Medical pioneer and philanthropist to receive honorary degrees at University of Toronto

Toronto, ON June 5, 2003 A Canadian philanthropist dedicated to bettering hospital care and medical research and a pioneer in cardiac rehabilitation that has influenced the practice of medicine will receive honorary degrees at the University of Toronto.

Terrence Donnelly, who has supported both St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and the London Health Sciences Centre, has improved medical research and education as well as hospital patient care in Canada. He has also supported U of T’s Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, a facility that will help researchers understand disease processes at the molecular level and develop effective treatments. Donnelly will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree on June 11.

Terence Kavanagh is a pioneer in the development of cardiac rehabilitation programs whose work and books have influenced the practice of medicine and the quality of life for those suffering from coronary heart disease. After his move to Canada in the late 1950s, he began working with the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board and Sunnybrook Medical Centre before his appointment to U of T’s department of medicine and, later, to the faculty of physical education and health. He has been instrumental in developing effective rehabilitation programs for heart transplant patients. Kavanagh will receive an honorary doctor of science degree on June 20.