St Michael’s College Confers Honorary Degrees for 2011
Honorary Degrees to be conferred at USMC, Faculty of Theology & Continuing Education Convocation on November 5, 2011 to:
The Most Reverend Anthony F. Tonnos, D.D.| Mr. John L. Allen, Jr. | Dr. Eric McLuhan
The Most Reverend Anthony F. Tonnos | Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the Canadian Church particularly in the areas of Catholic Education and Catholic Health Care during fifty years of priesthood and twenty seven years as Bishop. As a distinguished alumnus of the College, we recognize a living exemplar of the motto and ethos of the College - Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge!
Bishop Tonnos was installed as the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Hamilton in 1984 and retired in August 2010. He is currently Bishop Emeritus for the Diocese of Hamilton. During his 27 years of Episcopal service, Bishop Tonnos was appointed to the Canon Law Commission, the Catholic Education Committee, was a member of the Executive and Permanent Councils, and served as treasurer for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is a Past President of the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, Past President of the Catholic Health Association of Ontario, served as chair of the Ontario Bishops’ Insurance Plan committee and was a member of the OCCB Canon Law Commission. He has served as a judge on the Toronto Marriage Tribunal. In 2005, Bishop Tonnos received Performance Citation Award, the highest distinction given in Catholic Health Care in Canada, for his outstanding leadership in the Catholic Health Care Ministry. 
Mr. John L. Allen, Jr. | Doctor of Sacred Letters, honoris causa in recognition of his remarkable contribution to communication, understanding and reconciliation in his work for the Holy See and for the Church in North America.
Mr. Allen is an American journalist based in Rome who specializes in news about the Catholic Church. He is senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and vaticanologist of CNN and National Public Radio. During the coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II, Allen frequently appeared on CNN. Allen is also the author of several books about the Catholic Church. He has written two biographies of Pope Benedict XVI, the first one published in 2000 when he was still a cardinal and the first biography of him in English. Allen is one of the few Catholic journalists respected by Catholics of both “liberal” and “conservative” persuasions. His Internet column, “All Things Catholic,” is considered by knowledgeable observers to be the best single source of insights on Vatican affairs in the English language.
Dr. Eric McLuhan | Doctor of Sacred Letters, honoris causa in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the academe and for furthering the legacy and understanding of Marshall McLuhan’s work, particularly his work here at the University of St. Michael’s College.
Dr. McLuhan is an internationally-known and award-winning lecturer on communication and media, and has over 40 years’ teaching experience in subjects ranging from high-speed reading techniques to literature, communication theory, media, culture, and Egyptology. He has taught at many colleges and universities throughout the United States, Canada and abroad. Currently, he is Director, Media Studies, and lectures at The Harris Institute for the Arts in Toronto, Canada. In addition to co-authoring “Laws of Media” in 1988 and working closely for many years with his father, the late Marshall McLuhan, he has also been deeply involved in exploring media ecology and communications. In 1980, with Roger Davies, Dr. McLuhan developed the Thinking and Writing workshops to help business professionals with their writing and editing skills. His most recent published work includes On Media Ecology (Explorations in Media Ecology, Vol. 5, No. 3), Theories of Communication (Hampton Press, 2009), and Media and Formal Cause (NeoPoesis Press, 2)
