TORONTO, June 18, 2008 -- York University will confer an honorary doctor of laws on prominent social activist and early childhood educator Margaret Norrie McCain, on Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

 

“Ms McCain embodies the values of York University, particularly where the promotion of social justice and equality are concerned,” said York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “Her work in the field of early childhood education is in harmony with York’s leading-edge research in healthcare and a focus on sustainability, including prevention.”

 

Margaret Norrie McCain has promoted women’s rights, social equality, early childhood education and the arts in New Brunswick for 40 years, where she served as Lieutenant-Governor from 1994 to 1997.

 

McCain has focused much of her work around issues of family violence, founding the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation, which worked towards eradicating such violence through research and education. Through this foundation, she was able to help implement the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Family Violence Research Centre at the University of New Brunswick. This centre became the prototype for four others across Canada.

Her focus on prevention led her to advocate comprehensive, community-based early childhood services, and in 1999, she co-chaired The Early Years study, along with eminent early childhood researcher Dr. Fraser Mustard. She was also called upon to co-chair the City of Toronto’s Commission for Early Learning and Child Care, in 2002.

McCain is an active advocate for Canada’s arts community; in the past two years she has focused her energy on the campaign to raise $100 million for Canada’s National Ballet School.

 

She has received numerous awards, including the YWCA Women of Distinction Award, the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian Award, and the Centre for Excellence for Early Child Development Award. She is a Member of the Order of Canada, and has been named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

 

McCain will receive her honorary doctor of laws degree at 10:30 a.m., during the first of two Faculty of Health ceremonies.

 

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 200,000 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