The University of Guelph will hand out four honorary degrees and honour a former faculty member at the winter convocation from Feb. 19 to 22.

Criminal lawyer James Lockyer will receive an honorary doctorate of laws from U of G. Lockyer is currently defending local resident Steven Truscott in his Ontario Court of Appeal case of a 1959 murder conviction.

Lockyer is founding director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted and has exposed more than 10 wrongful convictions in Canada, including the cases of David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Clayton Johnson and Gregory Parson, said a release.

Also being honoured is Andrew Pipe, a medical doctor who was instrumental in founding the Canadian Centre for Ethics. He helped found the Canadian Centre for Drug-Free Sport and was a driving force for Physicians behind a Smoke-Free Canada. He's been the organization's director since 1983. Pipe will also receive an honorary doctorate of laws.

Plant scientist Christopher Somerville is honoured with a doctor of science degree. He engineered the first plant species to have its DNA sequenced and all its genes mapped out. Somerville is the senior editor of Science magazine and has been director of the Carnegie Institution of Washington's department of plant biology since 1994.

Canadian business leader Gabriel Tsampalieros will receive an honorary doctorate of laws.

Tsampalieros is the owner of Second Cup and a former member of the U of G Board of Governors. He was also instrumental at the university in raising the funds needed for the teaching kitchen facility in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and he helped develop the distance MBA programs, the release said.

Retired sociology professor Lynn McDonald will be named university professor emerita at one of the convocation ceremonies.

She is the author of Collected Works of Florence Nightingale and is a public health advocate, the release said.

In 1988, as a Toronto MP, she had the Non-Smokers' Health Act adopted as a private member's bill.

McDonald was also president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women.