Golden Key Honor Society McGill Chapter- Leadership

HONORARY MEMBERS
At every annual induction ceremony, the Golden Key Chapter at McGill University inducts a few members of the McGill Community to be honorary members for life. These individuals have made remarkable achievements throughout their careers and we are proud to have them as members of our chapter.

2009-2010

Pierrette Rayle obtained an LLB from the Université de Montréal in 1969, where she was awarded the Gold Medal. A specialist in family law, she practised throughout her career with the firm now known as Fasken Martineau.
As a member of the Bar's sub-committee on family law, she was a delegate to the Commission parlementaire du Québec on family law reform (1978-1988). She was elected a member of the Bar Council of Montreal (1989-1993) and became Bâtonnier (1992-1993), the first time this position was held by a woman. During this period, she was also a sessional lecturer at the Université de Montréal and McGill University. She was appointed to the Superior Court in Montreal in 1995, and was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2002.

Professor Selvadurai has research interests in applied mathematics, continuum mechanics, computational geomechanics and experimental mechanics. His teaching interests include geomechanics and mathematical methods in solid mechanics and environmental geomechanics. He is a consultant to a number of engineering organizations in Canada and abroad, and the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including the Humboldt Senior Scientist Award in 1998, The Killam Research Fellowship of the Canada Council for the Arts in 2000 and the Max Planck Research Prize in 2003. He is the first civil engineer to receive the Killam Research Fellowship and the only Canadian engineer to receive the Humboldt and Killam and the Max Planck research awards. In 2007 he received the Killam Prize for Engineering awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Gold Medal of the Canadian Congress of Applied Mechanics and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Dr. Daniel Levitin is the FCAR Strategic Associate Professor of Psychology at McGill University (Montreal, Quebec), and holds associate appointments in the Department of Music Theory and the McGill School of the Environment. Levitin earned his B.A. in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science at Stanford University, and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Oregon, researching complex auditory patterns and pattern processing in expert and non-expert populations. He completed a two-year Post-Doctoral research position at Interval Research Corporation where he worked on human-computer interaction and musical interface design (one of the instruments he helped develop is currently being played by Laurie Anderson and by Michael Brook). Before receiving his academic degrees, he worked as a record company executive and record producer. He has consulted on audio sound source separation for the U.S. Navy, and on technical and marketing issues for every major record label. He taught at Stanford University for several years in the Department of Computer Science, the Program in Human-Computer Interaction, and the Departments of Psychology, Anthropology, Computer Music, and History of Science.

Wael B. Hallaq is currently the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. After a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, he joined McGill University in 1985, to become an assistant professor in Islamic law. In 1994, he earned full professorship, and in 2005 became a James McGill Professor in Islamic law. A prolific author and lecturer, he is a world-renowned scholar of Islamic law, with numerous contributions to the field of Islamic legal studies. His work has been translated into several languages, including Arabic, Indonesian, Hebrew, Japanese, Persian, and Turkish.

2008-2009

Dr. David Lank- Director Emeritus of the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies -Keynote speaker

Mr. Lank, Director Emeritus of the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, is a retired senior partner of Canada’s oldest investment counsel firm. Starting his professional career with DuPont International in Geneva, Switzerland in 1960, Mr. Lank returned to Canada as Deputy Head of Operations for Expo ‘67, Canada’s World’s Fair. In 1968, along with the late Donald C. Webster, he co-founded Helix Investment Management, one of the true pioneering venture capital firms in Canada, participating as a member of the board in the start-up financing of more than 140 new companies in Canada, the United States, and abroad. Today, he acts as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Helix in Toronto. During a ten-year term as Chairman, Mr. Lank initiated and completed the renovation and major expansion of the McCord Museum of Canadian History. Mr. Lank is past president of the McGill Associates, ex-governor of Lower Canada College and Bishop’s University, past-chairman of the Friends of the Library of Concordia University, and former member of the Fine Arts Advisory Board of Concordia, where for five years he taught the history of animal art from cave painting to the present. An avid outdoorsman, he served as President of the Atlantic Salmon Association for ten years, and was presented with the T.B. Fraser Award for his outstanding contribution to salmon conservation. An author of more than 45 books and hundreds of articles and museum catalogues on a variety of subjects, Mr. Lank has nevertheless concentrated on natural history and wilderness art. For tremendous service to cultural and conservation organizations, in addition to countless hours devoted to volunteering for youth organizations, Mr. Lank was awarded the Order of Canada.

