William R. Lederman, honourary Doctor of Laws degree recipient, speaking from podium during Convocation ceremony held in Physical Education gymnasium. Dignitaries seated on dais in background include J.W.T. Spinks, University President, at far left.

Bio/Historical Note: William Ralph Lederman was a Canadian constitutional scholar and the first dean of Queen's University Faculty of Law. Born in 1916 in Regina, Saskatchewan, he received a LLB from the University of Saskatchewan in 1940. Lederman was a Rhodes Scholar and a Vinerian Scholar where he received a BCL. From 1949-1958 he taught at Dalhousie University. In 1958 he became the first Dean of the Queen's University Faculty of Law. Lederman was in this post until 1968 and continued to teach in the faculty until the 1980s. He was constitutional adviser to Ontario Premier John Robarts between 1965-1971. In 1981 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Lederman died in 1992.