The University of Windsor plans to give five alumni honourary degrees during its convocation ceremonies this year, including the President of Rotary International and the founder of the Toronto Raptors.
Convocation ceremonies start on Tuesday, and over the course of nine sessions, 4,000 new graduates will cross the stage to collect their diplomas.
The university decided to include graduates from the past two years in ceremonies since COVID-19 restrictions prevented convocation ceremonies in 2020 and 2021.
Ceremonies this year will be at the WFCU Centre while the finishing touches are put on the new Toldo Lancer Centre.
On Tuesday, Jennifer Jones will receive an Honourary Doctorate of Laws. Jones graduated in 1991 and started the television and video production company Media Street Productions. She was the chair of the University of Windsor Board of Governors from 2012 to 2014 and a past chair of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Jones is also the first female president of Rotary International.
John Bitove, the founder of the Toronto Raptors Basketball Club and Canadian Satellite Radio, now Sirius XM Canada, will receive his Honourary Doctorate of Laws during the ceremony on Wednesday evening.
An Honourary Doctorate of Laws will go to Shannon Prince on Tuesday evening. She chairs the National Historic Sites Alliance and the Chatham-Kent Tourism Advisory Committee. Prince was named one of "100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women" in 2018.
Eros Spadotto recently retired as the executive vice-president at TELUS. He earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the University of Windsor in 1984. He will be honoured during Wednesday morning's convocation ceremony.
The final honouree is Allan Stitt. He is the president of ADR Chambers, the largest private alternative dispute resolution firm in the world. He will receive his Honourary Doctorate of Laws during next Friday's session.
This year's convocation ceremonies will also be live-streamed on the university's website.