2008 Fredericton Encaenia - Ceremony A
Furlong, Dennis
Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
Orator: Mason, Gordon
Citation:
ENCAENIA, CEREMONY A, 28 MAY 2008
DENNIS J. FURLONG
to be Doctor of Laws
We are pleased today to honour two graduates of the faculty of kinesiology who have gone on to very different, but distinguished careers.
When Dennis Furlong attended UNB in the 1960s, kinesiology was not a word familiar to many people on campus. Rather he graduated with a bachelor of physical education degree, within the department of education in the faculty of arts. After teaching for several years in Newfoundland and Oregon, Dr. Furlong returned to study at Memorial University of Newfoundland, graduating with an MD in 1976.
A 23-year career as a physician in Dalhousie, New Brunswick, was followed by “something completely different” when he was elected as an MLA in 1999. He was immediately appointed to the cabinet in the Conservative government of Premier Lord as Minister of Health. According to the then Minister of Health for Alberta, Dr. Furlong was very influential at the national level, and can take credit for some successful health reforms in Alberta. He was next appointed Minister of Education for two years during which he was also Minister responsible for the Sport and Culture Secretariat. Since 2003 he has resumed his general practice in Dalhousie.
This is the bare bones outline of distinguished professional life, which has earned Dr. Furlong the New Brunswick Medical Society Order of Merit, but it is only one part of a life of public service. He has served on the Medical Council of Canada, and as President of both the New Brunswick Medical Society and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick. His involvement with the New Brunswick Lung Association spans 14 years, culminating with the chairmanship of the board, and he has assumed a wide variety of roles on the Premier's Council on the status of disabled persons for over 20 years.
One of his passions has been amateur sport, dating from his days as a varsity athlete at UNB in soccer, and track and field. He chaired the organizing committee for the Canada Winter Games in 2003, having worked since 1991 to bring the games to New Brunswick. It is notable that he insisted that these be trilingual games. Indeed the Eel River Bar First Nation named their new gymnasium in his honour for all that he has contributed to their community. Not one to rest on his laurels he then agreed to become the President of the New Brunswick Athletics Association and worked to achieve a successful bid to host the 2010 World Junior Athletic Championships in Moncton. And this is no armchair athlete...when we speak of Dr. Furlong's “track record'' we cannot fail to mention his gold medals in four events at the 2002 Canadian Senior Games and his participation in the World Track and Field Championships in 2005 and 2007.
In addition to all these accomplishments, Dr. Furlong is the author of a book, Medicare Myths, published in 2004, and the inventor of a ground contact monitoring device for Olympic race walking. He remains the “go-to'' guy for governments of all stripes.
For the federal government, he was the are: fact-finder and outreach co-ordinator for the inquiry into the Herbicide Spray Program. Provincially, he chairs the New Brunswick Trauma System Advisory Committee, and is playing an active role in the provincial “Get Wellness Soon” campaign.
As Premier Graham puts it: “Over the past 40 years, Dr. Furlong has been an educator, a physician, an elected official, an athlete, and a tireless advocate for healthy and active living. Four decades of commitment in any one of these areas would be significant but Dr. Furlong takes service to his community, province and country to an extraordinary leveler.”
It is for this reason that we are pleased today to award him this honorary degree.
From: Honoris Causa, UA Case 70
DENNIS J. FURLONG
to be Doctor of Laws
We are pleased today to honour two graduates of the faculty of kinesiology who have gone on to very different, but distinguished careers.
When Dennis Furlong attended UNB in the 1960s, kinesiology was not a word familiar to many people on campus. Rather he graduated with a bachelor of physical education degree, within the department of education in the faculty of arts. After teaching for several years in Newfoundland and Oregon, Dr. Furlong returned to study at Memorial University of Newfoundland, graduating with an MD in 1976.
A 23-year career as a physician in Dalhousie, New Brunswick, was followed by “something completely different” when he was elected as an MLA in 1999. He was immediately appointed to the cabinet in the Conservative government of Premier Lord as Minister of Health. According to the then Minister of Health for Alberta, Dr. Furlong was very influential at the national level, and can take credit for some successful health reforms in Alberta. He was next appointed Minister of Education for two years during which he was also Minister responsible for the Sport and Culture Secretariat. Since 2003 he has resumed his general practice in Dalhousie.
This is the bare bones outline of distinguished professional life, which has earned Dr. Furlong the New Brunswick Medical Society Order of Merit, but it is only one part of a life of public service. He has served on the Medical Council of Canada, and as President of both the New Brunswick Medical Society and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick. His involvement with the New Brunswick Lung Association spans 14 years, culminating with the chairmanship of the board, and he has assumed a wide variety of roles on the Premier's Council on the status of disabled persons for over 20 years.
One of his passions has been amateur sport, dating from his days as a varsity athlete at UNB in soccer, and track and field. He chaired the organizing committee for the Canada Winter Games in 2003, having worked since 1991 to bring the games to New Brunswick. It is notable that he insisted that these be trilingual games. Indeed the Eel River Bar First Nation named their new gymnasium in his honour for all that he has contributed to their community. Not one to rest on his laurels he then agreed to become the President of the New Brunswick Athletics Association and worked to achieve a successful bid to host the 2010 World Junior Athletic Championships in Moncton. And this is no armchair athlete...when we speak of Dr. Furlong's “track record'' we cannot fail to mention his gold medals in four events at the 2002 Canadian Senior Games and his participation in the World Track and Field Championships in 2005 and 2007.
In addition to all these accomplishments, Dr. Furlong is the author of a book, Medicare Myths, published in 2004, and the inventor of a ground contact monitoring device for Olympic race walking. He remains the “go-to'' guy for governments of all stripes.
For the federal government, he was the are: fact-finder and outreach co-ordinator for the inquiry into the Herbicide Spray Program. Provincially, he chairs the New Brunswick Trauma System Advisory Committee, and is playing an active role in the provincial “Get Wellness Soon” campaign.
As Premier Graham puts it: “Over the past 40 years, Dr. Furlong has been an educator, a physician, an elected official, an athlete, and a tireless advocate for healthy and active living. Four decades of commitment in any one of these areas would be significant but Dr. Furlong takes service to his community, province and country to an extraordinary leveler.”
It is for this reason that we are pleased today to award him this honorary degree.
From: Honoris Causa, UA Case 70
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