U OF R SALUTES KENNEDY
Honoured for work as child advocate
Courage is the word that often comes to mind when one thinks of former NHLer and Swift Current Bronco Sheldon Kennedy.
And it’s courage that earned him an honorary degree from the University of Regina’s spring convocation ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.
Kennedy was recognized for his advocacy work around the prevention of child abuse, bullying, harassment and discrimination — work that stems from his own experience being sexually abused by his coach.
“I don’t do the work that I do for recognition and for awards, so when I received the call it was quite an honour,” said Kennedy.
In 1997, Kennedy went public about more than 300 incidents of sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Swift Current Broncos head coach Graham James over a five-year period.
The shocking disclosure created a heightened awareness of sexual abuse in sports and other community endeavours. In 2013, the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre opened in Calgary.
It works to empower victims of child abuse, support their recovery, stop cycles of abuse, investigate incidents of child abuse, bring perpetrators to justice and create communities that respond collectively to child abuse.
“For a long time these issues didn’t have that platform, so for me it’s really accepting this award on behalf of the children and kids that we serve across this country.”
While Kennedy now resides in Calgary,UofRpresidentandvice- chancellor, Vianne Timmons noted his impact spans borders.
“Sheldon has initiated a whole program called Respect and the University of Regina adopted it,” said Timmons. “It’s about training faculty, staff and students on how to treat each other respectfully and how to intervene if you see something inappropriate.”
She said the decision to honour Kennedy was an easy choice, especially given recent social movements like #metoo.
“He spoke out at a time when that was not popular or really acceptable,” she said. “He was brave and his message today is so important.”
Receiving the honorary degree at the first of three convocation ceremonies to be held the Conexus Arts Centre this week, Kennedy hoped to spread a message of hope and resilience during his speech to graduates. “I can tell you that looking back on my life, I was probably the last person that anybody would ever think would get an honorary degree of any sort, let alone even graduate from high school,” said Kennedy.
He hopes as graduates venture out into the world, they ask for help whenever they need it, and can learn to persist through life’s ups and downs.
“As far down as people may feel sometimes, it’s never too far down to not climb out of that hole,” he said.
The U of R is also bestowing honorary degrees on Regina philanthropists Roberta McKay and Elmer Brenner on Thursday, and on former Regina Pat and U of R alumnus Brad Hornung on Friday.