29 July 2025 News Releases
Dr. Kevin McCormick, President and Vice-Chancellor (left) and Ms. Mary-Liz Warwick, Board Chair (right), present General (Dr.) Jennie Carignan (centre), with an Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters from Huntington University. | November 18, 2024 | Greater Sudbury|
Photo Credit: Gino Donato
Huntington University, which is located in the northern Ontario city of Greater Sudbury, is proud to announce the conferral of an honorary degree upon General M.A.J. Carignan, CMM, MSC, MSM, CD. Gen Jennie Carignan, who is a distinguished member of Canada’s Armed Forces and who was appointed to the top military post as the first female Chief of the Defence Staff in our country’s history (July 2024), is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters –the highest honour of achievement bestowed by Huntington University. The Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters was presented on November 18, 2024 during a convocation ceremony held in Greater Sudbury. The conferral was presided over by the Chair of the Huntington University Board of Regents, Ms. Mary-Liz Warwick, and the university’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Kevin McCormick.
“With sincere appreciation, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Huntington University Board of Regents for presenting me with this prestigious honour. I am deeply honoured, to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters from one of the first post-secondary establishments in Northern Ontario which, more than 60 years later, is creating a name for itself internationally while forging strong partnerships with universities and organizations across the globe,” said Gen Jennie Carignan. “As someone who has dedicated much of my own life to the Canadian Armed Forces, this recognition holds even greater meaning, knowing Huntington is led by Dr. Kevin McCormick, a senior and highly respected Honorary Colonel in the Canadian military, whose longstanding and substantial support has greatly benefited Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans and their families.”
“Huntington University is tremendously privileged to welcome Gen Jennie Carignan, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, to the ranks of esteemed individuals who hold honorary degrees from our institution,” said Dr. McCormick. “Her outstanding and distinguished military career, spanning nearly four decades, is a testament to Gen Carignan’s exemplary leadership, unwavering professionalism, and selfless dedication in service to others. On a personal level, it has been a profound honour to play a part in bestowing the honorary degree from Huntington upon such a prominent and distinguished member of our Canadian Armed Forces.”
A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada in Engineering, Gen Jennie Carignan was commissioned into the Canadian Military Engineers in 1990. Since then, she commanded two Combat Engineer Regiments, Royal Military College Saint-Jean and the 2nd Canadian Division, where she led more than 10,000 soldiers and spearheaded crisis operations during the flood relief efforts in the spring of 2019 in Quebec. More recently, she led NATO Mission Iraq from November 2019 to November 2020. Gen Carignan participated in three previous expeditionary operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Golan Heights, and Afghanistan. From 2021 to 2023, Gen Carignan was appointed Chief of Professional Conduct and Culture. She was promoted to her current rank in July 2024 and appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff.
Along the way, Gen Carignan earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from Université Laval and a second Master’s degree from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies. She is also a graduate of the National Security Studies Programme from Canadian Forces College in Toronto.
Gen Carignan has been invested as Commander of the Order of Military Merit and is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Cross. She received the prestigious Gloire de l'Escolle medal which recognizes graduates from Université Laval who have distinguished themselves professionally and in service to their communities. She was recently awarded an honorary doctorate in Business Administration from Université Laval.
Married, Gen Carignan is the mother of four children, two of whom proudly serve in the Canadian Armed Forces.
“Huntington University has a proud history of recognizing illustrious leaders whose determination and dedication build better communities for all. Gen Carignan has dedicated much of her life to the Canadian Armed Forces, heading up missions on Canadian soil and in conflict zones around the world. She is a trailblazer, accomplished as a commander and leader who inspires others, and someone who consistently strives for excellence in all that she does,” said Mrs. Mary-Liz Warwick. “On behalf of the Huntington University Board of Regents, I offer Gen Carignan our sincerest congratulations and give thanks for her enduring service to Canada.”
Gen Carignan is the second individual this year to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Letters from Huntington University. In May, Dr. Roberto Rodríguez Arnillas, the former Ambassador of Peru to Canada and a career diplomat with more than three decades of exemplary service in the Peruvian Foreign Service, was presented with the honour in recognition of his many outstanding career accomplishments and contributions, as well as his unwavering support of the Peruvian Canadian Institute – an international centre of excellence at Huntington University.
About Huntington University:
Huntington University is a learning institute for higher education located in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. For more than 60 years, Huntington University has made a name for itself by proudly partnering with many organizations, both national and international, to foster relations and build community. The university, thanks to the exemplary and visionary leadership of President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Kevin McCormick, has also successfully established several Centres of Excellence, such as the first Teaching and Learning Centre in the north, the newly established Canadian Institute for Human Rights and Global Health, the Peruvian Canadian Institute and the Canadian Finnish Institute, which have all enhanced northern Ontario’s academic landscape.
In addition to his role as President and Vice-Chancellor at Huntington University, Dr. McCormick has also served as an Honorary with the Irish Regiment of Canada in Greater Sudbury for the past 12 years, and was recently appointed Honorary Colonel of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders in Cornwall.