Success of Aboriginal graduates celebrated

Family, friends and community leaders joined the University of Saskatchewan in recognizing Aboriginal graduates at a special convocation banquet on May 20.

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The event, which has grown from the first Aboriginal gradudation ceremony held by the College of Commerce in 2000, was held at the Saskatoon Inn. The guest speaker was Gary Merasty, Member of Parliament for Desnethe-Missinipi-Churchill River and a U of S grad, who spoke of the importance of education for Aboriginal youth.

Included in the evening was an honouring ceremony for outgoing dean of Commerce, Lynne Pearson, during which Pearson was presented with a star quilt.

Leanne Bellegarde, director of Aboriginal Business Education programs in the College of Commerce, said that in the 10 years that Pearson has been dean, she has been a champion, both in the college and the university itself, of Aboriginal recruitment and retention strategies.

"The enrollment under her tenure has gone from less than one per cent to over 10 per cent," Bellegarde said. "This year we have over 140 Aboriginal students in the College of Commerce and the Aboriginal enrollment in the university is one of the highest of any university in Canada. Dean Pearson has overseen not only the recruitment of Aboriginal students, she has also embraced within the college, the curriculum, the faculty, the visiting Aboriginal scholars, and Aboriginal student services, a comprehensive approach to ensuring Aboriginal students are welcomed, they're represented and their contributions as a people are reflected in what we do in commerce. That's probably unique of any business school and campus. We're sorry to see her go and the students wanted to honour her contributions in a special way."

Charlotte Ross, co-ordinator of academic programs for Aboriginal students in the College of Arts and Science, was very pleased with the event.

"I'm really thrilled with the response from the student's families and the community for this celebration in the students' honour," she said.

More than 300 attended the Aboriginal graduation ceremony, which this year honoured 80 graduates from the colleges of Arts & Science, Commerce, Graduate Studies & Research, Engineering and Medicine.