Dr. Robert Rabinovitch- Former President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada Dr. Robert Rabinovitch was President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada from 1999 to 2007. He graduated from McGill prior to earning an M.A. and Ph.D in Economics and Finance from the University of Pennsylvania. The former COO of Claridge Inc., he served in the Federal Government for 18 years as Under Secretary of State, Deputy Minister of Communications, and Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet. He has supported culture and philanthropy through the Canadian Executive Service Organization, the CRB Foundation, the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, the Canadian Jewish Congress (Quebec), and the Nunavut Trust Investment Advisory Committee. Since 1997, Mr. Rabinovitch has continued to make major contributions to McGill University as a member of the university’s Board of Governors and as this body’s Chair since 1999. In the words of McGill’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, “he has worked tirelessly over his mandate to advance McGill’s interests in the broader community, while overseeing the implementation of essential reforms to the Board structures and processes that have made governance at McGill more transparent, effective, and accountable.”

Dr. Payam Akhavan- Professor, author, Legal advisor to the International Criminal Tribunal

Previously the Boulton Senior Fellow at McGill, Dr. Payam Akhavan has also been a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and Visiting Lecturer and Senior Fellow at Yale Law School and the Yale University Centre for International and Area Studies. Among his extensive published essays, “Beyond Impunity: Can International Criminal Justice Prevent Future Atrocities?” published in the American Journal of International Law was selected by the International Library of Law and Legal Theory as one of “the most significant published journal essays in contemporary legal studies.” Professor Akhavan was the first Legal Advisor to the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Tribunals for Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and played a key role in the development of its foundational jurisprudence. He also has considerable experience in post-conflict peace-building and international dispute settlement, having advised the UN on transitional justice, appearing as counsel before international courts and tribunals on behalf of sovereigns, and serving on the board of directors of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, of which he is also the president and co-founder. His work has been featured in the New York Times and, in recognition of his contributions to promoting accountability for human rights violations, he was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2005.

2007-2008

Ms. Helene Mathieu: First practising female lawyer in the UAE (Keynote Speaker)

Ms. Mathieu has a well-established legal practice in Dubai providing legal counsel on various issues of Canadian and UAE law, as well as helping Canadian businesses establish roots in the United Arab Emirates. In 1997, Ms. Mathieu became the first woman in the United Arab Emirates to be granted Legal Licence to practice law in that country after at least three years of determination and perseverance against the obstacles raised by the Dubai Ministry of Justice. During her student years Ms. Mathieu served as Vice President - External Affairs of the Law Students’ Association. She also represented the whole student body of the University in front of a Parliamentary Committee in Quebec city to obtain the approval of the Government to expand the McGill Sports Centre. Ms. Mathieu is also a strong promoter of Canadian business in the Arabian Peninsula. Her firm is involved in making commercial connections between Canada and Dubai. Canada’s Consul General in Dubai has defined Ms. Mathieu as a “real ally for Canadian business”. Ms. Mathieu has served as the chair as well as an executive member of Canada Business Council of Dubai and the Northern Emirates. She also takes an active part in the events of the International Business Women Group and Dubai Business Women Council, emphasizing the important role of female entrepreneurs and professional in the Dubai business community. Ms. Mathieu participates regularly in sessions of Dubai Rotary Club being one of the prominent non-profit organizations in the Emirate.

Michelle Ahern Tisseyre: Member of the Order of Canada

Ms. Tisseyre has worked as a news anchor woman, radio announcer, fashion commentator, journalist and actrice. For twenty five years, Ms Tisseyre was one of the most memorable stars of French Canadian radio and television. Ms. Tisseyre was the first woman to do the 15 minute "grand journal" news report on Radio-Canada from 1942- 1944. She also landed the first exclusive interview with Avila Camacho, the president of Mexico in 1944. In addition she hosted the first talk show in Canada in 1952,'Rendez-vous avec Michelle'. She was also involved in print journalism, writing articles for over a decade for Photo-Journal, collaborating on La revue populaire as well as La revue Moderne. In 1948, after playing the leading role in a Henry Deyglan radio series, Ms Tisseyre's career in both the French and English theatre took off as she was invited to star in leading roles in Montreal's theatres. She also collaborated as an author and manager in the publication of Encyclopedie de la femme canadienne in 1965 and in the early 1970s Ms Tisseyre founded 'La Collection des deux Solitudes' with her husband Pierre Tisseyre who was a French-born writer and a pioneer of the Quebec publishing industry. She won the title of Miss Radio Canada in 1959, was named one of the ten most elegant women in Canada by Liberty magazine in 1957 and again in 1961. In addition, she has earned the Canada Council Award for literary translation in 1975 and the Medaille d'or de la Renaissance française in 1997. Ms Tisseyre was also made Member of the Order of Canada and then Officer of the Order of Canada on May 30, 2001 for her services to communications in Canada.

