Mr. Chancellor, the most beautiful musical instrument is the human voice and the perfect lyric vocalism of Elly Ameling has illustrated this time and time again.
After winning first prize at the International Festival of Music in Geneva in 1958, Elly Ameling has moved from triumph to triumph.
Her vibrant personality, coupled with a voice of pure beauty that is capable of a rich multitude of nuances, has captured the hearts of people across all five continents. Her artistic subtlety has been acclaimed internationally, where the warmth of her voice has enriched the foremost orchestras of the world.
Her purity of tone and musical interpretation of song have been adapted to a large and varied repertoire, from opera to Lieder and the French art songs. As a consequence, she is in constant demand at the world’s great music festivals.
In recognition of her outstanding achievements, her native country has awarded her its highest honour by making her a Knight in the Order of Oranje-Naussau.
Mr. Chancellor, I speak for every man and woman in this hall, when I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon a most gracious lady, who has brought immeasurable joy to all people, not only because of her perfect artistry, but also because of her natural charm, grace and dignity, Elly Ameling.
Mr. Chancellor, Thomas Clement Douglas, a Scot by birth who came to Canada in 1910, spent the years of the First World War in Glasgow and so owes his education to Scottish schools as well as to Brandon College and McMaster University, where he earned his M.A. in 1933. Later he pursued post-graduated study at the University of Chicago. Significantly, he was a Gold Medalist in debating, dramatics, and oratory; he had also found time for football and amateur boxing. He was twice Manitoba’s lightweight champion. He entered the Baptist ministry in 1930 and served at Weyburn, Saskatchewan, in the early years of the depression. Here, in 1935, he won election to the House of Commons as a representative of the Canadian Commonwealth Federation. Re-elected in 1940, he resigned in 1944, when, after election to the Legislature, he became Premier of Saskatchewan. Mindful of his boyhood, when he had contracted osteomyelitis, and of the depression, he appointed himself Minister of Health and introduced in 1947 the first programme of hospital care in North America. After four re-elections he resigned in 1961 to accept, at the founding convention, Federal Leadership of the New Democratic Party, and onerous responsibility that he shouldered with courage and imagination until 1971. From 1962 until his retirement from formal politics, at the age of 75, in May, 1979, he sat in the House of Commons, first for Burnaby-Seymour, later for Nanaimo-Cowichan-The Islands. Mr. Chancellor, I have merely sketched for you a career that has, for nearly half a century, been devoted wholly to the welfare of all the people of Canada, to the alleviation of the vicissitudes of the poor, to the building of a society in which all may live in comfort. During this long period of selfless and uninterrupted service he has won the respect, the admiration, and the affection of all parties, from one sea to the other. Now, Mr. Chancellor, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon a Canadian statesman, Thomas Clement Douglas.
Mr. Chancellor, it is a rare occasion when the University has the opportunity to honour one of its own graduates who has distinguished himself in two separate fields of achievement. HAROLD MADISON WRIGHT has gained international stature both as an engineer and as a competitor and administrator in amateur sport.
A product of Canada’s prairie provinces, Harold Wright earned degrees in metallurgy at the Universities of Alberta, Utah and British Columbia. With his brother Len, he founded and developed a Vancouver based engineering company which has received world-wide recognition for efficiency and integrity. Harold Wright has been honoured by his profession through a series of tributes, culminating in the award of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in 1976.
A member of Canada’s 1932 Olympic Team, Harold Wright has devoted a large part of his life to the development of amateur sport. In 1976, as President of the Canadian Olympic Association, he assumed much of the responsibility for the Olympic Games of Montreal. For outstanding leadership at the national and international level he was awarded the prestigious Olympic Order of Merit in 1979.
A Canadian with a deep and enduring pride in his birthplace, Harold Wright has brought honour to himself and to his country through excellence in his chosen profession and an untiring commitment to youth through sports. His country has recognized him by his appointment to the Order of Canada in 1977.
It is with great pleasure that I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, to add the recognition of this University by awarding the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, to Harold Madison Wright.
Mr. Chancellor, few men can match the record of Edmund J. Desjardins in contributing to the welfare of his fellow citizens. During the Second World War, Mr. Desjardins joined the Irish Fusiliers and subsequently transferred to the First Canadian Parachute Battalion. Following his discharge, he became Manager of the Rehabilitation Division of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Vancouver. In 1948 he was named first Manager of the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre, a post which he held until 1979. He has been the key figure in the development of that outstanding institution. Much of his life has been devoted to stimulating the development of standards for rehabilitation services and for the design of public facilities to make them accessible to the disabled people. He has served as Chairman of the Architectural Committee of the International Association of Rehabilitation Centres, and as Chairman of the Architectural Barriers Committee of the Social Planning and Review Council of B.C., and assisted in preparing a comprehensive set of design standards for the disabled people for inclusion in the City of Vancouver building by-laws. He has been honoured for distinguished service by, among others, the Association of Rehabilitation Centres, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Centres, the Canadian College of Health Service Executives, the B.C. Health Labour Relations Association, the B.C. Health Association and by the Hospital Administrators Association of British Columbia, "recognizing outstanding service to his profession over a period of many years." In 1975, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. His keen mind, forthright approach and tireless energy have allowed him not only to contribute directly to the development of services for the disabled people, but also, through his example, to influence the lives of countless others. I am honoured to present to you, for the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Edmund J. Desjardins.
Mr. Chancellor, Bora Laskin is one of Canada’s most distinguished sons. He is pre-eminent in legal scholarship and, as a judge, he may be ranked with the legendary figures, Chief Justice Duff and Mr. Justice Rand, of the Supreme Court of Canada. It is especially fitting that this University should have Bora Laskin as one of its graduates, for he was a member of the academic community for twenty-five years before his elevation to the bench, and he remains above all else a scholar. After a brilliant career as a student, he was appointed to the Faculty of the University of Toronto. There he taught law for twenty-one years, his tenure being interrupted by a four year term of service at Osgood Hall. His published work gained him an outstanding reputation for erudition, particularly in constitutional law and in labour law, and he was soon Canada’s foremost teacher and authority on these subjects. He found time to devote to the wider interests of his academic colleagues; in particular, he was notably active in the creation of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, whose president he became in 1964/65. His rigorous advocacy of academic freedom in this phase of his career foreshadowed the powerful judgements in defence of human rights and individual freedoms that he would deliver later as a judge. His judicial skill and temper became evident while he was still a professor of law. As an expert in labour law, he was called on to act as arbitrator in many industrial disputes. In this work, his sense of fairness, his balanced judgement, his learning, his obvious impartiality, and his human sympathy were manifest. These innate characteristics along with the high judicial quality of his mind soon earned him the unanimous respect of those who came before him. It was no surprise, then, that his great legal and judicial talents earned him a place on the Court of Appeal of Ontario in 1965 and on the Supreme Court of Canada in 1970. Ultimately and inevitably, he reached the pinnacle of the legal profession, in 1973, as the Chief Justice of Canada. Mr. Chancellor, I present to you for the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, one who may truly be said to be an academic par excellence, who continuously demonstrates his practical wisdom in the exercise of the highest judicial office in our land, Bora Laskin.
Mr. Chancellor, this afternoon we gladly welcome to membership among our alumni a fellow-westerner who has led his company and his province to an enviable position in the field of energy and natural resources. After graduating from Queen’s University in 1951 as a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Robert Blair gained his early experience with pipelines and the management of gas in his own province of Alberta before joining The Alberta Gas Trunk Line Company Limited in 1969. The following year he became President and Chief Executive Officer of that company, which, since 1980, has been known across Canada and beyond as Nova, an Alberta Corporation. How, by his unrelenting determination and acute intellect, he won the right to construct the Canadian section of the Alaska Pipeline, the largest privately-financed project of its kind in North America, is a fascinating and warming Canadian saga. Thanks to his success, the East now fully recognizes the economic power of the West. Yet, while he is a proud Westerner, a Calgarian, he is at the same time a proud Canadian. He has also earned widespread admiration for the sensitivity he has displayed over the years of preparation for the rights of native peoples and the environment. His astute judgement and bold initiative have brought him directorships in a score of companies. He is a member of the Economic Council of Canada, and Queen’s University wisely has made him a trustee. Mr. Chancellor, I invite you to bestow the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon a man who has, to a very remarkable degree, combined championship of the West with true Canadian nationalism, Sidney Robert Blair.
Mr. Chancellor, we welcome to our company today a Canadian who has devoted his entire professional life to the service of Canada. Born in Davidson, Saskatchewan, Gordon Robertson attended schools in Regina. A true son of the prairies, he took his first degree at the University of Saskatchewan before proceeding to higher degrees at Oxford and Toronto. In 1941 he joined the Department of External Affairs for the critical years of the War. In 1945 he became Secretary to the Office of the Prime Minister, moving in 1949 to the Cabinet Secretariat in the Office of the Privy Council. Appreciation of his administrative talents and judgement is reflected by his appointment in 1953 to Deputy Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources and, simultaneously, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. To these responsibilities he contributed ten years, to be followed by twelve years as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. In 1975 he took office as Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations. Since 1980 he has been President of the Institute for Research on Public Policy as well as Chancellor of Carleton University. Most recently, his nomination by the Prime Minister to the Privy Council was approved by the Governor General. This impressive career, which, Mr. Chancellor, I have merely sketched, has brought him honorary degrees from McGill University and the Universities of Saskatchewan, Toronto, Dalhousie, and Laval, and the Vanier Medal from the Canadian Institute of Public Administration. That he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada confirms the quality of his scholarship; that he is a Companion of the Order of Canada confirms his reputation as a Canadian of extraordinary distinction. If you will allow me to paraphrase, Mr. Chancellor, I present to you for the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, the very model of a modern servant of the Canadian people, Robert Gordon Robertson.
Mr. Chancellor, thirty-three years ago Vladimir Krajina came to The University of British Columbia to begin a career that has continued energetically past formal retirement, and has established firmly his reputation as a forest ecologist of international stature. Born, raised and educated in Czechoslovakia, he pursued an academic career with great distinction in his native country, and at an early age became Professor of Botany and Head of the Division of Plant Ecology at Charles University in Prague. Throughout his botanical career he maintained an active interest in politics. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia during World War II he continued to serve his country with outstanding courage and distinction in the Resistance Movement, for which he received the highest recognition at home and abroad. On arrival in Canada as a political refugee, he began a second academic career in the Department of Botany at The University of British Columbia. His teaching and research soon attracted many graduate students, and his first Ph.D. student was the first candidate to receive a doctoral degree from the Department of Botany. His dedication to research took him throughout British Columbia and led to a unique understanding of its forests. He developed a system of forest classification that has been acclaimed widely and used in forest management. His concern for preserving ecological areas in British Columbia led him to press for the establishment of ecological reserves in the province, and his persistence led to the proclamation of the Ecological Reserves Act in 1971. Since the programme began, and as a result of his continuing effort, British Columbia now has a unique legacy of over 100 of these reserves – an unparalleled record of achievement. Since arriving in Canada and becoming a Canadian citizen, Dr. Krajina has continued to receive many honours for his outstanding contributions to forest ecology: in 1972 he was awarded the George Lawson Medal by the Canadian Botanical Society; in 1976 he was named a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Forestry; in 1981 he was made an Honorary Life Member of The University of British Columbia Alumni Association; and recently he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. Because of the major contribution he has made to this University as a teacher and a scholar, and to the Province of British Columbia through the ecological reserves, I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, to bestow the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon Vladimir Joseph Krajina.
