James W. MacNeill, honourary Doctor of Laws degree recipient, speaking from podium during Convocation ceremony held in Centennial Auditorium.

Bio/Historical Note: James William MacNeill was born in 1928 in Saskatchewan and received BSc degrees for both physics and mathematics in 1949 and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering in 1958 from the University of Saskatchewan. MacNeill also received a Graduate Diploma in Economics and Political Science in 1951 from the University of Stockholm. MacNeill was Director of Environment at OECD in Paris (1978–1984), Secretary General of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) and lead author of its landmark report Our Common Future (1984–1987, and member and Chairman of the World Bank's Inspection Panel (1997–2002). MacNeill was a member of the Caspian Development Advisory Panel, the jury of the Volvo Foundation’s Environment Prize, and a member of several boards including the Woods Hole Research Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 1988 MacNeill received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the U of S. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995. MacNeill died in Ottawa in 2016.