Convocation 2014: meet honorary grad Ronald Daniels

University of Toronto alumnus Ronald J. Daniels became the 14th president of The Johns Hopkins University in March 2009. Throughout his career, he has championed the critical role of the research and teaching university in fostering social and scientific progress.

On June 6, 2014, at the Convocation ceremony for the Faculty of Law, Munk School of Global Affairs, and School of Graduate Studies, U of T awarded Daniels a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments.

Daniels was born and raised in Toronto, and received his bachelor’s and law degrees at the University of Toronto. After earning his LL.M. at Yale University, he returned to the University of Toronto, where he spent the next 17 years of his career, first as a faculty member and then as dean and James M. Tory Professor of Law. In 2005, he moved to Philadelphia to serve as provost and professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania.

During his decade as dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, Daniels led the institution’s efforts to double the size of the faculty, cut the student-faculty ratio, enlarge the endowment, increase financial aid, and institute the country’s first back-end debt relief program. Daniels also helped to spearhead initiatives to strengthen curricula reforms, student services, interdisciplinary programs, international recruitment and social engagement and to found programs including Pro-Bono Students Canada and Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS).

At the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins, Daniels continued his focus on accessibility, innovation and community engagement through initiatives such as the Botswana-UPenn Partnership, an interdisciplinary effort to strengthen local health care, and his commitment to making need-blind admissions a reality at Johns Hopkins. He recently led Johns Hopkins’ launch of the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships, a $250 million effort to foster interdisciplinary activities. Demonstrating the central place of the research university in policy formation, Daniels helped convene experts to discuss and publish books assessing risk and disaster in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and exploring proven strategies to reduce gun violence after the tragic shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.

In Canada, Daniels was an active participant in public policy formulation, leading several task forces or committees for the Ontario government. He served as president of the Council of Canadian Law Deans and of the Council of Ontario Law Deans, and was a co-founder of International Lawyers and Economists Against Poverty.

Daniels’ research focuses on the intersections of law, economics, development and public policy. Most recently, his writing has focused on advocating for young investigators in American life-science research and on the role of the research university in promoting community development. He is an author or editor of seven books, an author or co-author of dozens of scholarly articles and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.