Over the course of 13 ceremonies running from June 12 to 19, York will confer honorary doctor of laws (LLD) degrees to several influential changemakers during the University's 2026 Spring Convocation.
Honorary degree recipients are recognized for their contributions to community building, their advocacy for social justice and their philanthropy. Recipients will offer words of encouragement, motivation and congratulations to graduands
Below are the honorary degree recipients in order of the Faculty ceremonies at which they will be honoured:
Jose Moura: June 12, 10:30 a.m. –
Moura is an engineering scholar specializing in signal processing and machine learning and a longtime professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he has taught since 1986. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he holds 19 patents, including two that underpin key technologies in hard disk drives and have been deployed in more than four billion devices worldwide.
In 2019, he served as president and CEO of IEEE, the world’s largest professional technical organization, representing more than 422,000 engineers and scientists across 160 countries.
Christopher R. Bratty: June 12, 3:30 p.m. – Faculty of Education
Bratty represents the third generation of leadership at The Remington Group, one of Ontario’s most respected privately held development companies, where he serves as president of land development and investments. He oversees a diverse portfolio spanning residential, commercial and mixed‑use projects across the Greater Toronto Area.
His leadership has helped shape the region’s evolving landscape, with a focus on building complete, inclusive communities and resilient urban design. Deeply committed to civic and cultural enrichment, Bratty is also a supporter of the arts, contributing public art installations that enhance the neighbourhoods in which his projects are developed.
Howard Sokolowski: June 15, 10:30 a.m. – Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies I
Sokolowski has been a leading figure in Canada’s development industry for more than four decades, directing the construction of over 50,000 homes and shaping residential communities nationwide. He is the founder and principal of Metropia, a company focused on large‑scale, master‑planned residential communities.
A prominent philanthropist, he has supported institutions including Sinai Health Foundation, the Art Gallery of Ontario and York. He was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2011 and received the Building Industry and Land Development Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
Ray Gupta: June 16, 10:30 a.m. – Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies III
Gupta is Chairman and CEO of Sunray Group, one of the largest privately owned hotel operators in Canada. Through the Sunray Foundation and personal giving, he has donated more than $1 million in recent years to numerous causes including the Scarborough Health Network, Northumberland Hills Hospital and Positive and Progressive Educational Support Canada, which funds girls' education in rural India.
He was named named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2025 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference.
Denise Pickett: June 17, 10:30 a.m. – I
Pickett is president of Enterprise Shared Services at American Express, a role she assumed in February 2025 following more than three decades with the company. She oversees global functions that support the organization’s operations, including real estate, procurement, global security and business continuity.
Beyond her executive leadership, Pickett has contributed to community and institutional governance as a member of the board of directors of TELUS and through a decade of service on the board of United Way of New York City. She holds an MBA from ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ’s Schulich School of Business and was named one of Payment Source’s Most Influential Women in Payments in 2018.
Walter and Maria Schroeder: June 18, 3:30 p.m. – Faculty of Health II
The Schroeders are among Canada’s most influential entrepreneurs and philanthropists, whose work has enabled lasting change in education, health care and social equity nationwide. Together, they co‑founded Dominion Bond Rating Service in 1975 and built it into the world’s fourth‑largest bond rating agency before its sale in 2014.
Through the Walter and Maria Schroeder Foundation, they have since committed nearly $500 million to initiatives that expand access to care, advance medical research and remove barriers to education. Their philanthropy has supported major health care institutions across Canada, with a focus on translating research into improved patient care and stronger community health systems.
Marian Jacko: June 19, 3:30 p.m. –
Jacko is a nationally respected leader in Indigenous justice, child advocacy and public service. A proud Anishinaabe woman from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, she earned three university degrees – including a juris doctor from the University of Toronto and a master of laws from ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ – while raising her children as a single mother.
Called to the Ontario Bar in 1998, she spent nearly two decades with the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. In 2016, she became the first Indigenous woman appointed Children’s Lawyer for Ontario. She now serves as assistant deputy attorney general of Ontario’s Indigenous Justice Division.