Mr. Chancellor, it is a proud occasion when the University has the opportunity to honour one of its own graduates who has distinguished himself both in government and in industry. But it is with special pride that we honour Ray Williston also for his contributions to science.
A native of British Columbia and a graduate of this University, he began his career as a teacher in 1934. His talents both as a teacher and as an administrator were readily recognized and he soon became Superintendent of Schools for the B.C. Government. His interest in government led to his election as a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1953. For the next nineteen years he served successively as Minister of Education, Minister of Lands and Forests, and Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources. During this latter Ministry his readiness to embrace long-term and enduring perspectives and his understanding of the role of science in natural resources management led him as Minister to provide strong support for the establishment of the ecological reserves in British Columbia. His sponsorship resulted in the enactment in 1971 of the Ecological Reserves Act. This pioneering and farsighted legislation brought recognition and respect to British Columbia from the international scientific community. As a result of this Act and Mr. Williston’s continuing dedication to the science of natural resources management, British Columbia now serves as a model for the establishment of ecological reserves in other areas of the world.
Mr. Williston has similarly distinguished himself in industry where he has held positions as Director of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway and the B.C. Hydro and Power Authority, Chairman of the Canadian Entity Columbia River Development, and Natural Resource Consultant for the Canadian International Development Agency and the Government of New Brunswick. Since 1976 he has been chairman and President of B.C. Cellulose Company.
This distinguished record has been recognized in provincial, national, and international awards. It is with great pleasure that I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, to add the recognition of this University by conferring the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Ray Gillis Williston.
Mr. Chancellor, the man standing before you is no stranger to this platform. He has guided many a graduating law student to your chair. It is time we made him an alumnus of this University.
George Curtis came to The University of British Columbia in 1945 from the Dalhousie Law School where he was Viscount Bennett Professor. He came as founding Dean of our Faculty of Law, and he held that position until his retirement in 1971. The Faculty’s national and international standing is in a large measure due to the wise leadership that he gave it in its formative years.
His services to education generally and to legal education in particular are manifold. He was one of the founders of the Commonwealth Scholarship scheme, and was a delegate of the Government of Canada to five Commonwealth conferences on education. He can claim to be one of the founding fathers of modern legal education in Canada.
Canadian governments have recognized his expertise and judgement by asking him to serve as an advisor on numerous committees, both national and international. From 1953 to 1962 he acted as special advisor to the Government of Canada on the Law of the Sea.
He has played a full role in the affairs of the three Canadian communities in which he has lived. He was a director of the Y.M.C.A. in Regina, Halifax and Vancouver, chairman of the founding committee of the Church of St. Anselm’s in Vancouver, and has long been a member of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs and the Canadian Section of the International Commission of Jurists. And, Mr. Chancellor, in the midst of his national, community and administrative work he did not neglect his obligations as a scholar and a teacher. His writings have illuminated many a recondite area of the law, and his skill as a teacher has inspired many a would-be lawyer.
Mr. Chancellor, it gives me great pleasure to present to you GEORGE FREDERICK CURTIS, servant of country, community, education and law, for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Mr. Chancellor, over the past four decades Robertson Davies has made a unique and magnificent contribution to the cultural vitality of Canada. While he is among our leading novelists, this role is just one of the many that he has played with great distinction. He has been a notable journalist: for twenty years he made the Peterborough Examiner better known across the nation than Peterborough itself. He has been a humourist, a diarist, an essayist, a widely read and greatly admired commentator on the passing scene.
He has always been a man of the theatre: in his younger days he worked in England with the Old Vic; he was one of the founders of the Stratford, Ontario, Shakespeare Festival; and he has written many successful plays.
He has been a distinguished member of the Canadian academic community, as Master of Massey College and Professor of English at the University of Toronto.
As a novelist, he is well recognized for his satiric Salterton trilogy, and he is now famous for his Deptford trilogy, which has attracted a wide and enthusiastic international readership. The Deptford novels, like much of his other work, examine the passionate, mystical, improbable, sometimes macabre world that lies beneath the seemingly bland surfaces of Canadian life. In his novels he tells us something about our dreams. With insight and energy he adds significantly to our understanding of ourselves – as Canadians and as human beings.
In addition to his tangible achievements and the many awards and honours he has received, there is a quality of personality, of spirit, that stamps all his work and has drawn attention to the man himself. He is known for his sense of fun and his love of formality; for the style, the theatrical flair, and the sheer gusto that he brings to all his activities.
We honour today a man of letters who has enriched immeasurably the life of our nation. Mr. Chancellor, I ask you to bestow upon Robertson Davies the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you a candidate who truly embodies the spirit of this university and the values which it upholds. Malcolm Francis McGregor was born in England but completed his secondary school education in British Columbia and subsequently enrolled in this university. For a young man already exposed to the virtues of liberal studies, the university represented a world of new ideas and Malcolm McGregor discovered his future in the classical classrooms of some of this university’s legendary teachers. He immersed himself in university life, finding time to write for the UBYSSEY and excel on the field of amateur sport.
After a sojourn at the University of Cincinnati, where his reputation as a classical scholar and teacher gained international recognition, Malcolm McGregor returned to his Alma Mater in 1954.
During the next twenty years, he was an enthusiastic participant in every aspect of academic life; as a scholar, teacher, administrator and community leader. It is possible to recite only a brief selection of the impressive litany of his achievement: Commander of the Order of the Phoenix, awarded by the government of Greece for his scholarly research into that nation’s cultural history; Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada; Head of the Department of Classics; The prestigious Master Teacher Award; Member of the Senate for fourteen years; and Director of Ceremonies for the University.
Dr. McGregor earned international acclaim as the co-author of The Athenian Tribute Lists, a collection of documents vital to the understanding of Greek history in the fifth century B.C., the period regarded as the zenith of ancient Greek culture.
In the wider community Malcolm McGregor has devoted a large part of his life to the development of youth through amateur sport. His achievements as a player, coach, administrator and referee have earned him the lifelong respect and gratitude of generations of young people across this nation. In every role he has played, his overriding concern has always been the preservation of the real values of amateur sport.
Mr. Chancellor, it is with the greatest confidence that I ask you to join a growing number of Canada’s universities by awarding the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, to one who represents the highest values in the university community -- a true renaissance scholar -- Malcolm Francis McGregor.
Mr. Chancellor: Born in Turkey of Scottish parents, Annie Margaret Angus was seven when the family settled on a ranch in the Kettle Valley. Her schooling took her to Grand Forks and King Edward High School before she entered The University of British Columbia in 1919. Her undergraduate years, which culminated with First-Class Honours in English Language and Literature, included the Presidency of the Women’s Undergraduate Society, the Vice-Presidency of the Student’s Council, and prominence in the Letters Club. The Great Trek of 1922 and marriage to a member of the Faculty in 1924 affirmed that devotion to the University and to education that has persisted uninterruptedly throughout her career.
She led the Faculty Women’s Club in 1935-36, the University Women’s Club from 1938 to 1940. For three consecutive terms she was elected to the Vancouver Board of School Trustees, holding the Chairmanship in 1956. From 1957 to 1963 the University’s Senate benefited from the wisdom of her academic judgements. Her unflagging loyalty to the Alumni Association continues to command respect and affection.
The breadth of her vision has been reflected by her participation, provincially and nationally, in programmes involving the health and welfare of the Canadian community. I merely mention the Community Chest, the Girl Guides, the Children’s Aid Society, the Fairbridge Farm School, the Ottawa Council of Social Agencies, the Canadian Mental Health Association.
The award of the Coronation Medal in 1953 for services to child-welfare did not surprise; nor did her presence on the advisory body for the planning of the Canadian Centenary of 1967. She herself, I am sure, will approve of my noting that her son and daughter graduated from The University of British Columbia.
In a word, she is the very embodiment of the virtues of a Liberal Education. And this is why, Mr. Chancellor, I present for the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Annie Margaret Angus.
Mr. Chancellor, today we proudly welcome to membership among our alumni a British Columbian who has become a pre-eminent spokesman, not only for the native Indian people of Canada, but also for indigenous people throughout the world. By 1960 George Manuel had become Chief of his Shuswap Band and the major spokesman for the interior Indians of British Columbia. At the same time he was active in promoting interracial understanding through sports and other community activities.
In 1970 he became President of the National Indian Brotherhood and led that organization through its formative years. Subsequently he became President of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs. During the 1970’s he devoted increasing attention to the needs of peoples in other parts of the world. In 1975 he founded and became the first President of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples and in that position he was untiring in seeking redress for the plight of these peoples, especially those in Latin America.
In 1981 he was singularly honoured by his appointment as the first permanent Grand Chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.
Mr. Chancellor, I invite you to bestow the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon a man who has been a distinguished leader of aboriginal peoples in British Columbia, in Canada and throughout the world – George Manuel.
Mr. Chancellor, in honouring John Bernard Warren we recognize a Professor of UBC who has been singularly successful in bringing our University to a position of world leadership in his discipline.
Having obtained his degrees at Imperial College, London, John Warren contributed to the United Kingdom war effort in Britain and in Canada. In his wartime travels to British Columbia he discovered a place in the world the challenge and personality of which matched his own.
As a Professor of The University of British Columbia since 1947, and as a physicist and engineer, he developed important new teaching programmes, trained and stimulated countless students, conceived and built outstanding projects and carried out his own wide-ranging research programme. He has been a developer and leader of the Engineering Physics Programme at our University and of the laboratory training which is its essence.
He is, in a real sense, the father of subatomic physics in Canada’s far west. Immediately after the war he built here the Van de Graaff accelerator, the first accelerator in western Canada. A considerable fraction of all the nuclear physicists Canada has produced were trained by John Warren and by his students. The climate of people and ideas evolved and grew, under his leadership, into the four-university TRIUMF project of which he was the first director. TRIUMF is Canada’s biggest new science project and is at the forefront in many new areas of science.
John Warren’s current research work with subatomic particles – with muons at TRIUMF and with antiprotons at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics – is at the cutting edge of new knowledge.
To the hundreds of scientists who have worked with him he is a man of warmth and humour, of immense imagination and vigour, with an astonishing breadth of interests ranging from technical innovation to pure science. For his many outstanding contributions to science he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1959 and became, in 1981, the first recipient of the Gold Medal in Physical Sciences of the British Columbia Science Council.
For his lasting contributions to his chosen university, his chosen province and his chosen country I have great pride in presenting to you, for the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, John Bernard Warren.
Mr. Chancellor, Douglas Timothy Kenny is a distinguished son of The University of British Columbia. Born in Victoria, a second generation Canadian, proud of his Irish heritage, he obtained the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts at this University and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at the University of Washington. Returning to his Alma Mater he rose through the academic ranks, being appointed full professor in 1963, Head of the Department of Psychology in 1964 and Dean of the Faculty of Arts in 1970. As Head of the Department of Psychology he laid the foundations which enabled that department to achieve its present distinction as one of the premier schools of psychology in Canada. As Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1970 to 1975, he led the Faculty with consummate skill and distinction through a period in which universities throughout North America, and indeed the world, experienced what can only be described as acute difficulties.
