The exams have all been written, the final assignments graded and returned. Now, more than 3,500 Brock University students will cross the Convocation stage to close the book on the latest chapter of their post-secondary education journey.

Brock’s Spring Convocation will run from Monday, June 10 until Friday, June 14, with 3,100 undergraduate and more than 400 graduate students receiving their degrees in one of the nine ceremonies set to take place in the University’s Ian Beddis Gymnasium.

Brock University’s 105th Convocation will kick off at 10 a.m. Monday when Reggie Leach, a Stanley Cup-winning retired National Hockey League player, will receive an honorary doctorate during the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences’ ceremony.

Leach is one of the most prolific goal scorers in Philadelphia Flyers history, but in the years since he retired, he has been recognized for his efforts encouraging Indigenous youth to make wise life decisions.

Now living on Manitoulin Island, Leach will deliver the opening Convocation address Monday morning and will be followed throughout the week by speakers from both within and outside of Brock.

With the University known as a comprehensive post-secondary institution home to groundbreaking research, it’s no surprise that graduate students make up more than 13 per cent of the Class of 2019.

In addition to the hundreds of students set to receive master’s degrees, 14 students will graduate with a PhD next week. At Brock, PhD recipients have the honour of remaining on stage to sit with Faculty members, President Gervan Fearon, Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo, and other administrators and guests.

Among the graduands set to receive their degrees, 112 are student-athletes representing 36 teams and six academic Faculties. Among this group are Brock’s Male and Female Athletes of the Year, wrestlers Emily Schaefer (Education) and Jevon Balfour (Social Sciences).

All of the Convocation ceremonies are free to attend and no tickets are required. Parking is free for guests throughout the week. Free Wi-Fi is also being provided to guests throughout Convocation week. The BrockEvents Wi-fi network can be accessed using the username: BROCKGRAD and password: welcome2brock!

Each ceremony will also be streamed live online at brocku.ca/livestream

Below is a schedule of this year’s Convocation ceremonies along with some of the highlight stories:

Monday, June 10, 10 a.m. — Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

• Retired NHL hockey player Reggie Leach to receive honorary doctorate and give the Convocation address.

Monday, June 10, 2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

• Kinesiology Professor and Research Excellence award recipient Baraket Falk to give the Convocation address.

Tuesday, June 11, 10 a.m. — Faculty of Social Sciences

• Brock Badgers rower Laura Court will graduate with a degree in Psychology. Court was the first coxie to win an Ontario University Athletics Female Athlete of the Year award in rowing and made history on the national stage when she was named Outstanding Female Athlete at the Canadian University Rowing Championships.

Tuesday, June 11, 2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Social Sciences

• Brock Badgers wrestler and 2018-19 Male Athlete of the Year Jevon Balfour will graduate. Balfour is the top-ranked wrestler in the country for his weight class (74kg) and is graduating having won five consecutive individual provincial and national titles.

Wednesday, June 12, 10 a.m. — Faculty of Education

• Delivering the Convocation address will be Associate Professor of Educational Studies Dolana Mogadime, who served as the inaugural Visiting Scholar at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and is the Chair and Co-ordinator of the Teaching Nelson Mandela Advisory Committee.

Wednesday, June 12, 2:30 p.m. — Faculty of Education

• Graduating from the Master’s Preparation Certificate in Education program will be Esther Wainaina, who came to Canada from Kenya in 2018 with her three children in order to study for a career in labour force development. While her husband remains in Kenya to work, Wainaina will continue her education at Brock in September in the Master of Education program.

Thursday, June 13, 10 a.m. — Goodman School of Business

• Tek Thongpapanl will give the morning Convocation address as the recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Thursday, June 13, 2:30 p.m. — Goodman School of Business

• Delivering the Convocation address will be Mishka Balsom, President and CEO of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce.
• Graduating with a Bachelor of Business of Administration is Olivia Poulin, a Spirit of Brock recipient, outstanding student leader, entrepreneur and mentor. She represented Brock on the world stage, finishing in the Top 5 out of 204,000 applicants from around the world at Adecco Group’s Global CEO for One Month program.

Friday, June 14, 10 a.m. — Faculties of Humanities and Mathematics and Science

• Adam Tonet will receive the Governor General’s Gold Medal Award, which is given to the graduate student with the highest academic average. Tonet is receiving his MSc in Computer Science and finished with a 96 per cent average.
• The first students to complete their entire four-year degree at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts building downtown will cross the stage. The state-of-the-art facility housing the Departments of Music, Dramatic Arts, Visual Arts and the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture opened in 2015, thanks to an unprecedented $15-million gift from the late Marilyn I. Walker, famed fibre artist and philanthropist. The graduating class of 2019 includes 64 students.