October 2022 Ceremony Guide

This is an extraordinary graduation in the history of our university. At ceremonies this month, in addition to the class of 2022, we also celebrate two earlier graduating years – 2020 and 2021 -- and we are pleased that so many from those years have returned for our first in-person convocation since the start of the pandemic. 

This is also the first graduation for Toronto Metropolitan University. Both graduands and the university are beginning new chapters, and while our name has changed, the values that define our university have not. When you return as alumni, you will feel right at home.

We are so glad that you chose this university for your education, and we are grateful for how your time here has changed us as much as it has changed you. 

We wish you all the best that life has to offer, and wherever your personal journey takes you, we look forward to seeing you again many times in the months and years ahead.

Doctor of Laws
Honoris Causa

Toby Heaps is chief executive officer and co-founder of Corporate Knights, a media and research company that produces an award-winning magazine about the sustainable economy. In 2005, he spearheaded the first global ranking of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations. Two years later, he coined the term “clean capitalism.”

Heaps has been published in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Globe and Mail, and is a regular guest speaker on CBC. 

Before launching his career, Heaps played centrefield for the Yugoslavia national baseball team in 1998.

Doctor of Laws
Honoris Causa

Vivienne and Neville Poy were both born in Hong Kong and fled the British colony with their respective families during World War II. Years later, they both attended McGill University; Vivienne pursued a history degree while Neville studied medicine. 

Vivienne went on to earn a master’s degree and PhD in history at the University of Toronto. After studying fashion at Seneca College, she founded and served as president of Vivienne Poy Mode, a fashion design company, for 14 years. 

Neville, meanwhile, practiced plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Scarborough Hospital, and specialized in hand and aesthetic procedures. He also launched the hospital’s world-class burn unit, the first in Canada, and served for many years as its inaugural director. 

In 1998, Vivienne became the first Asian-Canadian to be appointed to the Senate. During her 14-year tenure, she focused on gender issues, multiculturalism, immigration and human rights, and proposed the successful motion to recognize May as Asian Heritage Month across Canada. 

Today, Vivienne is chancellor emerita of the University of Toronto and the author of several books about her family, Sino-Canadian relations and Chinese immigration to Canada. The recipient of many honours and awards, she continues to contribute to the broader community. For example, she assisted with the development of Hill 70, a memorial park in France that is dedicated to Canadian World War I soldiers. Additionally, through her work with the international non-profit organization ORBIS, Vivienne has helped to establish eye treatment centres in Bangladesh. 

Following Neville’s retirement in 1995, he became a fine art photographer, and his work has appeared in numerous exhibits, publications and presentations. Over the years, he has received several awards for his philanthropy and voluntarism, and in recognition of his contributions to medical education, the visual and performing arts, and the military. 

An officer of the Order of Canada, Neville is an honorary colonel emeritus of the Queen’s York Rangers. He was awarded the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, has received the Chinese Canadian Legend Award from the Asian Business Network Association and was the inaugural recipient of the Scarborough Hospital’s Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Most recently, the couple created the fine art book Precious Moments, which features Neville’s nature photography and Vivienne’s writings on gardening.