In 1975 Douglas Kenny assumed office as the 8th President of The University of British Columbia. A farsighted and humane administrator, and a grandson of the finest shot in the British Army, President Kenny has never lowered his sights or missed his mark in striving to promote the highest standards of scholarship throughout the University. His commitment to excellence and his deep and abiding affection for his Alma Mater are gratefully recognized by all his colleagues; he has devoted his entire career to the betterment of this University, its students, its staff and its faculty. As President he has provided wise and pragmatic leadership. The wide range of new academic programs which he has shepherded through the University Senate and the large number of new facilities and buildings which the University has obtained since 1975 are monuments to that leadership. These accomplishments have contributed in no small measure to the reputation of The University of British Columbia as a university which is known and respected throughout the world. President Kenny is an outspoken advocate for the cause of higher education in Canada.
On the national scene he has played an important role in the advancement of scholarship and learning as a member of the Governing Board of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada since 1978. It is therefore fitting that he now be honoured by his Alma Mater.
I am honoured indeed, Mr. Chancellor, to present to you Douglas Timothy Kenny, 8th President of The University of British Columbia, in order that you may confer on him the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Mr. Chancellor, in John J. Robinette we honour a lawyer, a scholar, a teacher, and an advocate without peer.
A profound knowledge of the law and of the Constitution, linked with a thoughtful and imaginative mind, and timeless skills of quiet and temperate persuasion have made him surpassingly convincing to both jury and judge. Thorough preparation has helped.
In the Supreme Court of Canada he has argued the greatest constitutional issues of his generation, and in doing so has helped to shape our nation. In the criminal courts he has been the instrument of justice for the weak and oppressed and for the strong and oppressed. Yet he has adhered to the barrister's pledge of taking the cases of those who come to him in difficulty, without picking winners from losers.
His courtesy and kindness come from a mind and spirit that are untarnished by self-absorption. In a life devoted to service through the law, he has shown that reputation follows ability as surely in an advocate as in a judge or scholar.
Mr. Chancellor, to honour the foremost barrister in our land in our time, I ask you to confer upon John Josiah Robinette, the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Mr. Chancellor, in honouring Henry Pybus Bell-Irving we are honouring a true native son, for he was born in Vancouver and was educated at Lord Roberts School, Shawnigan Lake and The University of British Columbia, as well as at Loretto School in Scotland. From 1932 he held the rank of Lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and in this capacity he went overseas in 1939. He commanded various Canadian forces in Britain, in Sicily, in Italy, and in north-western Europe, completing his active service as Brigadier. In combat Budge, as he is widely known, compiled a brilliant record of courageous leadership. He won the Distinguished Service Order with Bar for gallantry in action and the Order of the British Empire; twice was he mentioned in Dispatches. He commanded the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade in the campaign that liberated Holland. In 1948 he entered the family business in real estate and in 1972, after a merger, became Chairman and President of A.E. LePage Western Limited. The respect that he enjoyed in the city for his breadth of interest and soundness of judgement was confirmed in 1974 by his election as President of the Board of Trade. Through the years Budge has maintained his interest in the youth of British Columbia by his work on behalf of the Boy Scouts and the Vancouver Children’s Hospital. Such was his reputation that unanimous approval greeted his appointment in 1978 as Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia. As the Queen’s representative he visited the more remote areas of the vast Province, coastal and inland. Mr. Chancellor, because this man of Vancouver, this British Columbian, this Canadian has brought such glory, in war and peace, to his native land, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Henry Pybus Bell-Irving.
Mr. Chancellor, today we proudly welcome to membership among our alumni Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich – a citizen of the world who is equally at home on both sides of the Atlantic and a man of many distinctions. As an outstanding musician, he is both a virtuoso cellist and a man who is much sought after by the world’s major symphony orchestras as a great conductor. In his role as a philanthropist, he has raised millions of dollars through benefit concerts for such causes as underprivileged children and the preservation of wildlife. As a humanist committed to upholding individual freedom, he was steadfast in his courageous defence and sheltering of the persecuted writer Solzhenitsyn, regardless of consequences to himself. Born into a musical family, he exhibited his musical talents from an early age and began his concert series at age thirteen. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory of which he later became a Professor. Since 1975 he has been the resident conductor and musical director of the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., but still finds time for guest appearances with the foremost orchestras in the United States and abroad, and for solo recitals. The nickname Slava, by which he is known to his many friends, is a contraction of his name Mstislav. By a most appropriate coincidence it is also the Russian word for "fame" or "glory" of which he enjoys a full measure, having received a long list of awards and degrees by governments and universities. Mr. Chancellor, for the joy that Slava Rostropovich has brought to the world by his music and for the generosity in all his relationships with others, I invite you to confer upon him yet another degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Mr. Chancellor, born in Ireland, educated at Queen’s University of Belfast, University Professor at The University of British Columbia, Charles Alexander McDowell is a distinguished chemical scientist, whose research has won him international acclaim; an academic administrator whose wisdom is widely respected throughout Canada and abroad, and a raconteur par excellence. Head of the UBC Department of Chemistry from 1955 to 1981, for more than a quarter of a century, this Alexander of Academia led his department on an unbroken march toward pre-eminence among the chemistry departments of North America. Many of Professor McDowell’s students now hold senior professorial positions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and India. A long-time member of the Senate of this University, member or chairman of innumerable important committees and a former elected member of the Board of Governors, he is admired and respected for his analytical ability, his critical judgement, his devotion to high standards of achievement and for his practical common sense. All these characteristics were no doubt sharpened by his experience as a Gas and Bomb Identification Officer with the United Kingdom Ministry of Supply during the Second World War. They are legend among his colleagues and have enabled him to play an outstanding role in the development of this University since 1955. Professor McDowell’s contributions to chemical science have been recognized by his election to Fellowship in learned societies in the United Kingdom, North America and Australia, including the Royal Society of Canada and the Chemical Institute of Canada, the latter having elected him its President in 1978. He represented Canada at the General Assembly of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry at Davos, Switzerland, in 1979 and was appointed Chairman of the Congress that the International Union held at UBC in 1981. He holds the Université de Liège Medal for Distinction in Science, The Centennial Medal of Canada, the Chemical Institute of Canada Medal and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. At Davos in 1979, Charles McDowell was struck by a rare and serious illness. With his unconquerable spirit and under the devoted care of his wife, Christine, he has made a remarkable recovery. In 1982 he was awarded the Montreal Medal of the Chemical Institute of Canada. This year he has been awarded a prestigious research fellowship by the Guggenheim Foundation. It is appropriate to paraphrase W.E. Henley’s courageous and defiant song to life Invictus – and to say of Charles McDowell:
In the fell clutch of circumstance
He has not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
His head is bloody, but unbowed.
Mr. Chancellor, for his outstanding contribution to chemical science and to this university, I ask that you confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon Charles Alexander McDowell.
Mr. Chancellor, seldom do we have the pleasure of inspecting so dazzling a record of public service as that compiled by Thomas Kunito Shoyama. Born in Kamloops, Tommy Shoyama, as he is less formally known to you, graduated from The University of British Columbia in 1939 with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Bachelor of Commerce with Honours. After preliminary experience as a journalist and with the Intelligence Corps of the Canadian Army, he served the Province of Saskatchewan from 1946 to 1964, first as a research economist, then as economic adviser to the Premier. The quality of Tommy’s contributions brought reputation and the call to Ottawa. Here the Government of Canada made excellent use of his admirable versatility as he passed from the Economic Council of Canada to the Department of Finance to Federal-Provincial Relations and Fiscal Policy to Economic Development and Government Finance. The year 1974 found him with the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources as Assistant Deputy Minister; a year later he moved to the Department of Finance as Deputy Minister. Tommy spent his final year in Ottawa as Adviser to the Privy Council on the Constitution and Chairman of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Wisely, the University of Victoria, upon his retirement, appointed him Visiting Professor in the School of Public Administration and the Centre for Pacific and Oriental Studies; thus he can disseminate his accumulated wisdom in his native province. I omit the many boards and commissions of which our distinguished honorary degree recipient has been a member in order to stress his salutation as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978, his Public Service Award for Outstanding Achievement in the same year, and his reception of the Vanier Medal from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada in 1982. You will understand, Mr. Chancellor, why I now ask you to recognize the brilliance of a career dedicated wholly to Canada by bestowing the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Thomas Kunito Shoyama.
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you a candidate who through the instruments of scholarship and public service, has made unsurpassed contributions to economic and social leadership in his native Japan, and also in the international world of trade, cultural exchange and mutual understanding. SABURO OKITA has been – successively – an engineer, scientist, economist, diplomat, internationalist, and always a scholar. As Director-General of Economic Planning for Japan in the 1950’s and ‘60’s, his vision for economic recovery and growth in his country became part of that miracle the world has watched with awe and respect. He went on to become President of the highly influential Japan Economic Research Centre and, in the last decade, he has been its Chairman. At the same time, through many boards and agencies, Dr. Okita has served his country and its government including being the Foreign Minister of Japan in 1979 and 1980. The great respect for the abilities and reputation of Saburo Okita is not confined to his fellow citizens; he is an internationalist of acknowledged distinction. His early contributions were in Development Planning for the World Bank, the United Nations and other international agencies. In addition, he has given wise counsel to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development as a member of the High-level Expert Group on Science Policy. We have another and perhaps the true measure of the man in his scholarship. He has written, in Japanese and English, many books and articles on Japan’s economy, Asian and Pacific Rim economic development, and international relations. They are major contributions in development studies. That Dr. Okita is the President of the International University of Japan bespeaks his abiding concerns for the harmony and understanding among peoples and nations. Today, Mr. Chancellor, we welcome Dr. Okita again to Canada and UBC. This time, however, we honour our guest as he honours us by the linking of our University with a truly distinguished citizen of Japan. For his outstanding contributions to public and academic life in his own country and throughout the Pacific region, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Saburo Okita.
Mr. Chancellor, today we gladly welcome to membership among our alumni a fellow British Columbian who has been an outstanding leader in the development of the forest industry in this province. Leopold Bentley, or Poldi as he is less formally known, was born in Vienna, studied at the University of Vienna, and trained to be a textile engineer. With his family he came to Canada in the fall of 1938, being forced to leave his native Austria just before the historic annexation of that country. Times were also difficult in Canada then, but he foresaw possibilities in the development of this province’s natural resources. With John Prentice, his brother-in-law, and John Bene, he founded Pacific Veneer Company Limited in New Westminster. The switch from textiles to forest products was a timely one because the newly-formed company found itself in the enviable position of being able to supply much-needed birch plywood to the aircraft industry in Great Britain. Success in these early ventures multiplied and led to the formation of Canadian Forest Products Ltd., and eventually to the Canfor Group of companies, now encompassed within Canfor Corporation. Poldi Bentley could always sense what was needed for the times and anticipate future developments. His vision and leadership resulted in good fortune, not only for his company and his family, but also for countless British Columbians. In 1960 he played a significant part in the creation of the Council of Forest Industries of British Columbia. He also played a prominent role in the promotion and opening of off-shore markets, serving for eleven years as Chairman of Seaboard Lumber Sales, the forest industry’s export organization. He had the foresight to recognize the potential for a major pulp and paper industry in the interior of the province and had a key role in its initiation and development. Proud of his Austrian heritage, he is also extremely proud to be a Canadian, one who has helped to usher in the economic growth of Western Canada, and who has accepted his community responsibilities as inherent privileges of citizenship. It is with great pleasure that I present to you for the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Leopold Lionel Garrick Bentley.
