An honorary degree is the highest honour that Trent University can bestow on an individual and is given in recognition of exemplary achievements or social contributions in Canada or internationally. Joining the ranks of decades of esteemed honourees, the following three distinguished Canadians will be presented with Trent's highest honour during the 2025 convocation ceremonies.
Claudette McGowan | Honorary Doctorate of Science
Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., Peterborough Campus
Claudette McGowan is an internationally recognized technology executive and cybersecurity leader with more than 25 years of experience driving digital transformation at institutions such as Deloitte, Bank of Montreal (BMO) and TD Bank. At BMO, she served as Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Technology Employee Experience, and at TD Bank, as Global Executive Officer for Protect Fusion and Cyber Experience.
Claudette is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Protexxa, an innovative cybersecurity software and services company. She is the creator of Protexxa Defender, an AI-powered cybersecurity platform that helps companies and individuals find and fix cyber vulnerabilities. Protexxa also offers cybersecurity training and advisory services. In 2024, she raised $10 million in Series A funding.
Committed to promoting growth and dismantling barriers within the innovation economy, Claudette co-led the launch of Phoenix Fire & The Firehood, a multi-million-dollar women-focused angel fund and network for women in technology. She also serves as Vice-Chair at MaRS Discovery District, Chair of CILAR, and is a member of boards such as Air Canada, SickKids Hospital Foundation, and the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity at the University of New Brunswick.
Claudette has earned numerous accolades, including Union Bank of Switzerland’s 2024 Female Founder Award, recognition among FinTech Magazine's Top 100 Global Leaders, Toronto Life’s Top 50 Most Influential Torontonians, and inclusion in the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.
Claudette is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Computer Science.
Alice Olsen Williams/Minaajimokwe '69 (Otonabee College) | Honorary Doctorate of Letters
Monday, June 9, 2025, 2:00 p.m. ceremony, Peterborough Campus
Alice Olsen Williams / Minaajimokwe '69 is a renowned textile artist and Indigenous rights activist, celebrated for creating more than 450 powerful quilted pieces that convey the deep cultural history of Indigenous communities. Her quilted blankets, wall hangings, and table runners are exhibited in galleries across Canada and the U.S., including the Royal Ontario Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian.
Olsen Williams uses her art to educate audiences on the history of institutional racism and the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. A proud Trent graduate, she was honoured with the 2023 Spirit of Trent Award, through the Trent University Alumni Association, and the City of Peterborough Arts Award.
Born in Trout Lake, Ont., 150 miles north of Kenora, in the traditional territory of her mother's people, Olsen Williams received her teaching certificate from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and at Pic Mobert First Nation before moving to Curve Lake First Nation, just north of Peterborough/Nogojiwanong, with her husband Doug, who was born and raised there.
While raising four children and managing their home, Alice attended Trent University, earning her B.A. in Native Studies and Sociology, and developing her beadwork and sewing.
In 1980, she discovered quilting and mastered the techniques that allowed her to create meticulous hand-quilting in her beautiful bed coverings and wall hangings. Gradually, Olsen Williams formed the concepts that would become the basis for her distinctive style. Blending her cultural heritage into a unified whole, she envisions the central motif to depict the symbols and these of Anishinaabe culture, surrounded by conventional North American quilting blocks and patterns developed by women and their descendants who came from Europe, the legacy of her father's people.
Through her understanding of the teachings of the Elders, Alice has created her own Life symbol. She continues to grow as an artist, searching for new ways to express the Spirit of Creation in her designs.
Olsen Williams is also a tireless advocate, serving as a co-founder and chair of the Kawartha Truth and Reconciliation Support Group for 8 years, main driver for and co-founder of the Niijkiwendidaa Anishinaabe-Kwewag Services Circles, and founder of The Trent Evening Quilters.
