Huntington University has officially anointed their new chancellor.
Patricia Mills, former publisher of Sudbury Living magazine and now executive director of NEO Kids, was officially installed at the university's spring convocation ceremony Thursday afternoon.
Mills is the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial role in university's 56-year history. Huntington, a federated member of Laurentian University, is a liberal arts institution with programs in communications, gerontology and religious studies.
“I've never been in a situation like this before where someone of higher learning wanted to bestow anything upon me — beyond not-so-higher language,” Mills joked during her remarks at the ceremony.
She went on to speak about Huntington's active pursuit of community engagement.
“One of the things I admire and respect about Huntington is that they go above and beyond to make an impact on the community,” she said. “You can't just be isolated from your community as an institution. The community is who you are and I see that very strongly-reflected at Huntington University.”
Not long after Mills officially donned her ceremonial cap and gown for the first time, she was called upon to bestow a pair of Honorary Doctorates of Sacred Letters, Huntington's highest honour.
James Marchbank, the former chief executive of Science North, received a degree for his 25-year stewardship of the science centre including several aggressive expansions — most notably, the addition of the giant IMAX Theatre.
In his remarks, Marchbank praised the past and present staff of Science North and reflected on his own career.
“I've been retired for six years so I've had lots of time to reflect on success at Science North and other Sudbury success stories,” he said. “I hasten to add I don't spend my time looking backwards.”
“Community progress is built on great teamwork led by good leaders. It's also the result of focus, strategic choices and risk-taking.”
Richard Yallowega, founding partner of the Yallowega Belanger Salach architecture firm, received a degree for his contributions to Northern Ontario architecture — including designs for Dynamic Earth and Sudbury Downs — as well as his international work including a project for the World Bank in Malaysia.
A noticeably moved Yallowega spoke about his pride for growing up in Sudbury and contributing to its community.
“It's really important to me that I'm from Sudbury,” he said. “I wear that as a badge of honour anywhere I go.”
Yallowega told a story of working on a project in London and a conversation he had with a board member.
“He came up to me and said 'where are you from?' and I said 'Sudbury,' and he said 'you must be really good to come this far,'” he recounted.
Kevin McCormick, Huntington's president and vice-chancellor, spoke of Marchbank and Yallowega as two of many visionaries that Sudbury has seen.
“Today is an opportunity to not only reflect on successes of the past but to look forward to the future,” he said. “A future is not just something we see in the moment, but we stand on the ground that others have laid for us — individuals who have ensured that there's access to education, opportunities for economic development, that there's a way to enrich our community that is new, innovative and different.”
