Acclaimed poet and head of Humanities at Waterford Institute of Technology John Ennis has received an honorary doctorate in law from the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada.
The ceremony took place at the University last Friday. Dr Ennis, who has been head of Humanities at WIT since 1980, has forged international links for the Institute throughout his career. The most notable of these is his chairmanship of the Centre for Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, whose function it is to promote research, scholarship, joint projects and entrepreneurial ventures between Ireland and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Prominent among these initiatives has been his joint editorship with colleagues Stephanie McKenzie and Randall Maggs from Sir Wilfred Grenfell College of a trilogy of anthologies featuring contemporary and canonical poetry from Canada and Ireland.
Dr. Ennis has been the author of 13 books, won awards for his work and acted as editor, adjudicator and publisher in the field of literature. In 1996 he was presented with the Irish American Cultural Institute Award.
The honorary doctorate from the Memorial University is designed to recognize extraordinary contribution to society or exceptional intellectual or artistic achievement.
