PDA/Text VersionRelease Date: May 28, 2007
Media Contact: Stephen King, External Relations
E-mail: Stephen.King@uregina.ca
Phone: (306) 585.5632
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Fax: (306) 585.4997
Cicansky and Courchene to receive honorary degrees at U of R convocation
A gifted Saskatchewan artist and a leading Canadian economic scholar
will be the recipients of honorary doctoral degrees at the University of
Regina’s 2007 spring convocation. Ceramicist Victor Cicansky and economist
Dr. Thomas Courchene – both of whom have strong ties to the province – will
respectively receive their honorary doctor of fine arts and honorary of
laws degrees as part of convocation ceremonies to be held June 6-8, 2007 at
the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina.
Victor Cicansky
Victor Cicansky is a ceramicist and sculptor whose work has received provincial, national and international recognition for the past four decades. During that time, his works have been featured in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions in locations as far away as Paris and Helsinki.
Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Mr. Cicansky received a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan in 1964 and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus in 1967. After studying at the Haystack Mountain School of Art in Maine, he received his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture in 1970 from the University of California, Davis.
Mr. Cicansky’s sculptures, which often describe the cultural, agricultural and historical circumstances of the Canadian prairies, are represented in countless private collections as well as public ones throughout the world, including the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Museum of Fine Art in Charlottetown, and the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. Some of his commissioned works include pieces created for the City of Regina, the Government of Saskatchewan, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the 1976 Olympic Games, and the 1989 provincial visit of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York.
Mr. Cicansky is deeply committed to Saskatchewan and to the University of Regina. He taught visual art at the University of Regina for more than 20 years, and continues to be involved at the University supervising graduate students working in ceramics. Over the years, he has generously donated papers, studio studies and related materials to help the University Archives develop a working archive on prairie artists. His many awards include a Saskatchewan Order of Merit for his longstanding contributions to the province of Saskatchewan and its culture.
The honorary doctor of fine arts will be conferred on Mr. Cicansky on June 7, shortly after commencement of the convocation ceremony at 2 p.m.
Dr. Thomas Courchene
Dr. Thomas Courchene is one of Canada’s most distinguished policy economists and public intellectuals, a scholar whose creative research and commentary have influenced Canadian public policy for more than 40 years.
Born in Wakaw, Saskatchewan, Dr. Courchene attended the University of Saskatchewan (Bachelor of Arts, 1962), Princeton University (Doctor of Philosophy, 1967) and the University of Chicago (Post-Doctoral Studies from 1968-69). In 1965, Dr. Courchene joined the Economics Department of the University of Western Ontario, beginning a career in academic and public service that few in Canada can rival. He remained at the University of Western Ontario until 1988, when he became the inaugural Director of Queen’s University’s School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University. In 1992, he became the Jarislowsky-Deutsch Professor of Economic and Financial Policy at Queen’s, a position he still holds. He is also currently the Director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s as well as Senior Scholar of the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Montreal.
Dr. Courchene’s influence extends throughout Canada and beyond. He has been Chair of the Ontario Economic Council, and has served as President of both the Canadian Economics Association and the North American Economics and Finance Association. On the international front, he has delivered numerous invited lectures and has served as an international expert/scribe on several World Bank country studies (Argentina, Mexico and Chile). He has been a visiting scholar at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the Centre for European Integration in Bonn, and the Australian National University in Canberra.
Dr. Courchene is a prolific scholar, with more than three hundred articles, book chapters, edited books and monographs on an incredibly wide range of Canadian policy issues including monetary policy, financial deregulation, fiscal policy, NAFTA and the FTA, exchange rates regimes, regional disparities, social policy, equalization, federal-provincial relations, aboriginal issues, national unity, comparative federalism and the machinery of Canadian and international governance. His three dozen edited books have provided publication venues for several hundred authors. A State of Minds: Toward a Human Capital Future for Canadians, his latest book, addresses the range of policy issues required for Canada to succeed in the Information Age.
Dr. Courchene’s many awards include the 1995 Douglas Purvis Prize for the best contribution to Canadian economic policy for his book Social Canada in the Millennium: Reform Imperatives and Restructuring Principles. His book From Heartland to North American Region State: An Interpretative Essay on the Fiscal, Social and Federal Evolution of Ontario won the inaugural Donner Prize in 1998 for the best Canadian book on public policy published that year. In 1999, Dr. Courchene was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2002, he was awarded the Canada Council’s Molson Prize, recognizing his lifetime of achievement in the social sciences and humanities.
Dr. Courchene and his wife Margie (also from Saskatchewan) live by the St. Lawrence River in Kingston, Ontario. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
The honorary doctor of laws will be conferred on Dr. Thomas Courchene on June 8, shortly after commencement of the convocation ceremony at 2 p.m.
