THE TITLE AND DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF LAWS, (honoris causa) CONFERRED AT CONGREGATION, MAY 24, 2007

MICHAEL ALEXANDER KIRKWOOD HALLIDAY 

MR. CHANCELLOR,

There are certain scholars whose academic accomplishments resonate in a special way with the vision of this university. Renowned linguist Dr. Michael Halliday is one such scholar.

His research illuminates how language connects us in multilingual and multicultural societies, and his vision of language has sparked considerable interdisciplinary study – research that incorporates the values of global citizenship and respect for diversity in a civil society.

Currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Sydney in Australia, Dr. Halliday graduated in 1948 with a first-class honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London. In 1955 he completed doctoral work at the University of Cambridge. Since that time he has served as a professor of linguistics at universities around the world, including Singapore, Yale, Tokyo, Copenhagen and Nairobi.

His great contribution to linguistic study is a theoretical model known as Systemic Functional Linguistics, which examines how language functions in a social context. His ideas have been taken up in such diverse fields as education, computer science, psychiatry, museum studies and sociology. His peers report that Dr. Halliday is one of a small handful of linguists of the last 100 years whose work will continue be cited well into the next 100 years.

In addition to being an outstanding researcher, Dr. Halliday is known as a generous, kind and patient teacher – an inspired and inspiring scholar who has trained generations of linguists worldwide.

Mr. Chancellor, to recognize his advancement of the study of linguistics, I ask you to confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday.