2024 Recipients

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Dr. Francis First Charger, Ninnaisipistoo (Owl Chief), Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Ninnaisipistoo (Owl Chief), Francis First Charger has been an Elder in Residence at the University of Lethbridge since 2008 and during that time, he has made exceptional contributions to the University and its students.

A well-known and respected member of the Kainai First Nation, First Charger’s advice has been invaluable to staff, students and faculty members alike. He has worked for the Dhillon School of Business as an Elder in Residence, providing guidance and support, occasionally giving class lectures and hosting many visitors to the University. In addition, he serves on the University’s General Faculties Council as part of their Iniskim Education Committee and Indigenous Advisory Circle. First Charger also participates in Talking Circles at the Iikaisskini (Low Horn) Student Gathering Centre and advises and supports students, staff and faculty in the Department of Indigenous Studies. His presence and guidance help students feel welcome and give them a safe space to grow as people and develop their curiosity, knowledge and skills.

First Charger was raised practicing Blackfoot culture and ceremonies and his life has been guided by traditional Blackfoot values. He brought many skills with him when he became an Elder in Residence. He was instrumental in initiating the process for the University to acquire its ceremonial pipe. He commissioned Jerry Potts from the Piikani Nation to handcraft the pipe, complete with a pipe head of an antelope carved from steatite.
In addition to his knowledge of Blackfoot culture and Indigenous ways of knowing, he brought a broad base of experience in business management, administration and accounting after working at Red Crow Community College and the Blood Tribe Agricultural Project (BTAP). He was instrumental in coordinating the export of Timothy hay to Pacific Rim countries, mainly Japan, for BTAP. At Red Crow College, First Charger was involved in a visit to Guatemala for possible academic work. Beyond the Kainai First Nation, First Charger has lent his expertise and time to many local organizations, including Lethbridge College, the City of Lethbridge and the First Nation Forestry program.

First Charger played a key role during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Independent Assessment Process for the settlement of claims against the Government of Canada and the churches responsible for the administration of residential schools in Canada. Along with being a Blackfoot interpreter, as an Elder, he assisted claimants with patience and kindness, giving them strength and support.

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Dr. Tadashi Mitsui, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa

Had you no idea his pen was behind the thoughtful, engaging Letters to the Editor in the local newspaper, or that he’d been recognized with an honorary Doctor of Divinity from United Theological College affiliated with McGill University, you could assume Tad Mitsui was an earnest volunteer giving his time to Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden and assisting as a guest moderator for the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs.

Were you to take the time to listen to him speak, to present a sermon as Minister Emeritus at Southminster United Church or deliver his Tad and Tomo Stories to children at the garden, you would quickly begin to grasp the full depth of Tad Mitsui’s experience and the fascinating and meaningful life he has lived.

Born in Japan, Mitsui earned a Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Divinity from Tokyo Union Theological Seminary in 1956. The following year he immigrated to Canada and was ordained into the United Church of Canada in 1958. For 10 years he served as minister with the Vancouver Japanese United Church, all the while earning a Master of Sacred Theology from Union College, affiliated with the University of British Columbia, and later a Doctor of Sacred Theology at United Theological College.

From 1968 through 1975, Mitsui was a lecturer and then Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s he worked out of Geneva, Switzerland (six years living in and commuted frequently) performing administrative and advocacy work with NGOs and ecumenical organizations to facilitate international projects related to human rights, refugees, liberation movements, food security and development.

The work he did in areas such as human rights, justice and development was impactful and often fraught with danger in conflict environments. From 1975-79 he served as the Associate Secretary for Africa, International Headquarters of the World University Service, where he worked as a fundraiser and coordinator of anti-Apartheid solidarity work of National World University Service committees. From 1988-90 he was the Associate Secretary for the Canadian Council of Churches for Africa and Middle East, helping coordinate the churches’ work among Palestinian refugees in Israel and other Middle East countries.

Since moving to Lethbridge, he has continued to use his knowledge and experience to better society. A devoted volunteer at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, his expertise and wise counsel have helped advance the garden’s programming and impact on the community and in 2023, he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal.

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Dr. Karen Wauters, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Whether it be professionally as a barrier breaking Chartered Professional Accountant, personally as a partner and mother or publicly as an erstwhile and long-serving volunteer and now government representative, Karen Wauters (BMgt ’83) brings people and ideas together to make the world around her better.

A graduate of the University of Lethbridge’s then Faculty of Management, Wauters quickly established herself as a highly skilled and innovative professional accountant. Her career aspirations led her overseas, first to London and then to Luxembourg where she embarked on a remarkable 30-year career with Ernst & Young LLP.

Her professional career was exemplary and crashed through the glass ceiling in the corporate boardroom. Wauters became the first female partner in the Luxembourg office of Ernst & Young, one of the world’s largest international accounting firms, served seven years as the firm’s Talent Leader — Tax for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and drove key mobility, diversified learning and change management initiatives as well as the global Young Tax Professional competition. Remarkably, she accomplished all of this after learning to speak French fluently and write her foreign accreditation exams in her new foreign language.

Throughout her work, Wauters epitomized the role of mentor for many professionals, entrepreneurs, volunteers and businesspeople, focusing her efforts on supporting startup businesses and especially those led by women and youth. As a volunteer, she lent her time and expertise to furthering the advancement of gender equality, including serving as a board member of Time for Equality and fostering partnerships with several similar NGOs within and outside Luxembourg.

In her private life, Wauters is a devoted mother who also found time to take up a new sport — curling. Upon learning the game, her interests naturally turned to volunteering and creating connections. She has served as President of the Luxembourg Ice Sport Federation and as a volunteer with the World Curling Federation, recently as a member of the WCF’s Structural Review Group and the Nominations Committee and has been a strong proponent of enhancing access and inclusion in the sport and growing the game in Luxembourg and internationally.

Now retired, she continues to apply her special skills as Honorary Canadian Counsel to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The consummate professional, she continues to positively impact those with whom she assists, helping people navigate immigration issues, document certification and assisting travelling Canadians in distress, all the while promoting trade and fellowship between Canada and Luxembourg.

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Dr. Nahum Sonenberg, Doctor of Science, honoris causa

Sometimes the smallest things translate to making the largest impact. Dr. Nahum Sonenberg, Gilman Cheney Chair in Biochemistry at McGill University, has spent the majority of his scientific career working at the cellular level, while the results of his world-leading efforts have had a massive effect on our understanding the critical role protein synthesis plays in growth control, cancer, learning and memory.

German born, Sonenberg did the majority of his post-secondary training in Israel, earning his bachelor and master of science from Tel-Aviv University and his PhD in Biochemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. He conducted pioneering research as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in Nutley, New Jersey before beginning his illustrious career at Montreal’s McGill University in 1979, taking on the role of Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and McGill Cancer Centre.

Simply stated, Sonenberg is the world’s leading researcher in the field of protein synthesis and translational control. His work is focused on the nucleic acid sequences of genes as they are converted into the amino acid sequences of proteins that perform all the critical chemistry required for life. His scientific breakthroughs include the 1978 discovery of the protein eIF4E and later the first to discover the important role of GCN2, a cellular protein kinase that controls translation in learning and memory.

In all, he has written more than 600 papers of the highest quality, many appearing in the world’s leading scientific journals. His discoveries have served as building blocks upon which great advances in the study of health and disease have been made, including conditions such as cancer and autism.

In 2008, Sonenberg was honoured with the Canada Gairdner International Award and in 2014 he was awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine (Israel), two of the world’s top awards given to researchers studying the life sciences and medicine. He is also an Officer of the Order of Canada and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Sonenberg has been a staunch supporter of junior researchers and specifically women and those underrepresented in science. His valuable mentorship of students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members has significantly advanced the scientific community and he has been unwavering in his support of the principles and importance of the pursuit of basic research.

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Dr. Kurt Schlachter, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

It is often through the most difficult circumstances that the most valuable leaders emerge. Kurt Schlachter KC (BSc ’00), former Chair of the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors, is one of those leaders who consistently shows a steady hand and cultivates a consensus-building culture during the most trying times.

A fourth generation Albertan who grew up on a family farm near Bow Island, Alberta, Schlachter proudly followed his mother, Juanita Schlachter, as a ULethbridge graduate. He earned a Bachler of Science in Neuroscience with Honours from ULethbridge in 2000, then completed a Juris Doctor from the University of Saskatchewan in 2003.

Upon joining Stringam Denecky LLP in 2003, Schlachter’s passion for the business of law and entrepreneurship shone as he quickly established his practice and reputation in the community. By 2010, he was invited to be a partner as the firm evolved into Stringam LLP. In 2015, he was named one of Lethbridge’s Top 40 under 40, and a year later was elected to be the firm’s Regional Managing Partner. In 2022, Schlachter was awarded the designation of King’s Counsel by the Province of Alberta, and in 2023 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Stringam LLP.

All the while, Schlachter was an active volunteer and philanthropist, lending his time to groups such as the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta and Economic Development Lethbridge, as well as supporting organizations such as Chinook Regional Hospital, Lethbridge Family Services, Southern Alberta Art Gallery and both ULethbridge and Lethbridge College. He also stayed connected to ULethbridge by serving on Senate and in 2016, took on the role of Board of Governors Chair.

Schlachter’s six years as Chair were challenging, uplifting, historical and transformative. During his tenure, the University opened the $280 million Science Commons building, successfully completed the $100-million Shine campaign — the largest fundraising effort in school history — navigated its way through the COVID-19 pandemic and endured substantial provincial funding cuts. Despite the difficult circumstances, Schlachter’s leadership was instrumental in meeting these challenges. In 2017, he was honoured by the Blackfoot Nation with the Blackfoot name Stamiksiiitoohkitapoyii (Bull Buffalo Standing on the Hill), and in 2022 appointed Board Chair Emeritus.

Upon concluding his role as Board of Governors Chair, he and his spouse Jason VandenHoek (BMgt ’05) established a first-of-its-kind endowment fund to support 2SLGBTQ+ students. The two also co-own and manage a private commercial real estate portfolio and Schlachter maintains a role as a corporate director with the University of Lethbridge Business Corporation.