“Dr. Fisher’s passion for environmental issues and his unique vision for protecting endangered rainforest through a partnership with York is just one part of his legacy of leadership in health care and beyond,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri.

Murray (Woody) Fisher, a prominent Toronto physician, medical researcher and co-founder of the Canadian Liver Foundation, is also a generous donor to York University. He purchased a tract of threatened rainforest in Costa Rica in order to preserve it. In 1998, he donated the 133 hectares of land, known as Las Nubes (The Clouds) Rainforest to the University. The land and its ecology forms the basis of a research and conservation program in the University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES).

The Faculty’s work at Las Nubes supports the protection of the biological and ecological values of the rainforest, rural sustainable development in adjacent areas, the production of certified sustainable coffee, and environmental education in local schools. FES works in collaboration with the Tropical Science Center in San Jose, the local farmer's cooperative CoopeAgri, and Toronto-based Timothy's World Coffee to distribute the sustainable coffee brand.

Fisher also established the M. M. Fisher Fund for Neotropical Conservation, which provides important opportunities for students of environmental studies and promotes sustainable practices in the Las Nubes area. 

After 25 years of full-time academia with the University of Toronto, Fisher co-founded the Upper Canada Lower Bowel Clinic in 1994, where he also served as director.  Fisher is also a certified sommelier and teacher at Vintegriteach and a writer for the Vinsider Report.

The honorary doctor of laws degree will be awarded to Fisher during the 10:30 a.m. convocation for the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Faculty of Science and Engineering.

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.

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:

Keith Marnoch, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22091 / marnoch@yorku.ca