Despite protests and controversy, Canadian science broadcaster David Suzuki received an honorary degree from the University of Alberta in Edmonton on June 7.

Although honorary degrees are bestowed upon recipients regardless of whether they attended or had connections to the institution or not, one of Suzuki's first jobs (after completing a PhD in the U.S.) was as an assistant professor in the University of Alberta's genetics department in 1962 and where he realized how he could utilize media to convey information.

"It was here that I began my scientific career in genetics, began my concern about environmental consequences of the way we live, began my realization that television is a very powerful means of communication," the 82-year-old Vancouver-based environmental activist said, according to CBC News.

Meanwhile, as university chancellor Doug Stollery conferred the degree upon Suzuki at the spring convocation, a group called Rally 4 Resources organized a protest outside.

Protestors took issue with Suzuki's criticism of the oilsands and the fossil-fuel industries.

Controversy and debate arose after the university announced its decision about Suzuki in April, amid protests and tensions between B.C. and Alberta over the Kinder Morgan pipeline project.

Critics have included U of A engineering dean Fraser Forbes, Alberta premier Rachel Notley, and the Official Opposition United Conservative Party, and an Albertan law firm withdrew promised funding of $100,000.

However, U of A president and vice-chancellor David H. Turpin stood by the decision for "the pursuit of knowledge, the generation of ideas, and the discovery of new truths" and the "freedom of inquiry, academic integrity, and independence".

Suzuki, who has hosted the CBC TV series The Nature of Things since 1979, has received over 25 honorary degrees, including one from Alberta's University of Calgary in 1986, one from Burnaby's Simon Fraser University in 2000, and one from Vancouver's University of British Columbia in 2011.