Justice William deWit and Professor Timothy Caulfield receive honorary degrees from University of Calgary
Helen Metella - 26 November 2020
Two alumni of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law are receiving honorary degrees from the University of Calgary on November 26.
The Honourable Justice William deWit, 94 LLB, and Professor Timothy Caulfield, ‘90 LLB, are being awarded that university’s highest academic honour for their notable achievements and community service during a virtual convocation ceremony that begins at 6 p.m.
The Hon. Justice deWit
The Hon. Justice deWit has been a member of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta since 2017. Before joining the bench, he worked in criminal law for more than 20 years. Throughout, he assisted in the education of young lawyers by contributing to national legal training programs, and as a volunteer to influential committees within the criminal law bar. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2014.
In his community, deWit was a board member of Calgary’s Inn from the Cold and a volunteer with numerous children’s sports teams. Before pursuing a law degree he was one of Canada’s most outstanding amateur boxers, winning a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
Prof. Timothy Caulfield
Professor Caulfield is a Canada research chair in Health Law and Policy, a professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and research director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. An internationally recognized leader in the areas of health law and science policy, Caulfield is equally known for his spectacular productivity and ability to engage a wide range of audiences.
He has published more than 350 academic articles and is the author of several books, including the just-released, Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety. He is also the host and co-producer of A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, an award-winning documentary TV series, shown in over 60 countries and streamed on Netflix.
Caulfield is renowned internationally for fighting the rise and spread of pseudoscience and misinformation, most recently in connection with COVID-19.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Trudeau Foundation.
Each of the honorary degree recipients will deliver an address to the University of Calgary’s Fall 2020 convocants. Justice deWit will address the Faculty of Kinesiology and the Faculty of Law, while Caulfield will address the Cumming School of Medicine, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine