Retired educator and politician Rick Bartolucci will receive an honourary doctorate from Laurentian University on Oct. 29.
Bartolucci will have a doctorate of laws conferred upon him at a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The former Sudbury MPP was born in Sudbury and earned a Laurentian University Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973. He worked as a teacher and school principal for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board for 30 years.
He entered public office as a Sudbury city councillor from 1979 to 1982 and again from 1985 to 1991.
Bartolucci went on to win five provincial elections, and served as member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014, representing Sudbury as a Liberal MPP for 19 years.
During those 19 years, he held three ministerial portfolios and served as chair of cabinet.
Bartolucci’s advocacy for funding was instrumental in the launch of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, the McEwen School of Architecture, the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation and the Vale Living with Lakes Centre, a press release from Laurentian said.
Also receiving a doctorate of letters Saturday is Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino, who will be honoured at the 10 a.m. ceremony.
“We are proud to recognize two outstanding Sudburians who have the vision, ambition, and grit to take on leadership roles that improve our lives and enrich our communities,” said Laurentian University President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux.
“We are proud to honour them as distinguished members of our university community.”
Cimolino is the artistic director of the Stratford Festival and director of the critically acclaimed 2016 productions of Macbeth and The Hypochondriac. Born and raised in the Nickel City, he has said teachers at St. Charles College and Marymount instilled a love of theatre in this northern boy.
In a news release, LU calls Cimolino "a respected artist and influential leader in the global theatrical community."
He began his career as an actor at Stratford in 1988 and began taking the reins of productions as a director in the mid-1990s. Cimolino's passion for arts and education saw him spearhead, Laurentian says in the release, Stratford's involvement in a project to establish a performing arts and educational centre in Suchitoto, El Salvador.
Both ceremonies will take place in the Fraser Auditorium.