Dr. Lauren Chapman: Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Aquatic conservation

Dr. Chapman is currently a professor of Biology at McGill University. She has spent 11 years as a faculty member at the University of Florida and currently holds a Canada Research Chair in Respiratory Ecology and Aquatic Conservation. Dr. Chapman’s major research themes are aquatic ecology and conservation. She is particularly interested in problems of environmental stressors on aquatic organisms and the adaptation of fishes to extreme environments. Dr. Chapman has served as an honorary lecturer at Makerere University of Uganda since 1990, and an associate scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society since 1995. In Uganda, Dr. Chapman’s research has been fostered by a long-term field base at the Makerere University Biological Field Station. It is an excellent resource for research, outreach and training. The station, now integrated into McGill’s Africa semester abroad program, is a window through which the interaction and conflicts between nature and people can be better understood. Dr. Chapman’s program is strongly embedded in international research and training that has been fostered by strong links with the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute and Makerere University of Uganda.

Dr. Albert Aguayo: President of the International Brain Research Foundation

Dr Aguayo has served as the director of McGill’s Centre for Research in Neuroscience at the Montreal General Hospital Research Institute and is now affiliated as an associate member with the centre. Dr. Aguayo is well known for his pioneering research in neuroscience showing for the first time that nerve cells in brain and spinal cord of adult animals can regrow after damage. He was awarded the Killiam Prize for Health Sciences in 1999 by the Canada Council to mark his lifetime contributions in the health sciences particularly neuroscience. He was awarded the Prix Wilder- Penfield in 1994 for his contributions to biomedical sciences. Currently Dr. Aguayo is the president of the International Brain Research Organization. This organization is affiliated with UNESCO and fosters collaboration between 50,000 neuroscientists from more than 100 countries.

2004-2005

Honourable Warren Allmand, O.C., P.C., Q.C.

Former Cabinet Member, Past President of Rights and Democracy, currently teaching at McGill UniversityWarren Allmand is a former member of parliament and a former Cabinet member in the Trudeau Government. After leaving Parliament in 1997, he became president of the Montreal-based human rights group International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights and Democracy).He graduated from St Francis Xavier with an honours economics degree in 1954, from McGill University with a bachelor of civil law in 1957, and from the University of Paris with a certificate of comparative law in 1959. Warren Allmand represented the Montreal constituency of Notre-Dame-de-Grace in Parliament between 1966 and 1997. In 1972 he was appointed Solicitor General of Canada; in 1976, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development; and in 1977, Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. He remains committed to improving the world as well as his hometown of Montreal. He was active in the creation of the Rome Convention that created the International Criminal Court. Currently he continues to be involved in human rights activism, and teaches at McGill University to pass what he has learned during his lengthy political and humanitarian career to a new generation.

Dr. Gerald H.B. Ross

Gerald Ross, arrives with unique ideas on business education. He brings with him over 20 years of consulting on managing change in the corporate sector - turning challenge into opportunity - to rethink education at McGill’s Faculty of Management. Central to the Faculty’s new strategy is the redesign of the curriculum and research through the creation of Competency Centres that mirror the priority issues facing business, such as how to turn a start-up firm into a sustainable business, or how to make complex decisions in a global market. “Business schools cannot prepare future business leaders to deal with these issues by teaching finance or marketing in silos,” explains Dean Ross. McGill's “Hothouse” - the first of several Competency Centres - will address a major bottleneck to growth in young companies. “The biggest problem in business today is not how to incubate a successful start-up, but how to take it from a $20 million to a $200 million corporation without losing the original entrepreneurial spirit,” adds Dean Ross. The quality of education is also a major focus of the strategy. Increasing university class size has left little time for interaction with professors. “We need to reinvent the learning process to significantly increase the exposure students have to tenured faculty,” Dean Ross explains. In the future, class time will be used primarily for interaction, not for linear transmission of business concepts that can be done through the Intranet. As a result, the Faculty will maximise the interaction students have with McGill’s top faculty members, offering them the best channel to access high quality learning. A native Montrealer, Dr. Ross spent most of his consulting career in the U.S. Prior to joining McGill, he was founder and senior partner of Change Lab International, a consulting organization specialized in the development of techniques to assist organizations in building new visions and managing change to create competitive advantage in the marketplace. He is also Chairman of Astute Inc., an organization that develops advanced context-based learning methodologies for business. During his consulting career, Dr. Ross has worked with some of the world’s premier corporations such as 3M, Xerox, IBM, DuPont, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Reuters and Kodak.

