Media Release

For Immediate Release

October 16, 2008

Peacemaker, poet and community builder honored by Saint Mary’s

Saint Mary’s University will honor three great Canadians this fall by conferring honorary degrees on General John de Chastelain, George Elliott Clarke and Carol D. Young.

They will receive their degrees at the university’s annual fall convocation ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 26 at the World Trade and Convention Centre, Port Royal Room. The event begins at 2 p.m.

More than 300 students from the Faculties of Arts, Commerce, Science and Graduate Studies and Research will cross the stage and receive their degrees as graduates of one of Canada’s oldest and leading institutions of higher learning. They will receive their parchments from the university’s Chancellor, Dr. David F. Sobey.

General John de Chastelain will receive an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree. He is a retired Canadian soldier and diplomat who is an expert in international conflict resolution.

He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, served with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) in Canada and overseas, was twice appointed Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff, and in 1993 was named Canada's 18th Ambassador to the United States.

After retiring from active military service in 1995, he was one of three international chairmen involved in the Northern Ireland Peace talks which led to the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement of April 10, 1998.  Since 1997 he has served as a member and chair of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), the body responsible for ensuring the decommissioning of arms by paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland.

He is also a member of the International Advisory Board for Peaceful Schools International, an organization in which Saint Mary's was the first university internationally to gain membership.

Honours received during his career include the Order of Canada (Officer), Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Companion of Honor (U.K.)., Commander of the Order of St. John, and Commander of the Legion of Merit (U.S.).

General de Chastelain's honorary degree recognizes his work on conflict resolution, particularly in Northern Ireland. Students from Saint Mary's travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland each year to work with young citizens and teachers to address issues surrounding peace and the importance of conflict resolution.

George Elliott Clarke will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree. He is a Nova Scotian poet, playwright, novelist, columnist, and a professor of English literature.

A native of Windsor Plains, Nova Scotia, he has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Waterloo, a Master of Arts degree from Dalhousie University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Queens University. Following graduation, he worked as a professor of English and Canadian Studies at Duke University, and was later named the E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. He is also a long-time columnist for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald.

But the true measure of his career is found in his work as a poet, playwright and novelist.

He has received several writing awards including the Governor General’s Award for Poetry, the National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry, the Archibald Lampman Award, the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize (short listed), and the first Portia White Prize, the most prestigious prize for artistic achievement in Nova Scotia. He has also been awarded the Order of Canada (Officer), Order of Nova Scotia, a Bellagio Centre Fellowship, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award. And from 2005 until 2008, he was the holder of The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize.

He is the author of works such as Whylah Falls and Execution Poems: The Black Acadian Tragedy of “George and Rue” and the novel George & Rue (2005), which won the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction in 2006. He also contributed poetry to periodicals including Descant, New Quarterly and Atlantic, and has edited publications such as Fire on the Water:  An anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing, and Eyeing the North Star: Directions in African-Canadian Literature.

George Elliott Clarke's honorary degree recognizes him as a successful Nova Scotian in academia and a role model for Black Nova Scotians. His work encourages respect and understanding of cultural diversity and thereby exemplifies Saint Mary’s University’s ongoing support for a just and civil society.

Carol D. Young will receive an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree. She is a passionate advocate and a dedicated volunteer for a wide variety of charitable, community and non profit organizations.

She served on the organizing committees that created Ronald McDonald House and the Children's Discovery Centre in Halifax. She has served on Boards as diverse as Neptune Theatre and the Life Sciences Development Association and is currently on the Board and a member of the Executive of the Pier 21 Society, Canada's Immigration Museum.

For 10 years she was a member of the Board of the IWK Children's Hospital; she was instrumental in the creation of the IWK Children's Hospital Telethon and later served as Chair of the IWK Foundation. As well she was a member of the working group established by Health and Welfare Canada that formulated the guidelines for "Child and Youth Long Term Services" for Canadian hospitals. 

Committed to changing the way people think about mental illness, she is the immediate Past Chair of the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia and currently is a member of the Campaign Cabinet for "Opening Minds," the first ever capital campaign for mental health in Nova Scotia. 

Growing up in Ottawa, she developed a life-long interest in public affairs. After completing her education at MacDonald Institute, now the University of Guelph, she joined the staff of the Minister of National Health and Welfare. In 1972, as Special Assistant to the Minister of Labour, she was responsible for overseeing the establishment of the National Advisory Council on the Status of Women for Canada. 

In recognition of her service to the community, she was chosen "Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser" by the Canadian Society of Fundraising Executives; she is an Honourary Life Member of the IWK Health Centre, an Honourary Trustee of the IWK Health Centre Foundation, a recipient of the YWCA Women of Recognition Award and the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada.  In 2005, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Carol D. Young's honourary degree recognizes her service and leadership to the community. She exemplifies Saint Mary's University's longstanding tradition of providing service to communities at home and around the world.   

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For more information:

Blake Patterson
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: blake.patterson@smu.ca
www.smu.ca