EDMONTON (CUP) — The University of Alberta has sparked controversy with its recent decision to award three individuals honorary degrees for their groundbreaking work in the field of water research.
Among the three awarded is Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and former CEO of the Nestlé corporation, a company which has played a controversial role in global resource management.
“The Honorary Degrees Committee elected to confer an honorary degree on Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, along with Steve Hrudey and Sunita Narain,” wrote university President Indira Samarasekera in the U of A’s blog Feb. 9.
“All three recipients have provided extraordinary leadership in sparking dialogue, conducting research, and pushing for major policy change in addressing critical challenges relating to the management and safety of water.”
Samarasekera added that Brabeck-Letmathe was chosen in recognition of his growing role as a global leader in water resource management.
“His recent advocacy and leadership calling attention to water issues worldwide is challenging industry and government to take quick action,” she wrote.
Brabeck-Letmathe leads a worldwide project on water resources as a member of the Foundational Board of the World Economic Forum, and has co-authored a report on charting the future of water. He has also used his position as chairman of Nestlé to engage government and business leaders on issues surrounding water resource scarcity and security.
His company was awarded the Stockholm Industry Water Award in August 2011.
“The company received this award for implementation of water management strategies put in place that include providing expert training for 300,000 farmers, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in water use and greater crop yields,” Samarasekera wrote.
However, because of his ties to Nestlé, Brabeck-Letmathe has come under fire in the past for his company’s advocacy of water privatization, as well as its methods of marketing products to third-world countries.
“It’s not unusual for universities to occasionally run into some controversy concerning some speakers on campus,” said Debra Pozega Osburn, vice-president of university relations at the U of A.
“That doesn’t mean we seek out controversy — but we are a community of diverse people, voices, and opinions. You’ll never see the day everybody at the university agrees on the same thing.”
Honorary degree recipients are chosen by the university Senate’s Honorary Degree Committee, and Pozega Osburn said that in the search for honorary degree candidates, the university typically looks for an individual with a certain level of achievement, accomplishment or impact.
Various U of A professors have voiced their complaints to the Edmonton Journal, as well as on the U of A’s blog and on social media outlets.
David Zakus, director of the global health centre in the U of A medical school, told the Journal he’s concerned the award could tarnish the U of A’s international reputation.
“Everyone is aware of the role Nestlé plays in privatization of water and baby formula, and it will reflect back on the university,” he told the Journal.
“The reason any candidate will be chosen for a degree typically has to do with their level of impact in the world,” Pozega Osburn said.
“In this case, we have one person who was chosen for his academic accomplishments, and that is Steven Hrudey. We have Sunita Narain, who works for a non-governmental organization, and then we have Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who specifically was chosen for his own achievements in a field in which he as an individual is expert in.”
Since Brabeck-Letmathe is the CEO of Nestlé, Pozega Osburn said the university has received criticism based on concerns about Nestlé as a corporation instead of Brabeck-Letmathe as an individual.
“That’s one side of the criticism we’re getting, and I think that’s the most common one,” Pozega Osburn said. “Again, we’re giving the degree to Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe, not to the corporation. But you can understand how people can look at one and connect him with the other because of his role in the organization.”
She added that it is not unheard of for a university as large as the U of A to experience some controversy in relations to honorary degree recipients.
“Whether or not you agree with the choice is just going to depend on what your opinions are on issues related to water and water distribution,” Pozega Osburn said. “In some cases, this seems to be people’s opinions on Nestlé, and the way they’ve operated on the global stage, and in third world countries.”
Pozega Osburn also dismissed fears that the choice to award Brabeck-Letmathe may harm the U of A’s international reputation.
“International reputations for post-secondary institutions are built over a long period of time,” Pozega Osburn said. “And over time, the U of A’s reputation has been built very solidly on the contributions of our faculty, our staff, our students and our alumni in the global markets where they live and work.”
“He is a global thinker, and he is having an impact in this area,” Pozega Osburn added.
“Certainly, not everybody agrees with what he says. But the important thing is, he’s having an impact and he’s changing the conversation. … It’s clear that he has achieved a great deal.”
