Adrian Burns was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, June 15, “in recognition of her brilliant career in broadcasting, the arts, business and volunteer service ranging from Chair of the National Arts Centre Board to Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy.”
Burns was appointed Chair of the National Arts Centre Board of Trustees in December 2014, and has served on the board since 2002. She has also served as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Human Resources Committee.
A businesswoman, she is the president of Western Limited, a private commercial real estate company.
She is a director of Shaw Communications, has been a member of the Copyright Board of Canada and has been Chair of the Western Independent Producers Fund of Global Television. She was a Commissioner of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. She was Business Editor at CFCN-TV in Calgary, and held the positions of anchor, writer and producer.
She has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, a Doctor of Laws from the University of Regina, a Government of Saskatchewan Distinguished Service Award, the Centennial Medal, Community Builder Award (United Way of Ottawa), and three national private television awards (CANPRO).