Professors Robert Solomon, Faculty of Law, and Jane Rylett, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, were awarded the Distinguished University Professorship Awards. The following is an edited version of Solomon’s speech.
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I have been on the faculty at the Law School for 41 years. I am still here, not because I am allergic to fun, as one of my colleagues has suggested. Rather, I have remained an academic, because there is simply no other work that I would rather do.
Immersed in the workaday tasks of academia, it is easy to lose sight of what a privileged career we pursue. This wonderful award, and my approaching retirement, have made me reflect on what I cherish most about my life as an academic. Four things come to mind.
First, as academics, we work in the world of ideas – ideas of our own choosing. I read, study and write about issues that spark my intellectual curiosity. I do not have to consider billable hours, corporate budgets, political expediency or public image. As an academic, I have been supported to work in fields and on research about which I care deeply.
Second, I am free to exercise critical judgement and express my views regardless of whom I might offend. My research in recent years has focused on the role of law in minimizing impairment-related crash deaths and injuries. Unfortunately, Canada had followed the dubious lead of the United States, which had demonized illicit drugs and largely ignored the far greater harms caused by alcohol and, for that matter, tobacco.
This approach not only squandered scarce resources on failed enforcement policies, it perpetuated the myth that alcohol is a relatively benign drug. Tragically, this myth takes a devastating toll on young people, who are dramatically over-represented in virtually every category of alcohol-related trauma death – from pedestrian, passenger and driver fatalities to suicides.
Another result of this policy is impairment-related crashes remain the No. 1 criminal cause of death in Canada, claiming almost twice as many lives per year as all categories of homicide combined. Canada’s record in this regard is abysmal by international standards.
Consequently, it has been incumbent on me to inform our political masters, in blunt terms, that our poor record is attributable to their failure to enact effective laws – laws long since proven to sharply reduce alcohol-related crash deaths in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK and Western and Eastern Europe.
Where else but in academia would I, as a lawyer, be supported to undertake this kind of research and be free to publicly criticize government policy? Certainly not in government, or in private practice and, sadly, in recent years, not in many agencies and NGOs funded by the government.
Third, my career has given me the opportunity to try and make a positive difference in the world. There is a Hebrew expression, ‘Tikkun Olam’ which means ‘to heal or repair the world.’ The moral imperative does not require one to succeed, but rather to make the effort.
While many people do this on a part-time volunteer basis, I do this as part of my job. While I have had my fair share of research completely ignored, fortunately other research efforts have generated a more favourable response and, in some cases, directly resulting in progressive policies and legislation. These areas of research include work on: needle exchange programs; secondary school alcohol and tobacco policies; alcohol-related liability; the development of server and management training programs; and, most significantly, the ongoing reform of the federal and provincial impaired driving laws.
The research and advocacy work I have done with Associate Dean Erika Chamberlain, in convincing the provincial and territorial governments to enact comprehensive graduated licensing programs for young drivers, has been the most rewarding.
Yet, despite our concerted efforts, and those of many others, 15 to 25-year-olds in Canada constitute about 13 per cent of the population, but account for approximately 33 per cent of the alcohol-related traffic deaths. Clearly, our work is far from over. Nevertheless, where else but in academia would we have the opportunity to pursue our vision of making the world a better place.
Fourth, as an academic, my workday is filled with an endless flood of enthusiastic and idealistic young people. I get to share with them my knowledge, skills and views on issues important to me. Along the way, I provide an occasional academic push, pat on the back or needed vote of confidence. As faculty, we are uniquely situated to participate in our students’ intellectual development during this formative period in their lives.
I remember with fondness those committed teachers who made a difference in my life. What was inspiring was not their technical teaching skills, but rather their passion for their research and teaching, and their personal commitment to their students.
Sadly, as is readily apparent to even a casual observer, being surrounded by young people has not kept me young. While my eyes have dimmed, my hair has turned grey, and my hearing has become dodgy, my enthusiasm for teaching has not waned. I enjoy teaching and my interactions with my students as much, or more now, than I did when I started 41 years ago.
Finally, I think it only fair to reassure my dean, Iain Scott, that as much as I cherish my job, I will retire. But not just yet.