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FIRST UBC HONORARY DOCTORATE
TO AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
T
he University of British Columbia (UBC), Depart-
ment of Occupational Science and Occupa-
tional Therapy is delighted to announce that
Dr.
Rachel Thibeault
received a 2015 Honorary Doctorate on
Friday, November 27, 2015. The conferring of Doctor of
Science, honoris causa on Dr. Thibeault coincides with the
UBC Centenary celebrations.
Dr. Thibeault is well known in Canada as an occupa-
tional therapist, professor, and community developer. and
internationally as an activist for health, well-being and social
justice in the global community. Her impressive career of
international service is grounded in the founding principles
of client-centred occupational therapy, collaboration, re-
spect for human dignity, and the power of occupation to
improve health and meaningful participation. Her commu-
nity-based programs and research in Africa, Asia, and South
America are particularly noteworthy as she has co-created
small businesses with local youth and adults affected by
war and conflict, disease, and disability by introducing
novel microcredit programs and using client-centered val-
ues to help establish sustainable employment. In Laos,
Lebanon, Nicaragua, Zambia, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone
she focused on skill development and vocational training
programs for girls and women. While advocating for these
communities she has helped Canadian occupational ther-
apists recognize the links between social justice and mean-
ingful occupations. She is both a pioneer and advocate for
community development and eloquently shares with oth-
ers ways to restore and sustain social enterprise to promote
health and well-being. Her work has saved lives and im-
proved the quality of life for many vulnerable individuals
including those disabled or disadvantaged by circum-
stances that are rarely encountered by many of us in
Canada.
Not surprisingly, Dr. Thibault has received numerous
awards in recognition of her achievements. In 2001 she
was awarded the Muriel Driver Lectureship, the highest
award given by the Canadian Association of Occupational
Therapists. Her teaching excellence has also been recog-
nized with several awards in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and
2008. Most notably, in 2013 Rachel Thibeault was named
an Officer of the Order of Canada, for “expanding the
boundaries of occupational therapy and advocating for
persons with disabilities,” with the following citation ex-
tracted from the Order of Canada Archives:
Rachel Thibeault has empowered marginalized people
around the world. An occupational therapist and professor
at the University of Ottawa, she has developed rehabilita-
tion and social integration programs for landmine survivors,
war-affected children, and people living with HIV/AIDS
and leprosy. She shares her experiences as a speaker, in-
spiring a generation of occupational therapists and other
professionals to expand their practice beyond traditional
boundaries.
During her 3-day visit at UBC in November 2015, Dr.
Thibeault met with the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine,
the Vice-Provost Health, and numerous faculty and stu-
dents on campus. She gave a public lecture to the UBC
community titled “Going against the flow: Low-cost, acces-
sible strategies for building resilience” where she profiled
her research on resilience drawing from the fields of psy-
chology, neuroscience and occupational therapy, and ex-
plored low-cost, accessible and user-friendly strategies for
resilience and well-being. Her visit culminated with a re-
ception for honorary degree recipients and special guests
hosted by UBC President, Dr. Martha Piper.
It was a tremendous honour to host Dr. Rachel
Thibeault in Vancouver and celebrate her distinguished
achievements. We are extremely proud that the Univer-
sity’s tribute committee recognized the important work of
occupational therapists and applauded Rachel’s specific
contributions to health through occupation.