Mr. Chancellor, in presenting John Valentine Clyne I am very much aware of the special satisfaction that we all enjoy in doing honour to one of our own. Chancellor Clyne was born in Vancouver, he attended King Edward High School, and earned his Bachelor’s degree at The University of British Columbia in 1923. After studies in Law at the London School of Economics and King’s College, London, he was called to the Bar in his native province in 1927. His distinction as a specialist in shipping and admiralty law is reflected by his appointment to the Bench as a Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1950. Seven years later Jack Clyne joined MacMillan-Bloedel Limited as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, posts that he held until 1972 and 1973, respectively, the years of his retirement. Throughout his career, the breadth of his knowledge and the quality of his judgement have been frequently recognized by the Governments of British Columbia and Canada. Jack Clyne has served as sole Royal Commissioner in his own province; he has, on invitation by the Prime Minister, sat with advisory groups studying federal problems; he has represented his country before committees of the United Nations. Closer to home, in addition to his many directorships, a host of institutions – one thinks of the Theatre, the Boy Scouts, the St John’s Ambulance Association – have benefited from his sympathetic understanding and support. The University has never been far from his heart: he participated in the Great Trek of 1922, he retained familiarity with academic affairs as a member of Senate from 1951 to 1960, and, not surprisingly, was named Great Trekker of 1961. The culmination came in 1978, when Jack Clyne was elected Chancellor, a chair from which, after reelection in 1981, he has only now retired. He has been a Knight of Grace of the Order of Knights of St John since 1959, a Companion of the Order of Canada since 1972. Mr. Chancellor, because his extraordinary and successful versatility has embraced his university, his province, and his country, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon John Valentine Clyne.
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you a native son of this province and this city whose creative talent has brought him world fame, and by the association of this place with some of his most brilliant architectural creations has also added to the world attention paid to Vancouver and British Columbia. We in this university are especially indebted to Arthur Erickson for the inspirational and lasting ideas which he brought to education in the School of Architecture as a teacher during the 1950’s and 60’s, and for the most outstanding work of architecture on this campus, the renowned Museum of Anthropology. His several studios, first in partnership with Geoffrey Massey in Vancouver and later operated under his name alone in Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles, have been important training grounds for young architects, many of whom have become prominent in this community, in other parts of Canada and elsewhere in the world. His prize-winning designs for Simon Fraser University, the University of Lethbridge, the Canadian Pavilion at Osaka, the British Columbia Provincial Court House, the UBC Museum of Anthropology and the Roy Thompson Concert Hall in Toronto have profoundly redefined the architectural solutions for their respective functions. Together with the attention and awards received for his residences and other buildings in Canada, the United States, England, the Middle East and Japan, they have brought him personal acclaim reflected in the many honours conferred upon him, such as Companion of the Order of Canada, the Molson Prize of the Canada Council, the Royal Bank of Canada Award and special honours and medals from national and international architectural bodies ranging from the Architectural Institute of British Columbia to the International Union of Architects. In short, his work and his talent have been recognized around the globe as representing the highest ideals of the art of architecture and have demonstrated the finest skills of that art. Because he continues to be cited not only as Canada’s most distinguished architect, but as one of the architects most respected in the world today, it is my pleasure, Mr. Chancellor, to request that you confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon Arthur Erickson.
Mr. Chancellor, today we honour an alumnus who has risen to greatness in a science that to most of us is invisible and mysterious, although we recognize its historical and present impact on our civilization. Robert Phelan Langlands, a native of New Westminster, began his study of mathematics in 1953 at this university, which he left five years later with an M.A. to earn his Ph.D. degree at Yale in 1960. Seven years later, his work, although not widely published, was attracting worldwide attention by its extraordinary boldness and depth. At about that time, just 30 years old, he left his associate professorship at Princeton to become professor at Yale. Since 1972, he has been pursuing his study of mathematics as a Permanent Member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. This Institute was founded in the thirties to be a home for such distinguished thinkers as Einstein and Goedel and, over the years, has attracted some of the world’s most brilliant minds, such as von Neumann and Oppenheimer, to mention only two. We are proud to see our alumnus in this illustrious company. Although we cannot fully describe here the portent of his work, we note the high esteem in which it is held by the international mathematical community. In very unusual language for mathematicians speaking about a contemporary, Dr. Langlands’ work has been referred to as "visionary" and "dazzling" – a vast programme often called the philosophy of Langlands, and a worthy successor to the Erlanger Program, first formulated in 1872 by the great German mathematician Felix Klein which led to a century of progress. Robert Langlands has already won numerous distinctions. He is a fellow of the Royal Societies of Canada and of London, and an editor of the Annals of Mathematics; he has received prizes from Yale University and from the American Mathematical Society. Very recently, he was chosen by the scientific research society Sigma Xi for the Common Wealth Award; the selection committee describing him as one of those rare individuals who combines mathematical power and great originality. In 1957, along with his B.A. with Honours in Mathematics, he received this university’s Medal in Arts and Science. Let us now take this opportunity to offer him one more token of our appreciation and respect. Mr. Chancellor, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon Robert Phelan Langlands.
Mr. Chancellor, this morning we honour one whose name in every aspect of public education signifies excellence. James Alexander Inkster began his B.C. teaching career in 1935 at Harewood School, Nanaimo. He later came to teach at West Vancouver High School, soon assuming its principalship. In the mid-sixties, he was appointed founding Principal of Carson Graham Secondary School, North Vancouver, and at length served that district as Director of Instruction until his retirement in 1976. Many, Mr. Chancellor, had trod similar paths. What distinguishes Jim Inkster’s career, however, is the way education consistently thrived in response to his genius. Never an ambitious man, he nonetheless fostered abounding ambition for his schools and especially for his students. Indeed, his reputation as outstanding teacher, scholar and administrator – endeavors not easily reconcilable – reflected his profound belief in a public school setting simultaneously devoted to respect for differences in matters intellectual, athletic and social. Beneficiaries of his wise counsel, generations of students, parents and teachers remember him now for his toughness, his fairness, his compassion. A rugged utilitarian possessing great strength and resilience, he generously shared his remarkable gift for bringing educational ideals to practical implementation. Thus, his achievements proved numerous and ahead of their time. He pioneered accelerated programmes for the gifted. He pioneered the development of Indian education curricula. Nor did his efforts escape attention. In recognition of his advancement of Indian studies, he was in 1969 made an Honorary Chief of the Squamish Indian Band. And in 1973, the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation presented the Ferguson Memorial Award to Jim Inkster by way of tribute to a brilliant professional. It is characteristic of this exceptional man that he considers all such accomplishments not of his own making but those of students and teachers and communities. Such modesty notwithstanding, Jim Inkster surely ranks among the most dedicated and influential practitioners of education in the history of our province and of our country. It is therefore fitting, Mr. Chancellor, that his educational vision, leadership and attainment by acknowledged here to-day. Accordingly, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon James Alexander Inkster.
Mr. Chancellor, as is proper for a journalist native to British Columbia, James Stuart Keate, Arts ’35, began his career on the staff of Ubyssey. His studies in English and History, combined with recreation on stage and links, prepared him eminently well for his profession. His experience has been rich indeed. He reported for The Province and The Toronto Daily Star; he served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, emerging as Lieutenant Commander; he joined Time Incorporated in New York and from 1947 to 1950 was Bureau Chief in Montreal. In 1950 he returned to the West as publisher of the Victoria Daily Times, a post he held until 1964, when he crossed the Strait of Georgia to become publisher of The Sun in the city of his birth. By 1979, the year of his retirement, he had received merited honours for an impressive list of contributions to the community, local and national. His remarkable versatility is reflected in his prolific literary work, most recently Paper Boy, an entertaining autobiography, and for his creative involvement with art and music, the church and philanthropy, sport and education. As merely an episode in his lifelong attachment to the University, he sat for six years as a constructive member of the Senate and of the Board of Governors. As a national figure he won appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada. In British Columbia he has exercised a major influence on the life of the province for a generation. Here on the campus of his Alma Mater, Mr. Chancellor, I ask you to salute outstanding quality of achievement by conferring the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon James Stuart Keate.
Mr. Chancellor, the Yukon Territory has produced exciting literature but few men of letters. PIERRE BERTON is the exception. Born in Whitehorse and schooled in Dawson City, he proceeded to Victoria College and The University of British Columbia, where he earned his B.A. in 1941. From the Ubyssey he moved directly to the City Editorship of Vancouver’s News Herald. After service in the army he resumed his literary activity with newspapers and magazines and in the privacy of his study. His interests broadened steadily to embrace fiction and non-fiction, humour and children’s stories, stage and radio and television. As a performer with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he has become one of the best-known personalities in the country. Three times he has won the Governor General’s Award for Creative Non-fiction, once the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Author of over twenty books, he has built a permanent reputation that rests firmly upon his accounts of the Canadian experience: life and history in the Klondike, the inexorable thrust of the railway to the West, the relationship of Canada with the United States. He has the enviable ability to write history in a style that the layman finds intelligible and gripping; he appeals to a popular audience without the distortion that accompanies popularizing. Without surprise we learn that he is a Member of the Order of Canada. Mr. Chancellor, because he is an alumnus who ranks among the great interpreters of Canada and her culture to Canadians and non-Canadians alike, we shall rejoice with you when you confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon Pierre Francis Berton.
Mr. Chancellor, we are most happy today to welcome to membership among our alumni one who has been a remarkable and de facto member of the scholarly and scientific community: Mrs. Margaret Siwallace. Born in Kimsquit, British Columbia, on 26 December 1908, of Bella Coola parentage, Margaret Siwallace, née Marguerite Saunders, was trained for chieftainship, which office of the Bella Coola people she graced with rare ability for many years. Educated at the Crosby Indian Girls School at Port Simpson, from the tender age of a mere ten years, Margaret Siwallace has been a translator of excellence, moving familiarly and easily between English, Chinook, and her own native Bella Coola language. An intercultural woman of great personal and scholarly integrity, communicating the modes of one culture to those belonging to another, Margaret Siwallace has through her life been the principal source for many a paper and thesis in fields as diverse as ethnobotany, archaeology, history, anthropology, linguistics, nutrition, ethnomedicine, pharmacology and mythology. In this mixing with and informing a wide variety of scholars and scientists, of both local and international reputed, she became and has for long been a true scholar and scientist in her own right, with a breadth of knowledge and insight given only to a few. She has been a fighter for Indian rights, working for her own community as well as for good relations with others. She has earned the respect, admiration and love of all who have encountered her, whatever their purposes or interests. With a rare sympathy and understanding combined with imagination and wide experience, Margaret Siwallace has mediated and unravelled many a knotty problem, be it in the field of politics, law, custom, science or more general scholarship. She is a great historian of her people. The parent of five, grandmother of eighteen and great grandmother to thirty, through a long life which has known dire tragedy as well as the extremes of material poverty, Margaret Siwallace has always been generous of herself, freely sharing with others the qualities and wealths of her mind and heart, her knowledge, her sympathy, her insight, enriching all who have come to her. It is with great pleasure, Mr. Chancellor, that I present to you for the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, Margaret Siwallace.
