TORONTO, June 16, 2008 -- York University will confer an honorary doctor of laws degree on former federal politician and Reform Party leader Preston Manning, during its spring convocation ceremonies, Tuesday, June 17, 2008.

 

“Mr. Manning has a distinguished record of public service, including a strong advocacy of public policy reform and a vision of Canada as a federation of equal provinces,” said York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri.  “As the founder of two political parties, he continues to influence the national agenda.” 

 

Manning served as a federal Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2001.  He was a principal founder and leader of the Reform Party of Canada, which became the Canadian Alliance and later merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form the Conservative Party of Canada.

 

As leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2000, Manning pressed for more free votes in Parliament, an elected Senate and the recall of politicians. He was Opposition critic for science and technology from 2000 to 2001.  He continues to advocate bridging the communications gap between scientific and political communities.

 

Manning is president and chief executive officer of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy and a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute, a conservative economic think-tank.  He has held the Distinguished Visitor in Canadian Public Policy position in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Calgary and the Dean’s Distinguished Visitor in Political Science and Canadian Studies position in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto.

 

The honorary doctor of laws degree will be awarded to Manning at 10:30 a.m. during the second of two convocations for the Faculty of Arts.

 

Ceremonies are held in the convocation pavilion on York's Keele Campus (located at 4700 Keele Street), between Osgoode Hall Law School and the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies. For a campus map, click here.

 

For a complete listing of the ceremony schedule, click here. York University’s spring convocation ceremonies will be streamed live over the Internet.

 

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

 

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Contact:

Media Relations, York University, 416 736 5585 / media@yorku.ca