and his unquestioned ethics have led to two major awards being named in his honour. His book, The History of Health Informatics in the U.S., is in worldwide use. (June 4, 2:30 p.m., DSc)

Born in 1903, Percy Wilkinson has been a teacher, school administrator, World War II air force officer, and, for 80 years, a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of Canada. A medal was minted in 2002 to commemorate his extraordinary service as a scouter. He is a 1926 graduate of Victoria's Provincial Normal School for teachers and an honorary life member of the Air Force Association of Canada. (June 1, 10 a.m., LLD)