Royal Roads University is awarding Dr. Bonnie Henry with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for her work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Henry was appointed as B.C.’s provincial health officer on Feb. 1, 2018, and has since become the face of provincial health messaging during the virus crisis, best known for her phrase: “Be kind, be calm and be safe.”
Prior to her current role, Henry was deputy provincial health officer before replacing Dr. Perry Kendall when he retired.
Previous to that, Henry worked for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, Toronto Public Health, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
She is B.C.’s first female provincial health officer.
The university officially announced the award in a press release on Friday.
“The power of community; supporting each other through adversity, working together with a common purpose, and inspiring to do and be better. This is what has given us the resilience to see this pandemic through,” said Henry in the statement.
“This same sense of community is reflected in Royal Roads University and its graduates, and I am humbled to receive this honour,” she added.
Henry will join Royal Roads University graduates at the university’s fall convocation ceremonies, to be held online on Nov. 6. She will also be a featured speaker for the university’s Changemakers Speaker Series in spring 2021.
“Our Changemakers series features speakers on topics that explore the complex challenges facing humanity and innovative ideas about how we might solve them,” Steenkamp said. For this, the university said, Henry is a perfect fit.
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