St. Thomas University to Confer Honorary Degrees on Dr. Mary McCarthy-Brandt and Maggie Paul at Spring Convocation
St. Thomas University will be recognizing writer and educator Dr. Mary McCarthy-Brandt and Passamaquoddy elder and song carrier Maggie Paul with honorary degrees at Spring Convocation on Tuesday, May 17.
“Each of these remarkable individuals has used her voice to celebrate and preserve their respective histories and culture and bring attention to pressing current day social issues,” said Dawn Russell, St. Thomas University President and Vice-Chancellor. “We will be honoured to highlight their accomplishments at Spring Convocation as our class of 2022 graduates.”
Dr. Mary McCarthy-Brandt is a Fredericton-based writer, educator, and historian dedicated to preserving the histories of Black New Brunswickers. Over the past decade, she has emerged as a prominent public commentator and has promoted greater awareness of the historical and current contributions of Black New Brunswickers. A PhD graduate of the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, her scholarly research focused on segregated and forgotten graveyards in New Brunswick. In 2015, McCarthy-Brandt won a human rights case against Shoppers Drug Mart for an incident of racial profiling. Her writing was featured in the collection Black Writers Matter, an anthology of African-Canadian writing on contemporary issues. She was also featured in Chatelaine Magazine as one of “33 Black Canadians Making Change Now” for her work identifying systemic and anti-black racism.
Maggie Paul is a Passamaquoddy elder, teacher, and song carrier who has lived most of her adult life on the St. Mary’s First Nation. She is known for her beautiful singing voice, her work preserving traditional songs, and using music to inspire and guide Indigenous youth. For more than 40 years, she has been preserving and resurrecting Passamaquoddy and Wolastoqey songs that were once banned by the Government of Canada. As Paul once said, “When you bring the songs back, you’re going to bring the dances back. You’re going to bring the people back. You’re going to bring everything back.” She has dedicated her life to unearthing and reviving these forgotten melodies to bring them back to her community so that it can feel whole again.
St. Thomas University’s in-person Spring Convocation 2022 will take place on Tuesday, May 17 at the Grant Harvey Centre.