George Roter to receive honorary degree

The honorary degree, the Doctor of Laws, is the University of Calgary’s highest academic honour bestowed on individuals whose notable achievements and community service merit recognition. The recipient for Monday, June 9 is:

George Roter – Afternoon convocation for the Schulich School of Engineering and Graduate Studies

What does it mean to be the CEO of a movement? For George Roter, it meant dropping out of his master’s program and running up $30,000 in credit card debt to fund the launch of Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) — that turned out to be a good decision. EWB’s co-founders, Roter and friend Parker Mitchell, stewarded the organization from an idea scribbled on a napkin to global innovator with 3,000 active members, 50,000 supporters, 37 chapters in Canada and change ventures in Malawi, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Zambia. The University of Calgary EWB chapter was founded by alumnus David Damberger in 2001.