2003-2004

Dr. Henry Mintzberg

Professor Henry Mintzberg is a Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at Mcgill where he has been since graduating with a doctorate from MIT in 1968. (His undergraduate degree was from McGill in Mechanical Engineering). He also holds the title of Visiting Scholar at INSEAD in Fontainbleau, France.He has worked for much of the past seven years in collaboration with colleagues from Canada, England, France, India, and Japan, to develop new approaches to management education.He has written ten books and published over 120 articles in some of the world's top business publications. Prof Mintzberg won the Mckinsey Prize for the best article in the Harvard business review in 1975 and for second best in 1987. He holds honorary degrees from a list of universities and is an officer of the order of Canada. He also enjoys spending his personal time writing short stories, biking and traveling.

Dr. Marc Garneau :President, Canadian Space Agency

Dr Marc Garneau is a former astronaut and current president of the Canadian space agency. He was Born February 23, 1949, in Quebec City. He Received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics from the Royal Military College of Kingston in 1970, and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, England. He served in the Canadian navy where he received the rank of captain before retiring in 1989. He joined the Canadian space agency in 1983 and later became the first Canadian to go into space. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1984, he was the Recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1997, and was a Co-recipient of the F.W. (Casey) Baldwin Award in 1985 for the best paper in the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal. He also holds honorary degrees from a host of universities.

Dr. Heather Monroe-Blum

In January 2003, Professor Heather Munroe-Blum became the 16th Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University. She is a member of the Faculty of Medicine and a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She served at the University of Toronto as a Professor, as Vice-President, Research & International Relations (1994 to 2002), and as a governor of the University of Toronto. She was previously a professor at York University, at McMaster University and at the University of Toronto, where she also served as Dean of Social Work prior to becoming Vice-President. Professor Munroe-Blum holds the following degrees: B.A., B.S.W. (McMaster University); M.S.W. (Wilfrid Laurier University); Ph.D. with distinction (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Heather Munroe-Blum is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Specially Elected Fellow in the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada. She is the recipient of numerous other honours including membership in the McMaster Alumni Gallery; recipient of the McMaster University Distinguished Alumni Award; and the Outstanding Alumni Award of the School of Public Health of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

2002-2003

Dr. Joe Schwarcz

Dr. Joseph A Schwarcz is a Professor of Chemistry and the Director of the "McGill Office for Chemistry and Society" at McGill University. Also known as "Dr. Joe", his love of chemistry and science has led him to a wide variety of projects and won him the American Chemical Society's Stack-Grady Award for interpreting science to the public. He initiated an applied chemistry course called "The World of Chemistry" which has the highest enrolment of all non-required courses at McGill. He also conceived a unique stage show "The Magic Of Chemistry", that blends chemistry, magic, slides and music and has educated and entertained more than 100,000 people across Canada and the U.S. Along with being the author of some interesting books, he appears regularly on TVO's Your Health, Montreal radio station CJAD, CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks and on the Discovery Channel.

Father Emmett Johns
In 1988, Father Emmett Johns decided to make his lifelong dream come true: he became a missionary. Although he didn't have to leave the country to make this happen, his journey has indeed been a very long one. After 36 years as a priest at various parishes throughout Greater Montreal, he found his calling in the city's downtown streets. He started out by meandering through these streets at night in a used van he bought with his own meager savings in an attempt to make contact with young streetkids in need of a bite to eat and a little human compassion. That's how Le Bon Dieu dans la rue came into being. Soon afterward, the charity's founder, who was 60 at the time, was affectionately nicknamed "Pops" by those he was committed to helping. Over the years, Father Emmett Johns' work with street-kids has been acknowledged time and time again. Some awards of Honor that he has received include an honorary doctorate from Concordia University (1997), Maclean's Honour Roll(1997), and the Bishop Crowley Award (2002). (source: www.danslarue.com)

Mr. André Marcheterre: President of Merck Frosst Canada

André Marcheterre, a native of Neuville, Québec, is a graduate of the University of Ottawa. He joined Merck Frosst Canada & Co in 1977 as a professional sales representative, and subsequently held positions of increasing responsibility in Marketing, Sales, and Government Affairs. In 1996, he was appointed President.Mr. Marcheterre serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of "Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies" and is a member of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal, the Board of Governors of Montréal TechnoVision Inc., "Société Generale de Financement du Québec," as well as the Board of Canadian Arthritis Network.

Honourable Madam Justice Louise Arbour

Madam Justice Arbour earned a B.A. From Collège Régina Assumpta in 1967, then secured an LL.L degree with distinction from the Faculté de droit of the Université de Montréal. She was called to the Quebec Bar in 1971, and the Ontario Bar in 1977.She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario (High Court of Justice) in 1987 and appointed to the Court of Appear for Ontario in 1990. In 1996, Madam Louise Arbour was appointed by the Security Council of the United Nations as Persecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. In 1999, Madame Arbour was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Honourable Lise Thibault: Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

Madame Thibault is Quebec's most revered Lieutenant Governor. Madame Thibault has gone from being the owner of a music and flower studio in the 1950's to being an adult education teacher in the 1970's. From there, she was Commissioner of The Language of Instruction Commission of Quebec and went on to several roles as Vice President and President of the government and political boards and organizations.She was also the Founding Secretary of "La Chaîne" newspaper, a member of the International Association of Women and Home Page Journalists and a Lecturer and group leader in the areas of motivation, self-awareness, lifestyle and social involvement. She is the recipient of the 1994 Woman of Merit Award in the Business, Professional and Entrepreneurship Category, and was voted Personality of the Year by Chatelaine magazine.

Dr. Luc Vinet: VP Academic at McGill
Born and raised in Montreal, Dr. Luc Vinet completed his bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Physics (1980) at the Université de Montréal where he was until recently, a full professor. He has authored close to 150 publications. He has made significant scientific contributions in areas such as the symmetries in physics.Since 1993, Professor Vinet has been the Director of the Centre de Recherches Mathematiques at Université de Montréal. In 1996, he was appointed president of the Network for Computing and Mathematical Modeling, and he is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Bell Mergis University Laboratory. In 1999, Dr. Vinet was appointed to a five-year term as McGill's Vice-Principal Academic.

Dr. Thomas Chang.
In 1957 while still an undergraduate at McGill, Chang invented the world's first artificial cell. His idea was to make tiny, ultrathin plastic microcapsules that could hold biological agents such as enzymes and could mimic many of the functions of real cells. After earning his PhD in physiology, Chang developed the first artificial blood and a new cellular-based approach to an artificial kidney, liver and pancreas. Chang's work on a safe blood substitute gained recognition during the tainted blood tragedy of the 1980s and '90s, which saw over 60,000 people in the Western world infected with the AIDS virus. He has published more than 400 scientific papers and 21 books. Founder and Director of the Artificial Cells and Research Center, Dr. Chang's research is still continuing today. He is a recipient of the Order of Canada.

Mr. Jim Popp: the General Manager of the Montreal Alouettes.
One of the youngest general managers and brightest minds in professional sports, is known for his building of expansion teams and the rebuilding of franchises into winning organizations. In October 2003, Popp signed a five-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes as its General Manager, Vice President, and Director of Football Operations. At his young age, his accomplishments are already impressive: He has the best overall record of any CFL general manager over the last nine years. He led the Alouettes to five consecutive (1996-2000) seasons of 12 or more victories, one of only three teams in CFL history to accomplish the feat. Before coming to the CFL, Popp helped form a football league in 1992 called the Professional Spring Football League where he held the title of Director of Player Personnel for the league. Popp coached at the collegiate level for five seasons. He played college football for three seasons at Michigan State (1983-85) as a wide receiver and defensive back. Mr. Popp exemplifies the leadership and community involvement qualities that we believe in here at Golden Key.

Dr Brenda Milner
Dr. Brenda Milner, born in Manchester, England, received her undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge and her Ph.D. degree at McGill University. Dr. Milner has been a pioneer in the field of neuropsychology and in the study of memory in humans. It is difficult to find a neuroscience book that does not describe her work on one of the most famous patients in neurocognitive neuroscience, HM, who had memory problems due to damage to his medial temporal lobe. In recent years, Dr. Milner has expanded her research to the study of brain activity in normal subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI ) and positron emission tomography. She leads the research group at the Cognitive Neuroscience Unit of the Montreal Neurological Institute where her wealth of knowledge and her vast experience with patients and healthy subjects is a valuable resource that she imparts to her students. Dr. Milner's distinguished career has been recognized by numerous awards and memberships. In 1984 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 2004. Also in 2004, Dr. Milner was awarded a prestigious Neuroscience Award from the United States National Academy of Science. Just this year, she became a Gairdner Award Winner.