Beakerhead co-founder awarded honorary doctorate from Mount Royal University

Mount Royal president Tim Rahilly,, left, and provost Lesley Brown, right, present Beakerhead co-founder and Telus Spark president and CEO Mary Anne Moser with an honourary doctorate of laws on Friday. (Mount Royal University)

CALGARY — Mary Anne Moser, the co-founder of Beakerhead and president and CEO of Telus Spark, was awarded an honourary doctorate of laws Friday by Mount Royal University.

Moser helped found Beakerhead in 2012, which was considered an international first for the city.

“The Canadian science community owes a lot to Mary Anne for bringing the wonder of science and art collaborations to the public,” said Jonathan Withey, dean of science and technology at MRU.

“As an individual, she has worked tirelessly to advance science, in how it is communicated, learned, advanced and sought as a profession among women. I cannot think of a more worthy recipient.”

Beakerhead Creative Society is described online as "a registered charity whose mandate is to globally advance education at the crossroads of art, science and engineering. Through year-round educational programs and the annual September festival in Calgary, Beakerhead aims to engage, delight, surprise and entertain you so completely that you don’t even realize you are learning tool."

An honorary doctorate is the highest honour Mount Royal can give to an individual.

Moser also addressed this year’s convocation ceremony, which saw 320 students graduate.

"I'm going to talk a little bit about risk because everybody thinks I'm a real risk taker but I'm actually very risk adverse," she said prior to the event.

"And I want to help students who don't know where their paths are going to lead right now. I want to help them feel like it's OK. What's important in the next few years is acquiring skills, because skills open doors and the doors will lead to places they might not be able to imagine. Or they doors will lead to places theywant to go."