TORONTO, November 1, 2000 -- One has achieved a high degree of success and acclaim on and off the football field; the other in the increasingly popular field of Canadian history. To recognize the contributions of both, York University will confer honorary doctorate degrees upon Toronto Argonauts Head Coach Michael "Pinball" Clemons and award-winning Canadian historian and York Professor Emeritus Ramsay Cook during its fall Convocation ceremonies Fri., Nov. 3 - Sat., Nov. 4. Both ceremonies will be held in the Tait McKenzie Main Auditorium, (located off the North West Gate, off Steeles Ave. W.) York University Keele campus.

The descriptions below of the work of Cook and Clemons reveal the range and reach of their contributions.

Ramsay Cook: A York University Professor Emeritus who taught in York’s History Department since 1969, Ramsay Cook has made a great contribution to historical scholarship in Canada, and continues to shape and reshape our understanding of this country’s past. Cook was an historical advisor on the highly successful CBC Television’s 16-part series Canada: A People's History, and is general editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, the definitive biographical reference work in Canadian history. He has published widely on political and constitutional history, English-French relations, intellectual and artistic life, and on Europeans' explorations and first contacts with native North Americans.

Cook won a Governor General's Award’s in 1985 for his book, The Regenerators: Social Criticism in Late Victorian English Canada (1984), and was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1968 and an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1986. The Ramsay Cook Fellowship, a research scholarship in Canadian history, was established at York University in 1997. The recent publication of Nation, Ideas, Identities, Essays in Honour of Ramsay Cook (Oxford University Press, 2000), a collection of essays written by his former students, is a tribute to Cook’s scholarship, teaching, and inspiration of others in the field of Canadian history. Cook will receive his honorary Doctor of Letters degree (D.Litt) and will address convocation Fri., Nov. 3, at 10 a.m.

Michael "Pinball" Clemons: His professionalism, pursuit of excellence, and commitment to community make Michael "Pinball" Clemons a leader and a role model both on and off the field. As the longest serving player and now Head Coach of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club, Clemons is renowned as one of professional Football’s most electrifying players. His determination in the game and commitment to his team have earned him dozens of national and game awards, including the Canadian Football League’s Most Outstanding Player (1990), Player-of-the-Year (1995), and the Tom Pate Memorial Man-of-the-Year (1993) which acknowledges, among other things, his contribution to his team and community. His commitment to youth and charitable organizations such as Big Brothers, Special Olympics, Juvenile Diabetes, The United Way, the Salvation Army and the Canadian Cancer Society exemplify his caring and humanity. Clemons will receive his honorary Doctor of Laws degree (LL.D) and will address convocation Sat., Nov 4, at 10:30 a.m.

Approximately 2,000 graduate and undergraduate students will graduate during the fall convocation ceremonies, joining York's more than 150,000-strong alumni. The ceremonies will also confer University Professorships to York English professor James Carley and York scientist Saber Saleuddin. Carley will be made a Distinguished Research Professor on Fri., Nov. 3, at 2:30 p.m. for his insightful research in Arthurian Medieval studies. Saleuddin will be made a University Professor in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the University through his service and teaching as a pre-eminent zoologist on Sat., Nov. 4, at 2:30 p.m.

Since its founding in 1959, York University has become nationally and internationally respected for its innovative research and award-winning teaching. The third-largest university in Canada, York offers its 40,000 students programs in 10 faculties and access to research flowing from the university's more than 20 research centres. With its combination of dedicated and talented faculty, opportunities for bright and ambitious students, dynamic curriculum and modern campuses in one of North America's most influential urban centres, York University is setting the contemporary standard in academic excellence

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Please Note: CUPE 3903 agrees to University request to lift picket lines during key convocation times.

CUPE 3903, the union representing York University teaching assistants, contract faculty and graduate assistants, has been on strike since Thursday, Oct. 26. At the request of the University, CUPE 3903 has agreed to take down its picket lines for 60 minutes, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., Friday, Nov. 3rd and for 90 minutes in the afternoon, between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The union has also agreed that it will not set up picket lines on Saturday, Nov. 4th. The University thanks the union for its co-operation in this matter. Convocation ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 3rd, at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and for Saturday, Nov. 4th, at 10: 30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

For further information, please contact:

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
kturriff@yorku.ca

Sine MacKinnon
Director, Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
sinem@yorku.ca
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