MEDIA RELEASE: R00214 – 3 October 2016

Brock University Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo will be on campus Tuesday, Oct. 4 for two significant events that will further define the University’s soul and culture.

At 10 a.m., a special ritual will officially open the Healing Garden that was completed this summer in the planted space on the north side of the Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex.

Tuesday’s event comes almost exactly a year after Cheechoo helped plant the symbolic white pine tree that is now in the centre of the Healing Garden.
Healing gardens are typically greenspaces that provide a passive refuge where people can pause and reflect. Brock’s garden is meant to symbolize the University’s commitment to Indigenous students and issues, and be a focal point for positive discussion.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, a special dedication will take place near the Glenridge Avenue entrance to campus, where earlier this year the traffic roundabout and Greenhouse Lane were renamed Suzanne Rochon-Burnett Circle to honour the Metis broadcaster, artist and journalist who became a national icon and advocate for many causes, including Indigenous education, arts and business groups.

Rochon-Burnett, who passed away in 2006, established a Brock scholarship in 1996 for Indigenous students in communications and business, and in 2002 she received an Honorary Doctorate from the University in recognition of her contributions to Canadian cultural life. She was also a member of Brock’s Board of Trustees from 1995-2001, and has been followed in that role by her daughter, current Brock trustee Michele-Elise Burnett.

Members of the media are invited to attend the two events, and interview opportunities will be available.

For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

* Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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