On Saturday, 27 November 2010, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., the Governor General, will become an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences. This honour is being bestowed upon the nomination of the President and Council of the Royal Society, to recognise His Excellency's contributions to Canadian academia.
The Royal Society of Canada was created by His Grace the Most Noble The Duke of Argyll, K.G., K.T., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., P.C., the 4th Governor General (better known by His Grace's courtesy title, at the time, of The Marquess of Lorne), in 1882 (though the Royal Society was not granted its Royal Charter for one more year). Since the creation of the Royal Society of Canada, federal representatives of Her Majesty the Queen of Canada have remained closely associated with the institution, with the society's president serving successive governors general as a member of the advisory council for the Order of Canada.
In contemporary Canada, with the relegation of the academic worlds of arts, humanities and the sciences to the backburner by Her Majesty's Government for Canada, I argue that there is tremendous value in a proudly academic institution, such as the Royal Society of Canada, promoting these worlds of debate and discussion. Such organisations play a critical role in the survival of a declining independence in thought and learned opinion, and we should all take at least a bit of comfort in the fact that there are academics, such as His Excellency, sustaining the unique Canadian spheres of academic law and scholarship.
Sources
The Royal Society of Canada was created by His Grace the Most Noble The Duke of Argyll, K.G., K.T., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., P.C., the 4th Governor General (better known by His Grace's courtesy title, at the time, of The Marquess of Lorne), in 1882 (though the Royal Society was not granted its Royal Charter for one more year). Since the creation of the Royal Society of Canada, federal representatives of Her Majesty the Queen of Canada have remained closely associated with the institution, with the society's president serving successive governors general as a member of the advisory council for the Order of Canada.
In contemporary Canada, with the relegation of the academic worlds of arts, humanities and the sciences to the backburner by Her Majesty's Government for Canada, I argue that there is tremendous value in a proudly academic institution, such as the Royal Society of Canada, promoting these worlds of debate and discussion. Such organisations play a critical role in the survival of a declining independence in thought and learned opinion, and we should all take at least a bit of comfort in the fact that there are academics, such as His Excellency, sustaining the unique Canadian spheres of academic law and scholarship.
Sources
- Office of the Governor General: homepage / Governor General to be Inducted as Hon. Fellow
- Royal Society of Canada: homepage / A Brief History of the Royal Society