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8

FIRST UBC HONORARY DOCTORATE

TO AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST

T

he University of British Columbia (UBC), Depart-

ment of Occupational Science and Occupa-

tional Therapy is delighted to announce that

Dr.

Rachel Thibeault

received a 2015 Honorary Doctorate on

Friday, November 27, 2015. The conferring of Doctor of

Science, honoris causa on Dr. Thibeault coincides with the

UBC Centenary celebrations.

Dr. Thibeault is well known in Canada as an occupa-

tional therapist, professor, and community developer. and

internationally as an activist for health, well-being and social

justice in the global community. Her impressive career of

international service is grounded in the founding principles

of client-centred occupational therapy, collaboration, re-

spect for human dignity, and the power of occupation to

improve health and meaningful participation. Her commu-

nity-based programs and research in Africa, Asia, and South

America are particularly noteworthy as she has co-created

small businesses with local youth and adults affected by

war and conflict, disease, and disability by introducing

novel microcredit programs and using client-centered val-

ues to help establish sustainable employment. In Laos,

Lebanon, Nicaragua, Zambia, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone

she focused on skill development and vocational training

programs for girls and women. While advocating for these

communities she has helped Canadian occupational ther-

apists recognize the links between social justice and mean-

ingful occupations. She is both a pioneer and advocate for

community development and eloquently shares with oth-

ers ways to restore and sustain social enterprise to promote

health and well-being. Her work has saved lives and im-

proved the quality of life for many vulnerable individuals

including those disabled or disadvantaged by circum-

stances that are rarely encountered by many of us in

Canada.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Thibault has received numerous

awards in recognition of her achievements. In 2001 she

was awarded the Muriel Driver Lectureship, the highest

award given by the Canadian Association of Occupational

Therapists. Her teaching excellence has also been recog-

nized with several awards in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and

2008. Most notably, in 2013 Rachel Thibeault was named

an Officer of the Order of Canada, for “expanding the

boundaries of occupational therapy and advocating for

persons with disabilities,” with the following citation ex-

tracted from the Order of Canada Archives:

Rachel Thibeault has empowered marginalized people

around the world. An occupational therapist and professor

at the University of Ottawa, she has developed rehabilita-

tion and social integration programs for landmine survivors,

war-affected children, and people living with HIV/AIDS

and leprosy. She shares her experiences as a speaker, in-

spiring a generation of occupational therapists and other

professionals to expand their practice beyond traditional

boundaries.

During her 3-day visit at UBC in November 2015, Dr.

Thibeault met with the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine,

the Vice-Provost Health, and numerous faculty and stu-

dents on campus. She gave a public lecture to the UBC

community titled “Going against the flow: Low-cost, acces-

sible strategies for building resilience” where she profiled

her research on resilience drawing from the fields of psy-

chology, neuroscience and occupational therapy, and ex-

plored low-cost, accessible and user-friendly strategies for

resilience and well-being. Her visit culminated with a re-

ception for honorary degree recipients and special guests

hosted by UBC President, Dr. Martha Piper.

It was a tremendous honour to host Dr. Rachel

Thibeault in Vancouver and celebrate her distinguished

achievements. We are extremely proud that the Univer-

sity’s tribute committee recognized the important work of

occupational therapists and applauded Rachel’s specific

contributions to health through occupation.