{"id":406073,"date":"2026-04-24T15:31:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/?p=406073"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:31:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:31:26","slug":"changemakers-to-earn-honorary-degrees-at-spring-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2026\/04\/24\/changemakers-to-earn-honorary-degrees-at-spring-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Changemakers to earn honorary degrees at Spring Convocation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below are the honorary degree recipients in order of the Faculty ceremonies at which they will be honoured:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, he served as president and CEO of IEEE, the world\u2019s largest professional technical organization, representing more than 422,000 engineers and scientists across 160 countries. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Bratty represents the third generation of leadership at The Remington Group, one of Ontario\u2019s 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\u2011use projects across the Greater Toronto Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His leadership has helped shape the region\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Sokolowski has been a leading figure in Canada\u2019s 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\u2011scale, master\u2011planned residential communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was named named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2025 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s operations, including real estate, procurement, global security and business continuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 快播视频\u2019s Schulich School of Business and was named one of Payment Source\u2019s Most Influential Women in Payments in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Jose Moura: June 12, 10:30 a.m. \u2013 Lassonde School of Engineering<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Christopher R. Bratty: June 12, 3:30 p.m. \u2013 Faculty of Education<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Howard Sokolowski: June 15, 10:30 a.m. \u2013 Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies<\/a> I<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Ray Gupta: June 16, 10:30 a.m. \u2013 Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies III<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Denise Pickett: June 17, 10:30 a.m. \u2013 Schulich School of Business<\/a> I<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