* * *
Candidates for honorary degrees may be nominated by anyone, and must be approved by both the University council and senate in order to be considered by the President. The University of Regina has bestowed 161 previous honorary degrees. Former recipients include former Saskatchewan premiers Tommy Douglas (1978), Allan Blakeney (1993) and Roy Romanow (2005); former Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor Lynda Haverstock (2006); Saskatchewan artist Joe Fafard (1989); hockey great Gordie Howe (1997); Saskatchewan philanthropist and patron of the arts Jacqui Shumiatcher (2002); The Princess Royal, Princess Anne (2004); Regina entrepreneur Frederick Hill (2005); and Regina Symphony Orchestra conductor Victor Sawa (2006).
Victor Cicansky
Victor Cicansky is a ceramicist and sculptor whose work has received provincial, national and international recognition for the past four decades. During that time, his works have been featured in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions in locations as far away as Paris and Helsinki.
Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Mr. Cicansky received a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan in 1964 and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus in 1967. After studying at the Haystack Mountain School of Art in Maine, he received his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture in 1970 from the University of California, Davis.
Mr. Cicansky’s sculptures, which often describe the cultural, agricultural and historical circumstances of the Canadian prairies, are represented in countless private collections as well as public ones throughout the world, including the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Museum of Fine Art in Charlottetown, and the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. Some of his commissioned works include pieces created for the City of Regina, the Government of Saskatchewan, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the 1976 Olympic Games, and the 1989 provincial visit of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York.
Mr. Cicansky is deeply committed to Saskatchewan and to the University of Regina. He taught visual art at the University of Regina for more than 20 years, and continues to be involved at the University supervising graduate students working in ceramics. Over the years, he has generously donated papers, studio studies and related materials to help the University Archives develop a working archive on prairie artists. His many awards include a Saskatchewan Order of Merit for his longstanding contributions to the province of Saskatchewan and its culture.
The honorary doctor of fine arts will be conferred on Mr. Cicansky on June 7, shortly after commencement of the convocation ceremony at 2 p.m.
Dr. Thomas Courchene
Dr. Thomas Courchene is one of Canada’s most distinguished policy economists and public intellectuals, a scholar whose creative research and commentary have influenced Canadian public policy for more than 40 years.
Born in Wakaw, Saskatchewan, Dr. Courchene attended the University of Saskatchewan (Bachelor of Arts, 1962), Princeton University (Doctor of Philosophy, 1967) and the University of Chicago (Post-Doctoral Studies from 1968-69). In 1965, Dr. Courchene joined the Economics Department of the University of Western Ontario, beginning a career in academic and public service that few in Canada can rival. He remained at the University of Western Ontario until 1988, when he became the inaugural Director of Queen’s University’s School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University. In 1992, he became the Jarislowsky-Deutsch Professor of Economic and Financial Policy at Queen’s, a position he still holds. He is also currently the Director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s as well as Senior Scholar of the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Montreal.
Dr. Courchene’s influence extends throughout Canada and beyond. He has been Chair of the Ontario Economic Council, and has served as President of both the Canadian Economics Association and the North American Economics and Finance Association. On the international front, he has delivered numerous invited lectures and has served as an international expert/scribe on several World Bank country studies (Argentina, Mexico and Chile). He has been a visiting scholar at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the Centre for European Integration in Bonn, and the Australian National University in Canberra.
Dr. Courchene is a prolific scholar, with more than three hundred articles, book chapters, edited books and monographs on an incredibly wide range of Canadian policy issues including monetary policy, financial deregulation, fiscal policy, NAFTA and the FTA, exchange rates regimes, regional disparities, social policy, equalization, federal-provincial relations, aboriginal issues, national unity, comparative federalism and the machinery of Canadian and international governance. His three dozen edited books have provided publication venues for several hundred authors. A State of Minds: Toward a Human Capital Future for Canadians, his latest book, addresses the range of policy issues required for Canada to succeed in the Information Age.
Dr. Courchene’s many awards include the 1995 Douglas Purvis Prize for the best contribution to Canadian economic policy for his book Social Canada in the Millennium: Reform Imperatives and Restructuring Principles. His book From Heartland to North American Region State: An Interpretative Essay on the Fiscal, Social and Federal Evolution of Ontario won the inaugural Donner Prize in 1998 for the best Canadian book on public policy published that year. In 1999, Dr. Courchene was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2002, he was awarded the Canada Council’s Molson Prize, recognizing his lifetime of achievement in the social sciences and humanities.
Dr. Courchene and his wife Margie (also from Saskatchewan) live by the St. Lawrence River in Kingston, Ontario. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
The honorary doctor of laws will be conferred on Dr. Thomas Courchene on June 8, shortly after commencement of the convocation ceremony at 2 p.m.
* * *
Candidates for honorary degrees may be nominated by anyone, and must be approved by both the University council and senate in order to be considered by the President. The University of Regina has bestowed 161 previous honorary degrees. Former recipients include former Saskatchewan premiers Tommy Douglas (1978), Allan Blakeney (1993) and Roy Romanow (2005); former Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor Lynda Haverstock (2006); Saskatchewan artist Joe Fafard (1989); hockey great Gordie Howe (1997); Saskatchewan philanthropist and patron of the arts Jacqui Shumiatcher (2002); The Princess Royal, Princess Anne (2004); Regina entrepreneur Frederick Hill (2005); and Regina Symphony Orchestra conductor Victor Sawa (2006).
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