Donald Sobey, BCom’57 and Now LLD’16, Receives Honorary Degree

When Donald R. Sobey received an honorary degree from Queen’s
at the May 30 Convocation ceremony for members of the Commerce, MSc and PhD graduating classes, he was lauded for his extensive contributions to Canadian business, society and to Queen’s in particular. 

One of only two Atlantic Canadian students at Queen’s when he arrived in 1953, Donald Sobey joined the family’s grocery store business following his graduation. Over the course of his 46-year business career he held several leadership roles within the company, becoming President and later Chairman of Empire Company Limited, the family’s investment company. 

In 1999, he and his son Rob (BAH’88) created the D&R Sobey Atlantic Scholarship, which each year funds six outstanding high school students entering the Commerce program. The pair later established an additional scholarship fund for Atlantic Canadian students wanting to pursue their MBA at Smith School of Business. Father and son return to Queen's every year to host an East Coast lobster dinner with the scholarship recipients. 

The ceremony’s convocation speaker was Robert Marsh, BCom’07, a member of Liberty Canada’s senior executive team and one of 100 undergraduate Sobey Scholarship recipients to date. ▪