Honorary degree citation - Judith Maxwell
By: Ulrike de Brentani, June 1992
Mr. Chancellor, I have the honour to present to you Judith Maxwell, an outstanding economist, and well known researcher and author in the field of economic studies. Ms. Maxwell is well known for the dynamic leadership she brought to the Economic Council of Canada, where she has held the post of Chair from 1985 to 1992.
Née à Kingston., en Ontario, Mme Maxwell a passé la plus grande partie de sa jeunesse en Nouvelle-Écosse et à l'Ile-du-Prince-Édouard. En 1960, elle entre à l'Université Dalhousie où elle obtient un baccalauréat en commerce, en 1963. En 1966, elle effectue une année d'études supérieures de deuxième cycle à la London School of Economics. Mme Maxwell s'est dernièrement vu conférer un doctorat en droit honoris causa par son alma mater, l'Université Dalhousie.
A respected economist, Ms. Maxwell has devoted her professional life to the complex field of economic studies. Early in her career, she was a researcher for the Combines Investigation Branch of the Federal Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. From 1966 to 1972, she was a writer and a member of the Editorial Board of the Financial Times of Canada, and was then named Director of Policy Studies for the C.D. Howe Institute. During her eight years at the Institute, Ms. Maxwell authored and co-authored numerous articles that entailed penetrating analyses of the Canadian economy. Additional key publications include Partnership for Growth Corporate-University Higher Education in Canada (1984), Economic Realities of Contemporary Confederation (1980), and Energy for the Arctic (1973). Before assuming her post at the Economic Council of Canada, Ms. Maxwell worked as a consulting economist in Britain for the Department of Corporate Affairs at Esso Europe, and in Montréal for Coopers & Lybrand.
In 1985, Judith Maxwell was offered the Chair of the Economic Council of Canada, the prestigious government-financed body with a mandate to advise government on mid- and long-term economic policy. As Council Chair, Ms. Maxwell ensured that Council research findings and policy advice were effectively communicated to the public, and that the Council's work was relevant to current policy debates on a wide range of Canadian social and economic issues. Simultaneously, she worked behind the scenes to try to teach greater fiscal responsibility to government, public and private sector leaders. She has worked tirelessly to promote a better understanding of the intricacies of economic policy. Appearing regularly at meetings and other forms of public gatherings across the country, Ms. Maxwell has been heard to say that the most important duty of our leaders in the public and private fields of endeavour is to assist our Canadian houses of learning with all the means that can be put at their disposal to promote better education which will help the generations of tomorrow to be active in their search for economic excellence.
Mr. Chancellor, it is a great honour and privilege for me to present to you, on behalf of the Senate and by the authority of the Board of Governors, Judith Maxwell, that you may confer on her the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
