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A culmination of each student’s academic journey, ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ University’s 2026 spring convocation ceremonies will see almost 3,000 degrees, including more than 750 graduate degrees, conferred.

Convocation takes place at the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre on May 14 and at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre from May 26–29.

A graduation celebration will be held at the Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre on June 12 for the Labrador Campus’s first cohort of graduates from the Arctic and Subarctic Futures graduate program at the School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies, and the first cohort of graduates from the Happy Valley-Goose Bay satellite site of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program.

ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ will also recognize six remarkable people for their leadership in cultural, academic and social spheres with the awarding of honorary degrees. 

An honorary degree will be awarded to historian and writer James Candow in Corner Brook. See biography below. In St. John’s, Indigenous health trailblazer Mary Pia Benuen, cultural ambassador Alan Doyle, dedicated public servant George Furey, acclaimed artist Jean Claude Roy and law enforcement leader Cst. Georgina Short will be recognized.

Honorary degree recipients are chosen from nominations submitted by the public to the Senate, the university’s academic governing body, after a careful examination of the grounds for their nomination. The honorary doctorate degree is designed to recognize extraordinary contributions to society or exceptional intellectual or artistic achievement. 

The awarding of honorary doctorates, an important feature of ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ’s convocation, serves to celebrate both the individual and the university as well as to inspire graduates, their families and guests.

For further information about convocation, please visit the . Ceremonies will be broadcast live on www.mun.ca during each session of convocation. The recorded broadcasts will be archived on ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ’s convocation website for future viewing. 

James Candow

Independent historian and prolific writer James Candow was born in Gander, N.L.

He completed his BA (Hons.) in history from ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ in 1975 and his MA in history from Dalhousie University in 1977. 

He then embarked on a career as a public historian at Parks Canada’s Atlantic headquarters in Halifax, N.S., where he spent 34 years. His detailed and diligent research supported programs and exhibits at national historic sites and national parks throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

His meticulous research, including pioneering work in oral history, revealed the rich history and cultural heritage of these sites and the diverse stories of the people who lived there, all while enriching visitors’ experiences.

The restoration of the Mudge family’s fish store and cabin at Broom Point in Gros Morne National Park received an award of merit from the American Association for State and Local History; the Ryan Premises National Historic Site in Bonavista took first place in the National Association for Interpretation’s interior exhibit category.

The body of literature he produced, both during his time with Parks Canada and since his retirement, is wide-ranging; it has shaped our understanding of the histories of Brigus, the Cape Spear lighthouse and the seal hunt. His book The Lookout: A History of Signal Hill was short-listed for the 2011 Atlantic Book Award for historical writing.

Mr. Candow’s book, The Invisibles: A History of the Royal Newfoundland Companies, has been critical to fully understanding Newfoundland and Labrador 19th-century politics and history. 

His extensive record of scholarly engagement and incisive criticism has appeared in several journals, including the International Journal of Maritime History, the Journal of Caribbean History and the Canadian Historical Review.

For his significant contributions to the preservation and dissemination of knowledge about the history of Newfoundland and Labrador, James Candow will receive the degree of doctor of letters, honoris causa.