Mr. Chancellor, John James Munro, an Albertan by birth, served his apprenticeship as a machinist and millwright with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Shortly after joining Kootenay Forest Products, he became, in 1962, business agent for the International Woodworkers of America. His special talents were soon recognized and from 1968 he has held executive positions in that organization. By 1973 he had reached the Presidency of the Western Canadian Regional Council No. 1 of the International Woodworkers of America. The respect and admiration that he has won are reflected by his biannual re-election to that office ever since. His appointments as a General Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress and as a member of the International Executive Board of the International Woodworkers of America represent merited acknowledgement of his distinction. In our society it is imperative that the leadership of our trade unions should be vested in men of reason and judgement, men who insist on examining all sides of the issues, men who courageously seek just and equitable industrial peace; in a word, men of utter integrity. Because throughout his career he has without exception embodied all these qualities to the highest possible degree, I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, to bestow the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon John James Munro.
Mr. Chancellor, on a wall near the elevators in the main foyer of the Vancouver General Hospital there is a plaque which bears the inscription: "Joseph H. Cohen, renowned for his philanthropic achievements, his untiring efforts have made possible the development of the Joseph H. Cohen Cardiology Fund established to benefit mankind by advancing the investigation and treatment of heart disease." These words give a hint of the measure of Joe Cohen and of the esteem in which he is held. In an age of electronic devices, in the marketing of which he has played a significant role, Joe Cohen has always found the time and opportunity to devote endless energy to yet one more worthy endeavour. Over many years his dedication to public service and to his fellow man has served to improve and promote the well-being of countless numbers of individuals. His concern for quality of life issues has inspired many of his associates to follow his example. He has carried his talents and public responsibility into the service of an extraordinarily wide range of public activities which are reflected, in part in the long list of honours and awards that he has received. These include the Good Citizen Medal, presented by the native sons of B.C., the Queen’s Medal by the Government of Canada, The Boy Scouts of Canada Medal of Merit, awards by the Knights of Columbus and the State of Israel, and a special award by the Canadian Association of Enterostomal Therapy. He has been named Man of the Year by the Vancouver Community, Honorary Member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Freeman of the City of Vancouver and B.C. Catholic Man of the Year. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1978. Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of the Senate I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on Joseph Hymen Cohen a man of generous spirit who has given freely of his time, energy, and resources to the arts, the sciences, health care and commerce: an outstanding Canadian whose activities have ever been graced with wit, warmth and compassion.
Mr. Chancellor, Jack Halpern is a very distinguished scientist, and we are proud that his career had its beginning in Canada. He was brought up in Montreal and earned both the B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from McGill University. After spending a year as Post-Doctoral Fellow in Britain, he joined the faculty at The University of British Columbia in 1950. He was at UBC for twelve years first in the Department of Metallurgy, then in the Department of Chemistry where he began his pioneering work in the field of homogeneous catalysis of chemical reactions. He early demonstrated and maintained highly original and elegant research expertise, and he quickly became a world leader in terms of the insight and knowledge of reaction mechanisms within the inorganic, bioinorganic and organometallic areas. In 1962 he went to the University of Chicago where he is the Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor. Jack Halpern is a scientist whose contribution is in an area of immense theoretical and practical importance. His work on catalytic effects has now been extended to the mechanism of Vitamin B12 action, and it has received the highest accolades from the scientific community. Beginning with undergraduate scholarships, his career is marked by an exceptional number of honours, including election in 1974 to fellowship in the Royal Society of London. In 1984, as a Canadian citizen, he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences as a foreign associate; he has since been made a full member of the Academy. Mr. Chancellor, this University holds in the highest esteem the brilliance of the human intellect, and we present to you an individual who in the world of science has demonstrated unusual brilliance. I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon Jack Halpern.
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you a person who came to British Columbia from his native Ontario in 1935 with a dream for the people of this province. A major component of Fergus O’Grady’s dream was the role of education to bring communities together and to open up future possibilities for members of local communities. To a considerable extent Fergus O’Grady inherited his dream from successive generations of his religious order, the Oblate Fathers. This Order came to this province over a hundred years ago and quickly set up schools: 1849 in Victoria, 1861 in Mission, 1873 in Fort St. John. Fergus O’Grady served on the staffs of Native Indian schools in Mission and Kamloops developing the first secondary school programme in this Province for the Native Peoples. In 1956 when Fergus O’Grady became Bishop of Prince George, a position he still holds, he seized on the opportunity to make education more accessible to local communities in the Interior and to do so in a way which would bring the native and white communities closer together. He set up his own trucking, bulldozing and construction firm and built 13 elementary schools and one secondary school. He recruited men and women of all ages to work as volunteer staff in those schools. These schools and their gyms became real community centres in places such as Smithers, Terrace, New Hazelton, Burns Lake, Dawson Creek, Prince George and others. Fergus O’Grady, you have appreciated the role of education in the lives of the people of this province. You have responded with energy, imagination and adaptability to the needs of our people, especially in the Interior of the Province. We appreciate your vision. You might be interested to know that our first class of our own Native Indian Teacher Training Programme included almost half of its students from your school in Prince George. Because of his long years of service among the communities in the Interior of British Columbia and because of his appreciation for the role of education within those communities, I have the honour, Mr. Chancellor, to request that you confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa upon John Fergus O’Grady.
(N.B. Bishop O'Grady's honorary degree was rescinded in May 2022)
Mr. Chancellor, the Museum of Anthropology on this campus is not only a container of treasures, it has become a national treasure in its own right. Now Canada’s largest, most active and widely respected university museum, its philosophical and practical foundations were established by the remarkable individual I present to you today: Audrey Hawthorn. She was a pioneer in the cultivation and preservation of our heritage. One of the first to appreciate the greatness of Northwest Coast Indian art, she was instrumental in drawing this neglected cultural wealth to local and national attention. Audrey Hawthorn came to UBC with her anthropologist husband, Harry Hawthorn, in 1947, and soon accepted the position of Curator of the museum. Her dedication and selflessness became evident over the long years when without budget, salary, or proper quarters, she put together one of Canada’s most important ethnological collections. The prominence of that collection at EXPO ’67 led directly to the federal and provincial funding required to create our present museum facility, now ten years old. Audrey Hawthorn’s curatorial group, while still working in the basement of the University library during the early 1970’s, conceived the idea of visible storage, part of a policy of public accessibility to collections that has made the UBC Museum unique and a model for museum planners around the world. Audrey Hawthorn must also be credited with initiating a new kind of dialogue between museum curators and native people in this country. She began her work at a time in our history when many native people were abandoning their cultural traditions for the ways of the dominant society. Her collecting took place with the full cooperation of native leaders and families wishing to place their heirlooms in the museum rather than see them dispersed by dealers or casual buyers. It was through Audrey Hawthorn’s museum programmes that such artists as Ellen Neel, Mungo Martin, George Clutesi, Bill Reid, Doug Cranmer and Robert Davidson, pioneers in the revival of Northwest Coast Indian art, received their first institutional recognition. Her publications on Northwest Coast art, especially her major study of Kwagiutl art, are widely sought after. As Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor of Anthropology, she inspired and trained legions of students, many of whom now hold senior positions in museums across the country. In fact, she instituted Canada’s first university training programme in museum studies, one that continues here today. Audrey Hawthorn worked for many years behind the scenes, quietly, effectively, and with a high level of professional commitment. She continues to be an inspiration to students and colleagues alike. Because an individual who is instrumental in building a national treasure is herself to be treasured, Mr. Chancellor, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Audrey Genevieve Hawthorn.
Mr. Chancellor, today we honour an outstanding musician who made an enduring commitment to British Columbia, while aspiring to and attaining a leading international role in his field. Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama became Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1972, after a prodigious start with the major orchestras of his native Japan. Only 31 at the time, he was to lead the V.S.O. for thirteen seasons, during which the Orchestra’s expressive and technical capacities developed at a great pace, while public support for its activities grew immeasurably. The Maestro brings to conducting an extraordinary clarity and plasticity of physical gesture. Ultimately, though, it is his refined sense of orchestral colour and his masterful grasp of musical form that elicit memorable performances, of which there were so many during his tenure here. These gifts are what make him a great conductor, these and the graciously human way he approaches his musicians, with a quiet podium demeanour that radiates profound respect for their worth as individuals. The full measure of his stature as a man, however, must be seen as deriving from an essential humility, which enables him to be of service at many levels. Examples of his involvement with the musical community of B.C. are legion: the record encompasses work with many and varied ensembles, and includes numerous efforts for charitable causes and many others in educational contexts. Especially notable in the latter category have been the frequent workshops with student orchestras, including our own UBC Symphony Orchestra. To say that he gives generously of himself on these occasions is to fail to convey adequately the gentle intensity of his approach, which is at once patient and artistically insistent. The Maestro has conducted many of the world’s greatest orchestras, and his career continues to burgeon in exciting directions; but it is in Vancouver, where he is now Conductor Laureate, that his mark thus far is most surely indelible. He nurtured unprecedented artistic growth in this city, and by honouring him we take cognizance of that growth, and so honour ourselves. Accordingly, I take special pleasure, Mr. Chancellor, in asking you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama.
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you a man whose renaissance qualities transcend the narrow specializations characteristic of modern society. Born in 1919 in Montreal, Pierre Elliott Trudeau received his higher education at Jean de Brébeuf College, the University of Montreal, Harvard, the London School of Economics and the Ecole des sciences politiques in Paris. This cosmopolitan education equipped him to integrate Law and the Social Sciences in the service of a noble vision of Canada which future generations will not forget. This vision triumphed under his leadership in the face of heavy odds. His national political career was a logical development of his Quebec background as a scholar, co-founder and co-director of a famous review Cité Libre, and activist for a more democratic Quebec. Elected to the House of Commons in 1965, he became Prime Minister in 1968. The party he led was returned to the government side of the House of Commons four times, in 1968, 1972, 1974 and 1980. He graced the office of Prime Minister with a unique combination of style and substance which ensures him membership in the select ranks of the great holders of that office. He is a scholar-statesman who, before entering the House of Commons, had pondered deeply and written extensively on what became the central challenge of his long service as Prime Minister, how to keep Canada united. He was the right man at the right time. He left a stronger Canada behind when he resigned as Prime Minister in June 1984. His was not a parochial outlook, and accordingly he earned and received world recognition as a global statesman who pursued peace as the supreme goal and who also strove for social justice between the rich and poor of mankind. For all these contributions he has received innumerable honours and awards, including many honorary degrees, the Albert Einstein International Peace Prize in 1984, and Companion of the Order of Canada, 1985. In short, Mr. Chancellor, Pierre Elliott Trudeau is a most distinguished Canadian – a lawyer, a scholar, a linguist, a statesman, a world traveller and a dedicated public servant. He honours us by accepting the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, which I request that you confer upon him.
