Dr. Saqib Shahab has always looked up to people who have been recognized with honorary degrees, but he never thought he’d be in the same league.
Now, 26 years after he last put on a sash to get his masters at Johns Hopkins University, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer walked on stage Friday to accept his own honorary degree.
Shahab was awarded a doctor of science degree from the University of Regina in recognition of his achievements in pure and applied sciences. His wife, children and friends were all there to commemorate the moment with him.
“I was totally humbled and left speechless by the honour,” Shahab said in an interview following the convocation.
Since March 2020, Shahab has been a familiar face to Saskatchewan residents as he has guided them through the COVID-19 pandemic.
University Chancellor Cheryl Pollard said he provided the public with advice that kept people safe, and the community was grateful for his leadership.
Shahab has been a public health officer in the province since 2012, making him one of Canada’s longest-serving provincial chief medical officers. The job intensified during the pandemic.
Protesters against COVID-19 public health measures would show up at his family’s home in Regina. He often dealt with threats, including one which resulted in criminal charges being laid.
When asked about the personal challenges he faced over the past two years, Shahab brushed it off, saying public health officers are trained for such events.
“It was a privilege to be able to respond to a pandemic with the people of Saskatchewan,” Shahab said, crediting people he has worked with.
“Everything I do is done with the community, and everything I received, the credit has to be shared with people I work with or people I have worked for.”
In his convocation address, he congratulated students on their resilience in navigating through two difficult years.
He also shared lessons he learned throughout his career in public health: ensure there’s equity in whatever field they enter, and learn from other people’s perspectives.
“For me, it’s always been to have an open mind. To listen carefully to what others are saying. To try to understand the perspective of someone that is different from yours,” Shahab said in his speech Friday.
“To respect the wisdom of elders, and those with lived experience, and the blunt honesty by you, the youth.”
Shahab said that was an important message to relay to the graduating class because it will help them expand their knowledge outside of school classrooms.
“Science and knowledge are ever-evolving. There’s never a finite answer ... and one has to always have an open mind.”
Shahab received his primary medical degree from Rawalpindi Medical College at the University of Punjab in Pakistan in 1986, graduating at the top of his class.
He is a fellow in public health and preventive medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and earned a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
However, receiving the honorary degree felt different.
“I’d like to think that at least it validates my work over a lifetime, and not just my work,” Shahab said, adding he’s received messages around the world from colleagues, friends and family.
“They are so proud that this field – public health – is being recognized. I think that’s how the recognition comes. It’s not just the person, it’s the field and that’s how I would like to take it.”
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