TORONTO, June 20, 2008 -- York University will confer an honorary doctor of laws degree on York University President Emeritus Harry W. Arthurs, on Friday, June 20, 2008.

 

“Harry W. Arthurs has helped shape the culture and direction of York University,” said York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “He has influenced almost every aspect of life at York, from the physical beautification of our campus, to building our reputation for excellence in research.”

 

As president of York University from 1985 to 1992, Professor Harry W. Arthurs worked to better the University’s grants, academic standards and research culture, established an academic planning process, and initiated a major renovation of the campus.

 

Prior to his tenure as president of York University, Arthurs held academic and administration posts at Osgoode Hall Law School, rising to the rank of full professor, and serving as associate dean, dean, and director of the graduate program. In 1995, he was appointed University Professor of Law and Political Science.

 

Arthurs is known as an academic innovator; as a scholar, he has been a leading proponent and practitioner of interdisciplinarity. His most important book, Without the Law, was a study of administrative justice and legal pluralism in 19th century England. He has contributed numerous scholarly publications, and notably edited Learning, a study of Canadian legal education and research, commissioned by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

 

Arthurs has maintained an interest in higher education policy and administration; he has lectured on these subjects, chaired independent inquiries at Concordia and Trent Universities, and served on evaluation committees at several North American universities.

 

Since his retirement in 2005, he has continued to use his academic knowledge in the public interest, as a labour mediator, arbitrator, policy advisor, president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and as a director of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. He is often invited to consult with government, and recently completed his report as commissioner of a review of federal labour standards legislation.

 

Arthurs was recently awarded the prestigious International Labour Organization (ILO) Decent Work Research Prize 2008, hailed as the highest recognition for a labour law scholar.

The honorary doctor of laws degree will be awarded to Arthurs during the 3 p.m. ceremony for Osgoode Hall Law School.

 

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 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.

-30-

Contact:

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