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you a jurist who is pre-eminent among his contemporaries, and who already holds a firm place in the history of Canadian law. With the utmost distinction, the Right Honourable Brian Dickson has, as a soldier, served his country; as a lawyer, served his profession; as a teacher and Chairman of the Board of Governors, served his university; and, as a judge, served his fellow citizens and the legal system under which we live. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, he graduated as the gold medallist from the Manitoba Law School in 1938. After his call to the Bar of Manitoba in 1940, he served during the war years in Europe with the Royal Canadian Artillery, whose 30th Field Regiment has since made him its Honorary Lieutenant Colonel. At the end of the war, he returned to practice in Winnipeg and lectured at the Manitoba Law School. He was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench in Manitoba in 1963, and four years later he was elevated to the Manitoba Court of Appeal. Made a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1973, he was appointed Chief Justice of Canada in 1984. What would need much longer, Mr. Chancellor, is to describe the qualities, of heart and of mind, that have made Chief Justice Dickson the most widely admired Canadian judge of his generation. His contribution to developing Canadian law, and adapting it to our own society and our own times, has already been profound. He holds a vision of Canadian law that springs from his deeply held belief in the distinctiveness of Canadian values. His judgements, in their incisiveness, depth of learning, and felicity of expression, are such that any lawyer or law student would probably recognize them, even if the Chief Justice’s name were not at the top of the law report. At a time when constitutional changes have put new and even daunting responsibilities on our judiciary, they and we are fortunate to have as Chief Justice a man whose moral and intellectual leadership is of rare stature. This University is especially fortunate to be able to number him, as from today, among its alumni. Mr. Chancellor, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Robert George Brian Dickson.
Mr. Chancellor, initially a student of classics, John Arthur Jacobs began his scientific career at the University of London, where he was a brilliant student of higher mathematics, specializing in theoretical hydrodynamics. He extended this sound academic base by acquiring valuable practical experience working on problems of aeronautical engineering and in service with the Royal Navy. In 1943, he became a lecturer of Mathematics at the Royal Holloway College, and following his Ph.D. degree, joined the University of Toronto in 1951 as Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics. Although primarily a theoretician, Jack Jacobs has always emphasized the practical approach. He is proud to be a Professional Engineer, and of his architectural and engineering contributions to the 1951 Festival of Britain where he constructed a geodesic dome, thus anticipating by a number of years the creation of Buckminster Fuller. It was in the early 1950’s that J. Tuzo Wilson very astutely interested Jack Jacobs in the research possibilities of Geophysics that related so well to his broad mathematical background. It is characteristic of Professor Jacobs that this interest in Geophysics led him to a leadership role in international science and in Canadian Geophysics. Appointed as Professor of Physics at The University of British Columbia in 1967, within ten years he had created the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Department of Geophysics and Astronomy. It is generally agreed that there was no other person in Canada at that time able to accomplish such a task. During that decade at The University of British Columbia, Professor Jacobs attracted many distinguished scholars to the Department. His scientific achievements have been recognized by the award of many coveted medals and prestigious appointments. As Killam Professor of Science, he formed the Institute of Earth and Planetary Physics at the University of Alberta, and became its first Director. He chaired the Canadian National Committee for the International Union on Geodesy and Geophysics, and was instrumental in establishing the Canadian Geophysical Union. At the retirement of Sir Edward Bullard, it came as no surprise to his colleagues that he was invited to take the Chair of Geophysics at the University of Cambridge, considered to be one of the most prestigious geophysical positions in the world. Author of five books and 159 scientific papers, the subjects include the temperature of the interior of the Earth, geomagnetic micropulsations, magnetic storms, continental drift, the Earth’s core and reversals of the Earth’s magnetic field. He is a world expert on geomagnetism and aeronomy, and has edited a multi-volume work on the subject. Physics and Geology by Jacobs, Russell and Wilson was, for a decade, acknowledged as the outstanding undergraduate text on the subject in North America. He has been elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Astronomical Society and the American Geophysical Union. He is recipient of the J. Tuzo Wilson medal from the Canadian Geophysical Union. Jack Jacobs is an intensely human person, often quoting Sir Edward Bullard’s remark that hungry graduate students cannot do decent research. His boundless energy and zest for life and his constant supply of cold beer even in the darkest hours will always be remembered with gratitude and affection. I am proud to present to you, Mr. Chancellor, my own teacher and longtime friend and colleague, for the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, John Arthur Jacobs.
Read his convocation
address....
Mr. Chancellor, for more than 35 years, J. Ross Mackay has been a pioneer in research on permafrost, patterned ground and cold regions phenomena and processes. His work has been carried out almost exclusively in the western Canadian Arctic and, in that context, he has shown a remarkable intellectual brilliance in his ability to ask the important questions that have led inexorably to deeper understanding of cold regions everywhere. From his base in the Department of Geography at The University of British Columbia, his initial studies involved analyses of the trafficability of northern terrain, which at the time when he began his research were virtually unknown in northern Canada. From extensive mapping and terrain analysis, he turned to intensive, curiosity-inspired, investigations of the behaviour of frozen ground. With the discovery of a major oil field at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and of the petroleum potential of the Canadian Arctic, Dr. Mackay’s pure research became of immediate economic and ecologic value to companies and government alike in predicting and coping with problems of petroleum exploration and pipeline operations in permafrost regions. As a research worker, Dr. Mackay has a superb talent of combining three elements – theory, design of simple but effective instruments, and skilled and careful field observation. In field science there is often a critical mismatch of understanding between microscale and regional scale phenomena. Alone amongst contemporary students of northern problems, Ross Mackay has demonstrated consistently how to occupy the middle ground. His papers represent a sustained demonstration of quite ingenious applications of simple physical concepts to explain variations in the landscape. It represents his most valuable contribution to science. Dr. Mackay has written over 160 very original papers that have earned for him the reputation of an acknowledged world authority. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Geological Association of Canada. He is past president of the Canadian Association of Geographers and of the Association of American Geographers and is a member of the Arctic Institute of North America and the Geological Society of America. He has received Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Ottawa, Victoria and Waterloo and the Order of Canada from her Excellency Governor-General Jeanne Sauvé. The Willet G. Miller Medal of the Royal Society of Canada, the first G.K. Gilbert award of the Association of American Geographers, the Vega Medal of the Royal Swedish Anthropological and Geographical Society, the first Centenary Medal for Northern Science from the Government of Canada, the Massey Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Award for Scholarly Excellence of the Canadian Association of Geographers are a representative sample of the range of his recognition. It is with pride, Mr. Chancellor, that I present to you for degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, a scientist of great distinction, and our fellow colleague, John Ross Mackay.
Mr. Chancellor, it is for a life of distinguished public service that we honour Agnes Benidickson. Her career, spanning the period from the war years in the 1940’s to the present was shaped by the conventions of the time. A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Richardson of Winnipeg, she married the then Member of the House of Commons for Kenora-Rainy River. Her late husband also served in the federal Cabinet and the Senate. Possessed of energy, talent and a sense of purpose, Mrs. Benidickson sought out, wherever she was, issues and opportunities in the society that surrounded her where she knew she could make a difference. Recognition came early with the Tricolor Award from Queen’s University upon graduation. She co-chaired the Prisoner of War Enquiry Bureau of the Red Cross in Winnipeg. In Ottawa she gave leadership in the Parliamentary Wives’ Association, the Ottawa Civic Hospital Auxiliary and the Women’s Canadian Club – taking executive and Presidential roles in all of them. For a decade in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Mrs. Benidickson committed herself to the Canadian Council on Social Development where she was active in corporate fund raising and, as President, planned policy and strategy for that important national enterprise. Her continuing association with the Canadian Clubs led to two terms as national president of that Association. For many years Agnes Benidickson has worked for the benefit of art galleries in this country and was co-chairman of the Volunteer Committees of Art Museums of the United States and Canada. She is Honorary President of the Friends of the National Gallery of Canada and recipient of an Award of Merit from the Ontario Association of Art Galleries. Her own university, Queen’s, honoured her with its LL.D. and subsequently elected her its Chancellor, a position she still occupies. She is a member of the Board of Directors of James Richardson and Sons, Limited, The Mutual Life of Canada and the National Trust. Agnes Benidickson has broad interests spanning the social and health services, public affairs, cultural resources, her own university and the business world. She has helped to build and strengthen all those agencies and institutions. Her concern has always focussed on the well-being of her fellow citizens and lent dignity to the poor and disadvantaged. Her singular contribution is to give prominence to that greatly valued role of the volunteer in our society. With her integrity, devotion and real vision, she has been an example for us all. Mr. Chancellor, I present to you for the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Agnes Mccausland Benidickson.
Mr. Chancellor, in honouring May Brown, we acknowledge the contributions of an educator, a leader in sports and recreation, and a politician. Mrs. Brown was born in Alberta, but moved with her family to British Columbia and completed her public schooling in Surrey. She graduated from the Provincial Normal School, and obtained her Bachelor’s degree from McGill University and subsequently her Master’s degree from UBC, both in Physical Education. After teaching in various public schools, she served as a faculty member in this University, during which time she served also as Coach of the Women’s Field Hockey Team. For fifteen years, she was Director of Camp Deka, a boys’ camp in the Cariboo which she and her husband Lorne Brown had established. During this time she took a prominent part in the national YWCA and served as President of the Canadian Camping Association. In 1972, May Brown offered her energies and talent to the community at large, and was elected to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Public Recreation; she became chairman of that body in 1975. In 1976, she was elected to the Vancouver City Council and served four terms as Alderman until her voluntary retirement in 1986. On council, she was Chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee, Chairman of the Council Committee on the Arts, and Chairman of the Task Force on Day Care. The UBC student internship program, in which our students gain direct experience in City Hall, developed with her strong support. On the Greater Vancouver Regional District, she was a member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Planning Committee. She was a director of the Pacific National Exhibition, Chairman of the Vancouver Regional Transit Commission, and a Director of B.C. Transit. May Brown’s influence on her city and region extended into every major aspect: from community and cultural life, to equal employment opportunities, to civic finance, to transit planning. Her patience and hard work are legendary; it was she who attended every meeting, answered every phone call, listened to every concern, and read to the last page. Her qualities of warmth, compassion, firm judgment and complete integrity were recognized on all sides. She had opponents but has no enemies. She treated politics as a profession and in her hands it was. Her qualities and achievements have been recognized with many awards, including, most recently Membership in the Order of Canada. Mr. Chancellor, to honour an outstanding educator, recreational leader and politician, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon May Brown.
