Honorary degree citation - Stuart McLean*
By: Catherine Bolton, June 2014
Mr. Deputy Chancellor, it is my honour to present to you Stuart McLean, best-selling author, award-winning journalist, humourist and host of the CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe.
A Montreal native, Mr. McLean graduated from Sir George Williams University with a BA degree in 1971. He went on to build a remarkable career, which has included producing and hosting numerous shows that celebrate Canadian issues and identity. As a story-teller and radio personality, Mr. McLean has brought humour and affection into the homes of Canadians here and abroad.
Mr. McLean began his broadcasting career making radio documentaries for CBC Radio’s Sunday Morning. Following Sunday Morning, Mr. McLean spent seven years as a regular columnist and guest host on CBC’s Morningside. His book, The Morningside World of Stuart McLean, was a Canadian bestseller and a finalist in the 1990 City of Toronto Book Awards.
Stuart McLean a également signé le récit de voyage Welcome Home: Travels in Small Town Canada et a dirigé la publication du recueil de nouvelles When We Were Young. Il est triple lauréat de la médaille de l’humour Stephen-Leacock pour ses oeuvres Home from the Vinyl Cafe, Vinyl Cafe Unplugged et Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe.
In December 2011, Stuart McLean was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is a professor emeritus at Ryerson University and former director of the broadcast division of the School of Journalism. He is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and has served as Honorary Colonel of the 8th Air Maintenance Squadron at 8 Wing, Trenton, from 2005 to 2008.
Best known for his stories about the fictional Toronto family of Dave, who runs the Vinyl Cafe record store, his wife, Morley, and their teenage daughter, Stephanie, Mr. McLean offers the mishaps, confusions and misunderstandings of this very Canadian family with wry humour and great affection. With a keen sense of dramatic timing, Mr. McLean tells his stories in his distinctive voice that has captivated, enthralled and delighted his audiences, both on air and in performance.
Depuis 1998 (mille-neuf cent, quatre-vingt dix-huit), il présente son Vinyl Cafe aux quatre coins du Canada – de St. John’s, à Terre Neuve, à Whitehorse au Yukon – et des États-Unis – de Bangor, dans l’État du Maine, à Seattle, dans l’État de Washington. Tous les week-ends, l’émission rejoint plus de 1,5 million d’auditeurs à la radio de la CBC et à la radio satellite Sirius, de même que par l’entremise d’un nombre grandissant de stations radiophoniques publiques aux États-Unis. Vinyl Cafe est également diffusée à l’occasion sur les ondes de la BBC.
Mr. Deputy Chancellor, on behalf of Senate and the Board of Governors, it is my privilege and honour to present to you Stuart McLean, so that you may confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
* deceased
