Gail Asper will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 2:00 p.m. ceremony on Tuesday, June 7, “in recognition of her humanitarian work, advocacy for human rights, and leading volunteer service to the community.”
The president of The Asper Foundation, Gail Asper practiced law for a number of years in Halifax before joining Canwest Global Communications Corp. in 1989 as general counsel, corporate secretary and a director.
She has served on the boards of numerous non-profit groups, including the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and United Way, and is currently board chair of the National Arts Centre Foundation, a board member of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and a governor of Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
She worked for 14 years to develop the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which opened in Winnipeg in 2014. She has received numerous awards for community service, including the Governor General’s Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, the Order of Manitoba and Officer of the Order of Canada.