Thursday, October 16, 2014
Honorary Doctorate Speech – York University
Bonnie M. Patterson
Mr. Chancellor, Mr. President, Madame Provost, honoured graduates and guests, colleagues,
ladies and gentlemen and my family here with me today.
It is an honour and a privilege to be standing here today at Canada’s third largest university –
an institution that has, in a short 55 year history, done so much to educate so many. For
graduates today, how amazing to be joining more than 270,000 alumni in your global network
of Yorkites!! That’s impressive.
I’m proud of a personal family connection to York: my nephew Kevin is a graduate and is here
with me today. He was brave enough when he was here as a student to invite his somewhat
older aunt to one of his dances at McLaughlin College residence. I think my presence was a
little shocking to his floor mates but I remember that night with great fondness. I learned some
new moves on the dance floor, his fellow students were welcoming and inclusive and knew how
to have a good time!
That inclusiveness and welcoming spirit is a dominant feature referenced often by those who
have studied here at York. A couple of weeks ago I was at Queen’s Park in the media studio
doing a TV interview, as was a student leader who had just graduated. When I asked him
where he studied, he answered enthusiastically – York. And when I asked him about his
experience, not knowing what to expect, he said: “for me, it was nothing less than fantastic.”
He felt a real sense of community here, his profs challenged him intellectually and through
interdisciplinary studies, he had all kinds of leadership opportunities and he chose student
government. He was proud. I’m not sure an unsolicited endorsement could get any better.
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
H.G. Wells wrote, “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and
catastrophe.”
Embedded in that quote is great faith in education; faith in the power of learning, hope, and
with education, the capacity to excel.
You have heard in that generous citation a little about the various roles and a few firsts that I
have enjoyed throughout my career working in and for universities. Having spent most of that
40-year history in university administration, you won’t be surprised when I say I've listened to
many convocation addresses to graduating classes!
So when I put the phone down from speaking with President Shoukri about this honour, my
first worry was what could “I” possibly say that hasn’t already been said? To have this
opportunity to speak to graduands today is therefore both intimidating and humbling.
University was not on my radar screen when I was in high school. Having left home at 16, I
was focused on my part-time job, paying my room and board, and finding a full-time job after
high school. A teacher who took me under her wing, and into her home, asked that critically
important question of me as I went into my final year – what university are you thinking about
attending? It wasn’t whether, but where. That not only challenged my thinking, but made me
pause. It dared me to dream. Today I’d be called a “first gen” student like many of you
graduating today – the first in my family to attend university.
While that was a long time ago, without a doubt, I know my university experience both inside
and outside the classroom, provided me with choices in my life that I would not have otherwise
had – choice and opportunity. It allowed me to fail, to discover, to learn, to excel and quite
frankly, to figure out what was important to me.
My learning has come in many different forms throughout my life – both formal and informal –
from negative and positive experiences. Our world that we share faces many critical challenges
today – and not just from the perspective of a global economy but civil society. As individuals,
we must accept that we have a personal responsibility to learn more in a global context.
Living and travelling throughout North Africa and continental Europe, in what I affectionately
call my "gap year" during undergraduate studies, transformed my life. That year played a
profound role in shaping who I am today and what I value, and launched my understanding of
what it means to be a global citizen.
Memorable from that period in my life was a time spent searching in the desert of Libya in a
camel caravan for a friend’s wife who entered a medina stall in Tunis and never came out. We
joined a search posse for several months - her husband for several years - never to locate her
in the white slave market. We had to bribe our way out of Algeria when several attempts to
cross the border into Morocco were unsuccessful and our passports were confiscated.
More recently, my volunteer life with a foundation that works to get and keep girls in school in
the Masai Mara in Kenya, reminds me that what we accept here as a given, does not apply in
other parts of the world. A teachers’ strike meant the girls had to return to their villages or
orphanages and, when the strike ended, quite a number of the girls from the program didn’t
return to school – they were married off for dowry as the break in the school year meant the
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
contract signed by their guardians to not take them from school, was deemed null and void.
Some were as young as 11 years of age.
Those experiences, whether from the early 70’s or more recent, are constant reminders of what
we sometimes take for granted in the Western world. And the early international experiences in
my life were game changers, setting the context for my interest and commitment to the
internationalization of our universities today and ensuring the opportunity for international
student experiences.
Working in a university has provided me a dynamic environment in which to learn something
every day. I am continuously inspired by the students I meet. I’ve learned from those I’ve
taught and been consistently impressed by the commitment and intellect of faculty and
administrators within our universities and the people who devote their lives to student success.
And I’ve come to realize that in my career, regardless of the title, it’s really about “relationship
management.” The relative emphasis has changed from job to job. In one, an emphasis on
managing relationships up the line; in another, managing across peers, and certainly always
managing relationships with those who work for and with you. Whether focused inside an
organization or more outward focused, whether with an employee, a boss, a peer, a donor, a
government official or politician, the tenets of success in those working relationships are the
same: respect, integrity, using the attributes of leadership that embrace kindness and courage,
taking informed risks, and applying your knowledge and judgment.
My life has certainly pushed me to work outside my comfort zone! It's not an easy thing and
truthfully a bit scary, but a great technique to help you grow and continuously learn.
A couple of years ago I went back to the classroom as a student in one of those expensive
executive development programs for corporate directors. While I’ve always taken advantage of
professional development programs, courses and conferences, to commit to significant
readings, testing and to be amongst peers who had much more experience in the private sector
than I did, was a bit unsettling!
It had been years since I had written formal exams and the program had not only a written
exam but also group and individual oral examinations. It turned out that most of us worried
about that same thing regardless of our background experience – I wasn’t alone – and only
when approaching the finals did we share our anxiety. In the end I was fine and achieved top
grades to receive the Institute of Corporate Directors designation, but it was moving into an alltoo-familiar space – I was outside my comfort zone, and again, the less familiar paid off. This is
but one illustration of something I believe will be very important in your future - continuous
learning. York has given you a life-long skill set of learning how to learn: one that will stand the
test of time.
I consider my 40 years serving the university sector both a pleasure and a privilege. University
administration has allowed me to “practice my passion” – yes, passion. I love universities and
their capacity to transform lives, to inspire, to create room to understand oneself. Finding the
“PASSION” in what you do is a critical success factor – whether in your career or in your life.
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Winston Churchill, who arguably gave the shortest convocation address in history, focused his
message on five words – never, never, never give up. Now that’s a paraphrase as he actually
said 23 words:
"Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except
to convictions of honor and good sense.”
I haven’t been quite that short. But I have tried to share with you something of what my
university life has shown me. In summary, let me reiterate my five bits of advice, in less than
60 words!
1. Relationships matter – manage yours well, with respect and integrity.
2. Challenge yourself to work outside your comfort zone.
3. Never stop learning and seek opportunities in a global context.
4. Find your passion, which requires that you take the time to get to know yourself. Where
there’s passion, there is happiness and excellence will emerge.
5. Remember the Wizard of Oz – you have a heart, a brain, and courage – all the
attributes of emotional intelligence are in you to apply.
And so that’s it – that’s part of my story. My best wishes to you on your life’s journey. Carry the
skills you have learned at York with pride as you celebrate your graduation today, and don't
worry too much about the destination. It’s more about the journey.
Meegwetch, merci, thank you for this honour and allowing me to share this special day with
you.
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