Bourns, Arthur Newcombe

ENCAENIA, MAY, 1981
ARTHUR NEWCOMBE BOURNS
to be Doctor of Science

It has often been said that the Maritime Provinces export many potentially outstanding sons and daughters. Arthur Newcombe Bourns is the living proof of this statement.

Dr. Bourns was born in Petitcodiac, New Brunswick, did his undergraduate training at Acadia University and taught there briefly; he early felt the call of more distant landscapes and, although briefly lured by the University of Saskatchewan and by the University of London, succumbed ultimately to the siren call of the Province of Ontario.

What was New Brunswick's loss was clearly Ontario's gain and McMaster University took every advantage of this opportunity, utilizing his services as Professor of Chemistry and head of that Department, as Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, as Vice-President of the Science and Engineering Division and, for most of the past decade, as President and Vice-Chancellor.

His contribution to the cause of higher learning has extended far beyond the confines of one university. He has given valuable editorial leadership to Science Forum and to The Canadian Journal of Chemistry. In capacities too numerous to enumerate, he has been associated with the National Research Council of Canada and with the Weizmann Institute of Science. The leadership role which he has played in the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has been extremely important in the development of its Five-Year Plan which has recently been accepted by the federal government.

Nor have his eminent qualities of leadership found exercise exclusively in the sometimes restricted groves of Academe. Benefits have been derived by such disparate organizations as the Ancaster Public School Board; the Royal Botanical Gardens; the Council of Ontario Universities; the Board of Trustees of the Chedoke-McMaster Hospital; the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada; and Slater Steel Industries Limited.

The contemporary world has not failed to recognize him as an exemplary citizen. Consequently, he has been named a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, of the Royal Society of Canada, and of the Chemical Society of London; he holds honorary degrees from Acadia, Brock and McGill Universities; in addition, he is the recipient of the Montreal Medal of the Chemical Institute of Canada and of the Silver Jubilee Medal.

While we in New Brunswick may regret his decision "to go down the road", a decision which has deprived us of the exclusive benefit of his unique talents, we yield Arthur Newcombe Bourns to the greater good of Canada with all possible grace. The University of New Brunswick is privileged to join other institutions in paying him honor and today warmly welcomes to the ranks of its graduates a distinguished teacher, scholar, administrator and public servant.

Insignissime Praeses, tota Universitas, praesento vobis Arthurum Newcombe Bourns ut admittatur honoris causa ad gradum Doctoris in Scientia in hac Universitate.

From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 2