Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
September 27, 2002
Fall convocation honours landscape architect, geographer
One of North America’s most respected landscape architects and a renowned U.S. geographer will be honoured during the University of Guelph’s fall convocation Oct. 7 to 9 in War Memorial Hall. Some 550 students will graduate during three ceremonies, all beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Macklin Hancock, a 1949 Ontario Agricultural College alumnus and the president of Project Planning — one of the world’s largest and most influential design/planning firms — will receive an honorary doctor of science degree Oct. 8 during the ceremony for the Ontario Agricultural College and College of Physical and Engineering Science. Acclaimed cultural geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will receive a doctor of science degree during the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences ceremony Oct. 9.
In addition, on Oct. 7, former Ontario lieutenant-governor Lincoln Alexander, who is in his fourth term as chancellor of the university, will address the graduands of the College of Arts, College of Biological Science and Ontario Veterinary College.
Through Hancock, Project Planning created the original master plan for the University of Guelph and the site design work for the main campus. The firm also planned and designed the Expo ’67 site and the community of Don Mills in Toronto. Throughout his career, Hancock has left a legacy of professionalism, environmental concern and innovative ideas. His other designs include Ontario Place; capital cities Dodoma, Tanzania, and Abuja, Nigeria; the Ottawa-Hull core area waterfront; the Beijing Complex and Urban Waterfront; and King Adbul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Tuan has been called a “critical voice and a liberating spirit” due to his 225 publications, including more than a dozen books. He has had a marked effect on the disciplines of geography, landscape architecture, English literature and religious studies. Tuan has received the Cullum Geographical Medal of the American Geographical Society and the Award for Meritorious Contributions to Geography from the Association of American Geographers, and was elected a Lauréat d’Honneur of the International Geographical Congress. He was also elected “Best Professor” by the UWM Student Association and given a Professor Appreciation Award for Excellence in Teaching.
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