Paul Davenport
Paul Theodore Davenport, OC ,
BA ,
MA ,
Ph.D ,
LL.D (born
1946) is the ninth president of the
University of Western Ontario.
Born in
Summit, New Jersey, he graduated
magna cum laude from
Stanford University in 1969 with a
BA in
economics. He was also a member of
Phi Beta Kappa. He moved to Canada and earned an
MA and
Ph.D in economics from the
University of Toronto. Beginning in 1973 he taught economics at
McGill University. From 1986 to 1989, he was Vice Principal, Planning & Computer Services. In 1989 he became president of the
University of Alberta, and became president of the University of Western Ontario (UWO) on
July 1,
1994.
He has honorary degrees from the University of Alberta (1994), the University of Toronto (2000), and the International
University of Moscow (2002). He was made a Chevalier de la
Légion d'honneur in 2001, one of only a few foreigners to be awarded this honour. He was also named an Officer of the
Order of Canada in 2002. Among UWO students, especially the student newspaper The Gazette, he is often referred to as "the French knight."
He is a member of the economics department at UWO and continues to supervise theses and publish articles. His term currently extends to 2009, making him only the third president of Western to serve longer than ten years.
During his tenure as president of the at the University of Alberta, Davenport angered many with his managerial approach and proposals. In 1993, faced with a funding shortfall, he tabled a series of reforms and budget cuts that included the elimination of the school's highly-rated Faculty of Dentistry as well as the Varsity Football program. This move was criticized as myopic and drastic, and after several years of work, both the Faculty of Dentistry and Football team were saved through the efforts of faculty, alumni and government officials. However, the legacy of this move remains, and in order to save money, the Faculty of Dentistry was merged with the Faculty of Medicine, creating the Faculty of Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, as it is presently known.
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Order of Canada Citation*
Convocation address at U of T June 19th, 2000
