REGINA — Years of involvement in the Paralympic movement have led to recognition for Dr. Robert "Bob" Steadward with an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Regina.
Steadward receives that honour Friday morning on the final day of the University of Regina’s 2026 Spring Convocation ceremonies.
According to the news release from the university: “As founding president of the International Paralympic Committee, he helped transform opportunities for athletes with disabilities around the world. His lifelong commitment to inclusion, accessibility, and adapted physical activity has changed lives and inspired generations.”
Speaking to SaskToday on Thursday prior to the ceremony, Steadward spoke of “how deeply humbled and honoured I am to receive this kind of recognition, particularly from the University of Regina. It's just such a special privilege and recognition.”
While Steadward now resides in Alberta, he was originally from Eston, Saskatchewan.
“I'm originally born and raised in Saskatchewan, even though I've lived the last 60 years of my life in Alberta. I went to Luther College High School and I know there's a very close relationship between Luther College Regina and the Luther College at the University here, so it all ties together. So it's extra special. I mean, I have received other honorary Doctor of Laws degrees, but this is special.”
Steadward said he spent “nearly 60 years of my life” in the Paralympic and Olympic movement.
“I was actually the founder of the International Paralympic Committee and was their founding president, which I held for 12 years, which was the maximum amount of time. So I spent most of my life developing the Paralympic movement worldwide, travelling to more than 125 countries to help some of the less fortunate or third-world or poorer nations develop a national Paralympic program. And also to develop our program, the Paralympic movement internationally, because when I first brought the organization together, there was about 42 nations. And then when I finished, there was about 175 nations.”
More importantly, he said, was bringing the International Paralympic and the International Olympic Committee together.
“We had signed a memorandum of understanding a number of years ago, which required all future countries and cities to bid for both hosting of the Olympics and the Paralympics.”
As for how he first got involved, he said that “back in the mid-60s, when I was at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, I had an opportunity to become involved with a few people in swimming and track and field athletics and wheelchair basketball, because all of them had some kind of a disability. So I started organizing their association and then started coaching them.”
“And then the next thing you know, just like a big vortex, it pulls you in and it became a life passion of mine. And now, to me, the Paralympic movements, Paralympians are basically my extended family.”
Steadward is proud of the growth of the whole Paralympic movement to what it has become today.
“I think of the early days when I was starting the whole Paralympic movement in the 60s and 70s, the individuals participating in sport were never considered athletes,” Steadward said.
“They were basically patients from the hospital. And most of the coaches were volunteer doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. And the facilities that we tried to train out of weren't accessible. So it was always a lifelong goal of mine: inclusion, accessibility and barrier-free. I'd worked alongside people like Rick Hansen, Terry Fox and so many others to ensure that our movement grew.”
A major turning point was the 1988 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
“And that's when we had our very first modern Paralympic Games. Same venues as the Olympics, professional coaches, the stadiums. We had over 100,000 at the opening ceremonies. So nowadays, all of the Paralympic Games are in front of completely filled stadiums with media coverage worldwide. And so following the Olympics, a couple of weeks, you move into the Paralympics and you're seeing in Canada and many other countries daily coverage, live coverage.”
He said the sponsorship and the television contracts now are enormous compared with what they were when he first started out.
“When I was the founding president back in 1989 for 12 years, I paid my own way and my own expenses to get around the world to develop other nations. And I had one part-time office help over in Belgium. And today now they've got a fabulous headquarters in Bonn, Germany, with 145 full-time staff. So the growth is absolutely enormous and the respect that people have for Paralympians is also quite enormous.”
As for what advice he might give the students at the University of Regina who are graduating this week, Steadward had this to say:
“Well, as I always tell students graduating from university, I mean, your life isn't over when you've graduated. That's not what you've learned. That's what you're going to use what you've learned. And so I will certainly encourage them … to never, ever lose sight of hope, opportunity and the power of the human spirit. I learned a lot from the mistakes that I made. But again, you're never a failure if you fall down. You are only if you stay down.
“So, you know, change is happening all the time rapidly in the world today. And so if they can encompass hope as their foundation and change and take opportunity as the tool that they have to be with the human spirit, to be their greatest strength, to move forward and create opportunities and to make the world a better place in which to live, work and play. And just remember that and realize that the University of Regina has provided them with the same tools as I received back in my earlier days. And so you never can underestimate what you're able to achieve and make a difference and a legacy that you can leave.”