Mr. Chancellor, 65 years ago, Earle Birney was a student here. In those days it was unusual for anyone to want to be a university student. But if all university students were unusual, he was thought to be more so, for in his second year, he gave up Chemistry because he had the idea that some day he might become a writer. Perhaps a poet. That desire, if not looked on as mad, was considered a young man’s fancy that the realities of life would probably cure, and that, in any case, ought not to be encouraged by a university. Young Earle Birney, however, was a tenacious type. Not only did he determine to become a writer, he promised himself that he would try to change the university’s attitude toward future aspiring writers – if ever he had the chance. By 1946, he had become a Professor of English at the University of Toronto, specializing in the Middle Ages, and, since time had not yet cured him, he had also become Canada’s best and best-known poet, doing all he could to bring Canadian writing out of the 19th century and its colonial complex. Now the chance came that he had been looking for an invitation to teach at his alma mater. And he accepted – on condition, as he put it, that "I can have one course I can believe in, the first stone in a little shelter for the creative student naked in academia." The condition was granted. UBC became the first Canadian university to give a credit course in Creative Writing. Three years later, Earle Birney commented: "That stipulation was the wisest I, a foolish man in general, ever made. The feeling of companioning and actually helping talented young writers to survive and mature still sustains me…" From then until 1963, when Creative Writing became a separate program with Earle Birney as its Chairman, he was the main force in adding courses and tutorials to form a de facto department. On that foundation there would soon be an officially-designated Department of Creative Writing, the first in Canada. Earle Birney has called this his proudest achievement at UBC. Without him, it is questionable whether that shelter would ever have been constructed. The proof and justification of his labours are the many ex-students who have won national and international recognition for their writing or who have become leading figures in film, television, radio and publishing, and who have voiced their gratitude for what they received from him and the program he founded. Equally important has been Earle Birney’s achievement as a writer. Whether in a satirical or other mode, he is at home in many different literary forms, and his work with intelligence, wit, a moral vision and compassion. Long recognized as one of Canada’s most eminent authors and a trailblazer in modern Canadian writing, he has received many awards and honours, including the Governor-General’s Award, which he twice won for his poetry; the Stephen Leacock Award for his comic novel Turvey; the Canada Council Medal; the Order of Canada; and most recently, the Vancouver Lifetime Achievement Award for a record of substance and surpassing excellence. Ever a champion of the creative principle within and outside of education, he has continued, until his recent illness, to write and publish new material, to give public readings to enthusiastic audiences and to counsel and inspire apprentice writers. But perhaps his own words best describe his writing credo and the essence of the writer and man: "None of us wants merely to live but to affirm life. We all need the therapy of fancy and play, honest emotion, pity, laughter, joy. Especially the joy that comes when the words move someone else from mere living to being Alive, Alive-O!" We can say to him, in absentia, "Workman, you built well." Mr. Chancellor, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon Alfred Earle Birney.
Mr. Chancellor, for over forty years, between 1923 and 1967, Norman Colbeck was a British bookseller, located first in London; but for the majority of those years in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. From the outset his area of special interest was the literature of the 19th century, in particular poetry; and among his colleagues in the British booktrade, whom he served as a kind of wholesaler of second-hand and antiquarian books, he achieved an enviable reputation as a "bibliographical wizard". But he was more than a bookseller, and it was widely known that bookselling was for him little more than an avocation designed to support his true vocation: the collecting of books. In 1966, following a series of negotiations initiated by a member of faculty and the then University Librarian, Norman Colbeck was invited to visit the University, to which he donated his sizeable private collection of Victorian and Edwardian poetry and belles lettres. The following year, the collector and the collection arrived at UBC, where he took up a position as Curator of The Colbeck Room, designed to house the thousands of volumes he had amassed during his career. Five years later on his retirement from the University, the books were transferred to the Special Collections Division of the Library, where they occupy a discrete and prominent place as one of the cornerstones of the University’s rare book collections. In the years since his retirement, Mr. Colbeck, while continuing to maintain an informal affiliation with the Library, has compiled a two-volume catalogue of his collection, entitled A Bookman’s Catalogue, published in April this year by the University of British Columbia Press. The acquisition of the Colbeck Collection, consisting of more than 13,000 individual catalogue entries, many of them multi-volumed, gave UBC an instant prominence as an important repository of 19th-century printed books. Complementing significant manuscript materials relating to the Rossetti family and the Pre-Raphaelites, the Colbeck Collection has attracted a wide range of scholars from around the world, who have come to the University to consult its holdings. Through his munificent bequest, his catalogue, and indeed, his presence on campus over twenty years, Norman Colbeck has contributed substantially to the intellectual life of this university, to past and future generations of students, and to the academic community at large. Mr. Chancellor, I am pleased to present a distinguished benefactor to this university for the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, Norman Colbeck.
Mr. Chancellor, permit me to introduce the candidate for our Honorary Degree by quoting from the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, "Dr. George R.F. Elliot has had a greater influence on the development of health services in British Columbia than any of his colleagues." That simple but powerful sentence says why he stands so high in our esteem. Born in Harrison Hot Springs but growing up in the East Kootenays, he studied medicine at Queen’s University, and with a Rockefeller Fellowship, he did post-graduate work in public health and preventive medicine in the United States and in Toronto. After the war years in the R.C.A.F., he joined the provincial health department as Director of the Health Unit in the North Okanagan. He assumed increasingly responsible positions in the Ministry of Health in this province, becoming successively provincial health officer and Director of the Division of Venereal Disease Control, Assistant Deputy Minister, and Deputy Minister of Health in 1972. Remarkably, from 1952 he combined with his administrative responsibilities, a parallel career as a clinical instructor, and later as Professor, part-time, in the Preventive Health Care and Epidemiology. His impact upon the health services of British Columbia began in 1948 when he prepared the ground for federal sharing of health costs through his ministry. Always in close touch with the B.C. Medical Association, he also served on the boards and medical committees of just about every voluntary health agency. His active support and frank advice was, for three decades, very much a central part of the decision-making and building of our provincial health services. He retired from the Deputy Minister’s chair in 1977. Currently he is Medical Advisor to the Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Woodward Foundation, and also to the British Columbia Medical Services Foundation. Many have honoured him, including the B.C. Health Association, the Canadian Public Health Association, The Canadian Lung Association, and the Canadian Arthritis Society. In 1976 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of St. John. Mr. Chancellor, in recognition and appreciation for distinguished leadership in health administration, in teaching and concern for students, and in the voluntary community health organizations, I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon George Robert Ford Elliot.
Read his convocation address....
Mr. Chancellor, by happy coincidence, today marks the twentieth anniversary of the arrival in British Columbia of David Lam with his wife Dorothy, and their three daughters. The decision to emigrate from Hong Kong, where Mr. Lam was born, meant leaving an established career with the comfortable surroundings of family, friends and associates to begin again in a new and uncertain world. Earlier he earned his B.A. in China, and in the United States he completed an M.B.A. at Temple University before entering the banking business in Hong Kong. On coming to Canada, however, he started anew, at first selling houses then commercial properties, and in time building his very successful Canadian International Properties business. David Lam had always understood the value of education and very quickly he enrolled in evening courses at UBC’s Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration, thereby beginning his association with this University. It was an association he regarded with great appreciation and affection, for in some sense it symbolized for him the opportunity and challenge that Canada meant for new Canadians. But a university education to assist him in business is only part of David Lam’s reason for valuing knowledge. His love of books and of beauty in art and gardening find him a frequent user of the Asian Centre Library. These enthusiasms, including his love of nature’s beauty, encouraged him later to help create one of Vancouver’s most distinctive gardens. When it became possible, David Lam returned to the University to acknowledge its role in his life with an endowment that launched the David Lam Management Research Library. This generous gift was received in a spirit of recognition of the fundamental contribution to this University and to the Province of British Columbia by Canadians of Chinese ancestry. Thus possessing a lively interest and active concern for a broad range of educational and cultural needs, David Lam has reached into our community with acts of quiet philanthropy to aid many organizations and institutions in British Columbia. Both privately and through the David and Dorothy Lam Foundation, he has chosen to support projects and themes that can stimulate the intellectual growth and aesthetic awareness of his fellow citizens. Should you be a student in the Lam Library, or simply walking through the Sun Yat-sen Garden, that experience will make a difference, just as scholarly and botanical pursuits have made a difference to David. David Lam, in his creative good works, aims to share those experiences which contribute to a changing world, but preserve within it a sense of awe and respect for creation. Mr. Chancellor, we honour today a man who chose to be our fellow citizen, and whose generosity to this province is born of gratitude and faith in its future. I present to you for the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, David See Chai Lam.
Mr. Chancellor, Rick Hansen is true grit. An instant of fate changed his life, and most of us will never know the kind of personal panic he faced. What we do know is the choice he made; and we have with us today a young man who overcame much to gain the upper hand. His personal triumphs in the field of athletics with medals and champions of international and Olympic stature, coupled with coaching and other sporting activities brought not simply recognition, but distinction. He has been named the "Most Inspirational Athlete"; the "National Disabled Athlete of the Year" and even "Canada’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year", perhaps the highest recognition for all athletes in our country. Success in the sporting world of the disabled evokes our admiration and respect, but it may not command our understanding. Rick Hansen recognized this fact, and resolved to change public attitudes and the prospects for those who had suffered spinal cord injury. We have witnessed the "Man-in-Motion", an epic world-class event in which one man in a globe-girdling wheelchair marathon, proved the invincibility of mental and physical toughness. As that two year odyssey reached its conclusion and climax, the special world of the handicapped became familiar to all of us, and they who are in wheelchairs are not strangers anymore. That is what Rick Hansen has done for them, and for us. During this same time, large amounts of money were contributed in recognition of Rick’s personal determination and success, but also to support his faith that research and rehabilitative progress will one day overcome the consequences of spinal cord injury. Mr. Chancellor, we welcome him back to his Alma Mater, and with pride ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Richard Marvin Hansen.
Mr. Chancellor, Robert Wyman has always possessed those qualities that make men excel. He has a good mind and is a creative thinker. His career marks a man with purpose, dedication and energy. The way he conducts his business and personal life has earned for him loyalty, respect and lasting friendship. We were indeed fortunate to have had such a man as Chancellor of The University of British Columbia. Bob Wyman’s business colleagues have long been aware that he leads rather than follows, and have watched his continuing dynamic impact upon the investment community in Canada. His success has developed a grudging awareness and new respectability for western and regional business acumen. These accomplishments alone could well merit our recognition, but we have also to acknowledge Bob Wyman as Chancellor of The University of British Columbia through the past three years. At the time of his election there was on the University campus an element of mystery in the Wyman candidacy. That fact was the signal of a distance existing between town and gown. An alert Bob Wyman recognized an opportunity, and he took as one of his goals to build a unity of interest and purpose for his university with the government of this Province and the private sector of its economy. In three short years, with his leadership, this partnership is emerging, along with a new respect for the University in its creative role of contributor of new knowledge and important resource in human development. We all are concerned for economic and social well-being of this Province and the country. Bob Wyman has helped to convince the leaders of our society that his University is essential to any plan or policy towards that aim. If we count ourselves fortunate that Bob Wyman was there to help the University reassert its public role and value, it was also timely that we had a Chancellor who could turn his attention to a less familiar and somewhat unexpected role. During a period of change in the senior administration, Chancellor Wyman provided the strength of continuity and real leadership in a process to re-establish on the campus the administrative stability necessary to match the public mission and message. Bob Wyman emerges from Chancellorship with another solid accomplishment to his credit. His success has been our good fortune. Mr. Chancellor, in asking you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, The University of British Columbia expresses its deep-felt gratitude and esteem for William Robert Wyman.