Zabeen Hirji | Honorary Doctorate of Laws
Friday, June 13, 2025, 2:00 p.m. ceremony, Tribute Communities Centre in Durham
Zabeen Hirji is a trailblazer in corporate Canada and a respected community leader, renowned for her exceptional advocacy for enhanced equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the Canadian workforce.
Following a distinguished career at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), where she became the first South Asian woman to reach the C-suite of a TSX100 company, Hirji now serves as a senior advisor to leaders across both private and public sectors. She is an influential thought leader on the future of work, including AI's impact on EDI, striving to unlock human potential and build inclusive prosperity.
Borth in Tanzania, Hirji immigrated to Vancouver in 1974 and joined RBC as a teller in 1977. She rapidly advanced within the bank, eventually being appointed Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) in 2007. In this role, she oversaw 80,000 employees across diverse businesses in 40 countries and was a member of RBC's Group Executive Committee, which set the bank's strategic direction and was responsible for brand, communications, and corporate citizenship until her retirement in 2017.
Currently, Hirji is an executive advisor on the Future of Work at Deloitte, where she leads a forum of CHROs from the largest business sector organizations. Their mission is to accelerate economic growth and social impact through a skilled, inclusive and resilient workforce. She is also a Senior Advisor to Knockri, an AI-enabled recruitment platform that helps build workforce diversity.
In the public sector, Hirji is a special advisor to Canada's Clerk of the Privy Council on public-service renewal and serves as a co-chair of the City of Toronto's Economic Development Advisory Panel. She also sits on various higher education advisory groups.
As a respected community leader, Hirji serves on the boards of the Public Policy Forum, the Board of Governors for Junior Achievement Worldwide, and Canadian Club Toronto. She is a past Chair of Civic Action, a city-building organization in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and a former member of the University of Toronto Governing Council. She has mentored hundreds of emerging and established leaders.
Hirji's formal recognitions and awards include the Canadian HR Awards Lifetime Achievement in HR Leadership, the Governor General's Meritorious Service Medal for Diversity and Inclusion, the Catalyst Canada Honour for championing women and minorities in business, Top 25 Women of Influence, three-time WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women and Hall of Fame inductee, and Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year.
Deepa Mehta OC, OOnt | Honorary Doctorate of Letters
Unfortunately, Deepa Mehta is unable to attend Trent's 2025 Convocation ceremonies to accept an Honorary Doctorate of Letters, but plans to accept the prestigious honour in 2026.
Deepa Mehta OC, OOnt, is a celebrated Canadian film director and screenwriter renowned across the world for her contributions to the film industry, particularly in the realms of gender equality, 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, and social justice. Known for her critically acclaimed Elements Trilogy - Fire (1997), Earth (1998), and Water (2005) - Mehta's work has garnered international recognition for its emotional resonance, political depth, and award-winning storytelling.
Born in India, Mehta's firms have been selected for Academy Award submission by both Canada and India, with Water earning a nomination for Best Foreign Language Fim in 2007.
Mehta's first feature film, Sam and Me, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, receiving Honourable Mention in the Caméra d'Or competition.
Her other notable works include:
- Midnight's Children, an epic adaptation of Salman Rushdie's Booker Prize-winning novel
- Bollywood/Hollywood, which won a Genie Award
- Heaven on Earth
- Beeba Boys, based on a real-life Indo-Canadian gangster in Vancouver
- Funny Boy, which won Best Director at the Canadian Screen Awards and also picked up Best Picture and Best Supporting Performance Female at the 2021 Leo Awards
Mehta's television projects include directing: The pilot and second episode for the Netflix Original series Lelia: The Manager and Mr. Song, The pilot episodes of Little America for Apple TV; The episode Bear Down for Showtime's critically acclaimed series Yellowjackets.
Mehta's latest work, the documentary film I Am Sirat, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, has been screened at festivals across the globe, and is now streaming on CBC.
Among her numerous accolades, Mehta is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She has also received the prestigious Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts.
See a complete list of previous Trent University Honorary Degree recipients.