The University of Guelph and the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) were proud to award Roland (Roly) Browning Watt, K.C., a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, during OVC’s Summer Convocation Ceremony on June 9, 2025. The honour recognized nearly five decades of volunteer leadership in fundraising at OVC, and myriad other places.
Roly was inspired by the care that his adored cat Annie received at OVC to begin volunteering with the OVC Pet Trust Advisory Board in 2007. Roly has held the appointment of Chair of the OVC Pet Trust Board of Patrons ever since, making him the longest serving member of the Executive Committee of the Board. For four years (2010 – 2014), Roly also served as a member of the Campaign Cabinet for the University of Guelph’s Better Planet Project.
An invaluable volunteer source of legal, estate, and fundraising expertise, Roly initiated and then served on the organizing committees for what would become a series of four OVC Pet Trust Galas (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018). Roly co-chaired the committee for the fourth and final Gala with Emmanuelle Gattuso which raised nearly five of the combined $6 million total for all four galas. The funds supported the development of OVC’s world-class Mona Campbell Animal Cancer Centre, the James Slaight Advanced Surgical Complex and the Catherine Bergeron Centre for Urgent and Critical Care where more than 10,000 family pets are treated each year. These centres have helped enable the highest standards of care, secure OVC’s global leadership in veterinary medical research, and offer best-in-class educational opportunities to Ontario’s student veterinarians.