Mr. Chancellor, the composing career of Jean Coulthard has encompassed nearly six decades of intense creative activity. Born in Vancouver, she began to write music while still a child. Now one of Canada’s most important composers, the lyrical descriptions of her music read like the poetry of the Romantics. Not enticed by passing trends, she has stressed the importance of discipline, craftsmanship and individuality, quietly refusing to adopt musical ideologies which seemed contrary to her own personal aims and beliefs. The real key to her music is its integrity and purity of expression, and the underlying force in all her work is feeling. Primarily an expressive artist, her wonderfully evocative work reflects the value she has placed on coherence and clarity. She taught theory and composition on this campus until her retirement in 1973. Seriously concerned about the growing rift between the contemporary composer and the audience at large, and feeling a responsibility to the community, her work is designed to be accessible to the general public. Her extensive catalogue includes popular compositions for piano, songs and chamber sonatas, but the far greater choir and orchestra and a full-length opera. Receiving many prizes and honours for her contributions to the music world, she has also received numerous commissions for her work. In 1978 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Freeman of the City of Vancouver. In 1984 she was named composer of the year by the Performing Rights Organization of Canada. Mr. Chancellor, to pay tribute to her "shining jewel of music", I ask you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon Jean Coulthard.
Read her convocation address....
Mr. Chancellor, today we proudly welcome to membership among our alumni, Ian Andrew Barclay, a British Columbian who has made significant contributions to national, provincial and civic life, and to the University itself. Born in Montreal and educated at McGill and Harvard, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of British Columbia Forest Products during the period when this firm developed into a major industrial enterprise. His successful business career has been parallelled by equally devoted dedication to public service. He brings wisdom and experience to his current appointments as Co-Chairman of the Federal Forest Industry Advisory Council and as a member of the Economic Council of Canada. He was Chairman of Canada Harbour Place Corporation, overseeing the construction of Canada Harbour Place, a major Vancouver landmark. Ian Barclay also served as Chairman of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and has held various leadership positions in the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, including Chairman of its Board of Directors. While involved with PAPRICAN, Mr. Barclay seized the opportunity to press for closer links between the pulp and paper industry and the university. This resulted in the creation of two new laboratories at UBC – a Pulp and Paper Centre on campus and a laboratory in Discovery Park. These new facilities represent a significant step forward by expanding the joint industry-university research efforts and the educational opportunities for the pulp and paper sector of the forest industry. They will help ensure the vitality of a most important British Columbia industry, as well as encourage the growth of other industries based upon pulp and paper technology. Mr. Chancellor, it is the combination of vision, dedication and the ability to define and achieve worthy goals that is the real mark of leadership. For his contribution to this province and this nation, I invite you to confer upon Ian Andrew Barclay the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
Read his convocation address....
Mr. Chancellor, Bel Newman Nemetz, a graduate in 1935 from this university, with first class standing in Philosophy, Political Science and Economics, has served the causes of learning and justice all her life. Her passionate belief in the cultivated mind, and outrage at social injustices, particularly those to women, coupled with her determination, practical judgement and energy, have made her a major presence in Western Canada. Years ago she was a founding member of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Union. Her legacy is in our educational, social and labour legislation; in the Rape Relief Centres; in the just resolution of several major strikes. For years she has tutored university students gratis, enjoying both the students and her own ability to teach in most fields. Since 1973, she has been programme chairman of the Vancouver Institute, making the Institute the largest open academic forum in North America. As her health has declined in recent years, her energies have focused on the Institute – a tiny lady in Vancouver drawing the best minds from around the world by the sheer force of her personality. Mr. Chancellor, Bel Nemetz is one of the very remarkable graduates of this university; an indomitable spirit, a great British Columbian. As you confer upon her the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, we are all reminded that there is a place yet for noble ideals and the drive to pursue them.
Mr. Chancellor, the Honourable Bertha Wilson has made a career, as lawyer and as judge, that is not only brilliant but historic. She came to Canada and to the field of law after leaving her native Scotland where she first trained as a teacher and received a Master of Arts degree. From her law degree at Dalhousie through her seventeen years of practice in Toronto, she attained the summit of her profession. Her appointment to the Ontario Court of Appeal and her elevation to the Supreme Court of Canada signify the first time that a woman had been a judge of either court. Madam Justice Wilson is one of the intellectual forces of the Supreme Court of Canada, having contributed leading judgments in the fields of commercial law, the law of torts and constitutional law. With deep insight her judgments exhibit scholarship and imagination enjoined with sympathy and wisdom. She has always carried out a public life dedicated to the betterment of her fellows. Her work as a jurist has reflected this and is already shown in the entire span of Canadian law. She has been actively involved in church affairs, was Chairman of the Ontario Rhodes Fellowship Selection Committee, a member of the Board of Governors of Carleton University and active in philanthropical activities. For what she has given to Canada and to Canadian law, Mr. Chancellor, I invite you to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Bertha Wilson.
Mr. Chancellor, John Dykes Allan is a source of inspiration – a person who has made a difference. A graduate from UBC in Mechanical Engineering in 1947, he joined Stelco, Canada’s largest steel company, and has now become President and Chief Executive Officer. A vital leader and statesman, not only within Stelco but also within the Canadian and international steel industry in the fields of trade, management and technology, he is a determined advocate of fair trade in steel with the United States. He has played a key role in the formation of the Canadian Steel Trade and Employment Congress, addressing issues like technological change, job dislocation and worker retraining. His vision has extended to the important role of research and the university, in the support of industrial development and the economy. He has been instrumental in harnessing the intellectual resources within universities for the enhancement of technological progress, which has mutually benefitted the university and industry. But there is another facet to this great man – an abiding humanism. Although it is not well known, John Allan has worked in an executive capacity for the Cancer Society, the Special Olympics, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Shaw Festival and Junior Achievement. Truly a man for all seasons, he has made the world a better place for having been here; thus we ask you, Mr. Chancellor, to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon John Dykes Allan.
Mr. Chancellor, Harold Clark Bentall, a man of vision and talent, is Chairman of the Bentall Group, one of the largest and most successful organizations in Canada. Born in Vancouver, he received his Bachelor of Applied Science from UBC in 1938. He joined his father’s firm, Dominion Construction Company Limited, as a Professional Engineer and in 1955 became President and Chief Executive Officer. He is the consummate CEO whose vision and keen sense of timing has led the Bentall Group to build some of Canada’s most impressive buildings. They have earned for the company an unmatched reputation for quality and reliability. With foresight, in the early sixties, Mr. Bentall recognized that the Pender and Burrard area of the city would become the economic heart of Vancouver and this led him to conceive and build the Bentall Centre – the largest office complex in Western Canada. Clark Bentall has strong roots in the Canadian business community. He is a current or past director in such notable companies as The Toronto Dominion Bank, Cominco Limited and Scott Paper, to name a few. Well known, too, is Mr. Bentall’s personal commitment and support of many community service organizations and charities: the Vancouver Foundation, the Better Business Bureau, the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Canada and countless others. Most recently he was honoured for his contributions to the EXPO ’86 Board and by Prince Philip for his work on the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. We salute Clark Bentall for his enterprise and leadership in business, and for his concerned public service. His success is not just the product of wisdom and hard work, but is also the result of strong convictions about the importance of leading a life marked by integrity and commitment. I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, to confer the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Harold Clark Bentall.
Mr. Chancellor, today we proudly honour one of our own. Beryl March is a native British Columbian, whose energy and natural leadership have resulted in an impressive scientific career in this province. Born in Port Hammond, she obtained B.A. and M.S.A. degrees at UBC and spent several years in industrial research. A distinguished, internationally-recognized nutritionist, her research in the Department of Poultry Science has focused primarily on poultry nutrition and physiology and, more recently, on fish nutrition; fields in which she has made very important contributions. For 35 years, by her inspiring example, she has attracted to her laboratory students and colleagues from around the world. The excellence of Professor March’s achievements is reflected in the array of prestigious awards which have been bestowed upon her, including Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal and the Earle Willard McHenry Award. Although retired in 1985, following one year as Acting Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, her commitment to scientific inquiry continues undiminished today as she maintains a full research program in the Department of Animal Science. She is currently Chairman of the Agriculture and Food Committee of the Science Council of British Columbia. Mr. Chancellor, for what she has achieved and for her leadership in the development of agricultural sciences, and in order that you may confer upon her the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, I present Beryl Elizabeth March.
Mr. Chancellor, Leroy Hood is a very distinguished biologist who has made fundamental contributions to the genetics and evolution of protein molecules which are the basis for the body’s defense against disease. He has pioneered technology that allows scientists to synthesize and determine in an automated fashion, the structure of the basic elements of life – proteins and genes. The instruments that were developed as a consequence of his scientific insight are now used world-wide and have formed a key aspect of the recent revolution in biotechnology. Dr. Hood earned his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees at the California Institute of Technology where he has had an outstanding career. He has held the Bowles Professor of Biology Chair since 1977 and since 1980 has been chairman of the Division of Biology. He has received many distinguished awards including election to the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and last year, the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for studies of immune diversity. Author of 6 books and over 275 research papers and 65 review papers, he also serves on eight editorial boards of biochemistry and genetic journals. Mr. Chancellor, for his dedication and brilliance in scientific endeavour and his vision for the future of medicine and mankind, we invite you to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, upon LEROY HOOD.
Mr. Chancellor, Karen Kain, our country's prima ballerina, has furthered and enhanced the artistic reputation of Canada and has been acclaimed by balletomanes wherever she has performed. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, she entered the National Ballet School at the age of 11, graduating into the company in 1969 and became a principal dancer just one year later. Miss Kain came to international attention in 1973 when she won the Silver Medal for solo ballerinas at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow and was awarded first prize for her pas de deux in partnership with Frank Augustyn. Since that time she has enchanted the world with her brilliant technique, her versatility and her ability to project thought through movement. She has created such roles as Albertine in her Intermittences du Coeur and Guiletta in Tales of Hoffman by Roland Petit. For the National Ballet, she was Kitri in Don Quixote and the Chosen Maiden in The Rite of Spring. She performed in the television productions of La Fille Mal Gardée and Giselle - a role she also performed with the Bolshoi Ballet when she and Frank Augustyn became the first westerners invited to perform with that company. Recently she has premiered two roles in ballets by Glen Tetley - the lead in Alice and the Actress in La Ronde. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1976 and has been very active with the Kidney Foundation of Canada and other charities. Described by the New York Times as "passionate, sensuous; dancing with force and plush new quality", she has been the chosen partner of Rudolf Nureyev on many occasions including the Grand Pas de Deux from Sleeping Beauty at the Gala "Celebration" commemorating 100 years of the performing arts at the Metropolitan Opera House. She has danced almost every major role in the repertoire, received accolades in New York, Tokyo, Washington, Seoul, London, Sydney, Vienna, Moscow, Paris and Vancouver and has taken her place as one of the foremost ballerinas in the history of dance and while doing so she has become a Canadian symbol of excellence - an international star who is Canada's own. For what she has given to the audiences of the world and to Canada, Mr. Chancellor, I invite you to confer the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, upon KAREN ALEXANDRIA KAIN.