UBC honorary degree given to principal of Kamloops residential school under review
Posted May 31, 2021 7:16 am.
Last Updated May 31, 2021 9:51 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – UBC says the honorary degree conferred more than three decades ago to Bishop John Fergus O’Grady, a former principal at a residential school in Kamloops, is under review.
The degree was conferred to O’Grady in May of 1986. Archives state he “served on the staffs of Native Indian schools in Mission and Kamloops.”
The school confirmed on social media that the UBC Senate would be looking into the matter “immediately per our processes and policies relating to honorary degree recipients.”
“The university is aware of the community concerns relating to the honorary degree conferred in 1986 to Bishop John O’Grady. The issues raised are deeply upsetting and we take them seriously,” UBC writes in a tweet.
UBC's Senate will be reviewing this matter immediately per our processes and policies relating to honorary degree recipients. (2/2)
— University of British Columbia (@UBC) May 29, 2021
This comes after the discovery of the remains of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The remains were confirmed earlier in May with the help of a ground-penetrating radar specialist, according to the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation.
The discovery has sent shockwaves across Canada, sparking calls for more searches to be conducted. It’s believed the 215 deaths at the former residential school in Kamloops are undocumented, and that there are similar circumstances across the country.
The Kamloops Indian Residential School opened under Roman Catholic administration in 1890 and operated until 1969. The federal government took over the operation from the church to operate as a day school until it closed in 1978.
