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Previous Convocation Speakers

2019 Convocation Speakers

Charles JanthurCharlie Janthur

Charles “Charlie” Janthur is an award-winning educator with over 15 years' teaching experience. Janthur oversees money markets trades with RBC Dominion Securities and CIBC Trust on a day-to-day basis, and is responsible for economic analysis, departmental budgeting and sales. Janthur has held the position of Vice President, Money Market, at DEPAG Deposit Agency of Canada and from 1998 to 2005, he served on the Board of Directors for Forum for International Trade Training. In 2013, he began serving as a member of Board of Directors for Wilgilor Limited. Janthur holds an MBA from Queens University, is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Banks (FICB), and a Certified International Trade Professional (CITP). As a lecturer at the University of Guelph-Humber, Janthur has incorporated his experience into his courses for over 14 years.


Rachel LeckRachel Leck

As a cohort of the University of Guelph-Humber’s first graduating class in 2006, Leck, a Media Studies grad, headed to the University of Ottawa where she received her Juris Doctor. In 2015, she joined McCague Borlack LLP’s Ottawa office as a civil litigator specializing in employment, family, child protection and human rights. In 2018, Leck was appointed as part-time Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), a screening and investigative body. Since 2014, she has been dedicated to mentoring women entering the legal profession and has appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Superior Court of Justice in over 20 communities across the province, and various administrative tribunals. Outside of work, Rachel serves as a board member with a Francophone adult literacy agency as well as a woman’s shelter and rape crisis centre.


Kathy UllyottKathy Ullyott

Kathy Ullyott assumed the role of Program Head, Media Studies in October, 2018 after five years as the program’s assistant program head. She came to the University of Guelph-Humber in 2013 with a broad background combining teaching (University of Guelph-Humber, Humber College, and Ryerson University), with media practice. Prior to joining the university she won numerous national awards as the editor-in-chief of Homemakers Magazine, executive editor of Canadian Living Magazine, and managing editor of Flare magazine. She has also written for a wide variety of publications and news outlets including the Canadian Press, with a four-year sojourn into public relations practice. At Continental Golin-Harris (now Weber Shandwick) she was an account team leader overseeing accounts including Xerox Canada Inc., Levi Strauss and Co., and the Canadian Red Cross.


2018 Convocation Speakers

Dr. Shawna CoxonDr. Shawna Coxon

Shawna Coxon is in her 21st year of policing with the Toronto Police Service, having most recently been promoted to Deputy Chief of Police. She has been a sessional lecturer at the University of Guelph- Humber for more than a decade, teaching courses in Justice Studies. Dr. Coxon has a BA with Honours in Psychology from York University, a MA in Criminology from the University of Toronto and a PhD in Criminal Law from Leicester University. Deputy Coxon has had a diverse career where she has worked in vice, youth crime, child abuse, sex crimes, human rights, professional standards, community response, and intelligence analysis. She has lectured internationally and won numerous awards; however the accolades she remains most proud of are the letters of appreciation from the communities she has helped improve and the victims she has worked diligently for.


Patricia J. ParsonsPatricia J. Parsons

Patricia J. Parsons A.P.R., F.C.P.R.S. spent 26 years on faculty at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) in Halifax, Nova Scotia following a career in health communication and writing. During her tenure at MSVU Parsons chaired the Departments of Communication Studies and Public Relations while teaching ethics and strategy in the Bachelor of Public Relations, and Masters degree programs and focusing her research on communication ethics and health communication. She is the author of ten books including “A Manager’s Guide to PR Projects: A Practical Approach” (2nd ed., Routledge, 2017) and “Beyond Persuasion: Communication Strategies for Healthcare Managers in the Digital Age” (University of Toronto Press, 2013). She is also the author of the popular corporate communication ethics textbook “Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to Best Practice” (3rd ed 2016, Kogan-Page, London).


Dr. Alvina CassianiDr. Alvina Cassiani

Dean of Canada’s foremost collegiatelevel Business School, Alvina Cassiani, MA, PhD, is responsible for developing and managing a diverse portfolio of diploma, graduate certificated, and professional degree programs that meet the needs of a multicultural student body. Within the walls of Humber College, she has led initiatives that foster the best possible student experience. Highlights include the first two collaborative classrooms, The Fashion Institute, the Trading Floor, the Golf Lab, the Moot Court Room, The Humber Spa, the Centre for Entrepreneurship, and the Accounting Centres. Alvina’s significant achievements include successfully completing a PhD and defending a thesis relevant to her current position titles, “The Impact of Degree-Granting Requirements on Faculty Hiring Policies and Practices: A Case Study of Ontario’s Institutes of Technology and Advanced Learning (ITALS),” as well as being honoured by Central Michigan University for significant leadership in Ontario Community Colleges with the “Outstanding Achievement Award.”