³Ô¹ÏÍø

July 5, 2022

Delivered by Associate Professor Tim Elcombe

Moving bodies are functionally complex, capable of varying states of health, adaptable to changing environments through technological synergy, and optimizable for measurable performance. In competitive contexts, bodies get pushed to new limits, engaging in self-exploration through the constant striving for one per cent gains that mark the difference between winning and losing. These athletic strivers also serve as important forms of entertainment and meaning for the wider public, where politics and identification through ‘watching’ moving bodies become deeply impactful and emotional aspects of the human experience.

Increasingly, sport science recognizes that to achieve the incremental gains necessary to realize impactful athletic success not just the physical, but also the psychological dimension of human performance, requires optimization. Our honouree today, Dr. Dana Sinclair, has been a Canadian trailblazer in this evolutionary feature of talent development in her capacity as a licensed psychologist. A partner with the global management consulting firm Human Performance International, Dr. Sinclair regularly works with individuals from the medical and corporate world, as well as professional athletes and performance artists. Her past and present clientele include Grand Slam tennis and Olympic champions, athletes from the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS and Indy Car Racing, as well as Cirque du Soleil performers. Dr. Sinclair has also made tangible contributions to ³Ô¹ÏÍø, serving as a key consultant to the Department of Athletics and Recreation for over 20 years – particularly in the high-performance coach hiring process – and delivering the 2007 keynote address at ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Women of Influence celebration.

Dr. Sinclair’s work has received significant accolades throughout the years. In 2016, the Canadian Baseball Network ranked her the ninth most influential Canadian in the sport. Richard Peddie, former CEO and president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, acknowledged contributions she made to the Leafs and Raptors, writing in his book, 21 Leadership Lessons: “Dana helps those teams make the right draft choices and assists young players with their journey through the pros.” When serving as GM for the Calgary Flames, Brian Burke highlighted Dr. Sinclair’s role in selecting the right people, not just players, to join their organization. Two NHLers publicly credit her with saving their careers: goalie Jonathan Bernier and forward Bobby Ryan, formerly of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators respectively.

A former national field hockey team captain, Dr. Sinclair has obtained PhDs from the University of Cambridge and the University of Ottawa. She has published academic work in reputable journals, served as a research director and clinical assistant professor in hospitals and medical schools, and is a certified consultant with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology, as well as a member of both the U.S. Olympic Committee’s sport psychology registry and the American Psychological Association. In short, she serves as an inspiration to our graduating class to optimize their “performances” as they “move” into the next phase of their lives. It is thus with great pleasure we honour Dana Sinclair today and bestow upon her an honorary doctorate.

Madam Chancellor, I am instructed by the Senate of the university to request you to admit to the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Dana Sinclair.