Honorary degree citation - Emil Fackenheim*

By: S.G. French, June 1971

Mr. Chancellor:

I have the honour to present to you Emil Fackenheim, a distinguished Canadian philosopher. A fine speaker, and a gifted scholar, Dr. Fackenheim commands respect throughout Canada and abroad as one who has combined 'excellence in teaching and publishing with a lifetime of service to his own spiritual community. Born in Germany in 1916, Dr. Fackenheim received his university training in Germany, Scotland and Canada. He was ordained as Rabbi in 1939, and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1945. A teacher at the University of Toronto since 1948, Dr. Fackenheim was promoted to full Professor in 1961.

Emil Fackenheim is the author of many valuable books and articles: among them, The Religious Dimension in Regel's Thought and Quest for Past and Future: Essays in Jewish Theology. In 1964, Professor Fackertheim was awarded the President's Medal of the University of Western Ontario for the Best Scholarly Article published in Canada. He is a contributing editor to Judaism. In honouring him we would honour a Canadian whose way has not been easy. We would celebrate the inauguration this year of our M.A. programmes in Philosophy, the History and Philosophy of Religion, and in Judaic Studies. We would declare to our graduating class that this is the kind of man we would have them emulate. We would acknowledge his services as a consultant to our Department of Religion. We would demonstrate to the new Cnaadians amongst us that here is one of their own number who has become a major voice in the philosophical councils of this country.

Mr. Chancellor, I am honoured to present to you, on behalf of the University Council, and by the authority of the Board of Governors, Emil Fackenheim, that you may confer on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

* deceased