Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you Lloyd Barber, academic, administrator, and a leader of Canada's university community.
After spending twenty-five years at the University of Saskatchewan as student, professor, dean and vice president, he moved back to his birthplace in 1976 as President and Vice-Chancellor of the new University of Regina. His fellow presidents quickly recognized his leadership qualities and in 1981 he was elected President of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. In this capacity he directed a re-orientation of the Association which made it a more effective organization in every respect. Communications between AUCC and the universities were improved, services were streamlined, and the Association became an effective voice for the academic community at the national level. The success of National Universities week in the Fall of 1983 demonstrated the success that had been achieved.
He has also been a pioneer in developing stronger links between the universities and Canadian business. One of the few university presidents to sit on corporate boards, his experience as a director of Canadian Pacific Limited, the Molson Companies, the Bank of Nova Scotia and other enterprises has given him an appreciation of the benefits that both universities and corporations can derive from closer cooperation.
In 1981, when two Concordia administrators first had the idea of launching a Corporate-Higher Education Forum for Canada, they naturally approached Lloyd Barber. He gave the project his unqualified backing and did much to secure the support of corporate leaders and other university presidents. The Forum is now successfully established and he continues his involvement as its second chairman.
The higher education community in this country is indebted to him for giving universities a stronger voice at the national level and for showing them the way of the future.
Mr. Chancellor, it is a privilege to present to you, on behalf of the Senate and by the authority of the Board of Governors, Lloyd Barber, that you may confer on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
* deceased
