1968 news from the UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN REGINA CAMPUS publicity & public relations office phone 525-0111 ext. 378 1111M11111111=111Ma (ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 2:00 P.M., CST., SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1968) (ADVANCE) . REGINA, OCTOBER 26 - The following is the text of a citation for the presentation of Graham Spry, former Saskatchewan Agent- General in Europe and the United Kingdom, for the honorary degree of doctor of laws (LLD) at the second annual fall Convocation of the University of Saskatchewan Regina Campus, Saturday, October 26. Mr. Spry will be presented to the University Chancellor for his degree by Dr. D.W. Smythe, chairman of the division of social sciences and professor of economics at Regina Campus, who will read the citation. * * * * * * * * * (ADVANCE) . Eminent Chancellor, on behalf of the University Council and Senate, I present to you Graham Spry. Graham Spry is the prototypical Canadian. His ori ,Lins were bicult- ural: Cornwall contributed the Spry, Scotland the Graham, and Normandy via Quebec his paternal grandmother whose ancestors reached Quebec in 1636 and were related to the de Gaspes. "If he is not a Canadian, there is no such animal". A Gold Medalist Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba, with an M.A. Degree from the same instituti 'n, he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford from 1922 to 1925 where he received another M.A. He also studied at Sorbonne and at Grenoble. .....MORE (ADVANCE) U OF S REGINA CAMPUS (ADVANCE) - GRAHAM SPRY - 2 Among the adjectives which a review of his career suggests are "protean", "kaleidoscopic","versatile", At various times and sometimes at the same time, he has been engaged in combinations of: public servant, unselfish promoter of new Canadian institutions, corporation executive, scholar, and journalist, At the same time he has found time to be husband of a brilliant woman, and father to two fine sons and one daughter. We note his journalistic career as reporter for the Manitoba Free Press, the Calgary Albertan and Ottawa Citizen, and as occasional war cor- respondent for the London Times during World War II. Also his eleven years beginning 1937 as Executive in London for the Standard Oil Company of California. Also his active membership in the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute. His major efforts have been in public service and the unselfish pro- motion of new Canadian institutions. As Agent-General for Saskatchewan, residing in London from 1947 to 1968 he served responsibly and creatively to link Saskatchewan and incidentally Canadian interests with those of the United Kingdom and western Europe. We honour him for this service today. But beyond even this, we recognize and honour him for his unflagging efforts in an even broader area of public service. We note his service as personal assistant to Sir Stafford Cripps, when Sir Stafford was a member of the War Cabinet and Leader of the House of Commons, 1942-45. As his assistant Mr. Spry served on the mission to India and Pakistan in 1942 to offer those countries total independence at the end of the war, and as rep- resentative of the Ministry of Aviation. He participated in the 20th Century Fund Economic Survey of Turkey in 1946-47. ,MORE (ADVANCE) U OF S REGINA CAMPUS (ADVANCE) - GRAHAM SPRY - 3 Of particular value to us as Canadians are his unique achievements in helping to develop Canadian institutions and identity. He and his friends were possessed of the goal of Canada and Confederation, not in opposition to or separation from others but in the realization of a nation- al identity. Beginning in the 1920's he formed alliances between cultural and ethnic groups, political, religious and economic interests, English- speaking and French-speaking, from coast to coast to develop this national identity as a "bilingual and bicultural fact". Indeed Mr. Spry coined the expression "bilingual and bicultural" in 1929. He used his position as national secretary of the Association of Canadian Clubs from 1926 to 1932 as a base for this activity. Out of such activity emerged in due time the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the National Film Board and Air Canada. Graham Spry's personal contribution is most evident in the organizing activity which led directly to the pas- sage of the legislation which created the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Originating in resistance to the cultural and political absorption by our neighbour to the south to which radio broadcasting under private auspices would lend, this effort from 1930 to 1936 profoundly contributed to Canadian identity. A history of Canadian broadcasting assesses Graham's role in these words: "Spry was the front man - writing, speaking, persuading, continually assembling information and, above all, building up his already numerous friendships and contacts in all levels of the government and across Canada. In this respect he was undoubtedly one of the ablest and most persuasive non-party advocates ever associated with an important popular movement in this country. It was not only a crusade...it was also a great contest to be enjoyed with almost boyish exuberance." --MORE (ADVANCE) U OF S REGINA CAMPUS (ADVANCE) - GRAHAM SPRY - 4 In concluding this tribute, we recognize the perennial exuberance of the man. In wry self-mockery, Graham Spry is heard say- ing: "1 always wanted to change things, but, no matter what I did, I always ended up looking respectable." Eminent Chancellor, I present to you Graham Spry and ask that you will confer on him the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. 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