Despite controversy, N.B. premier will accept university degree

Premier Shawn Graham says he is humbled by the University of New Brunswick’s decision to give him an honorary degree, despite protests about the honour in the university community.

Graham says the debate around the degree is what universities are all about.

Robert Whitney, a professor at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, is one of the authors of a protest letter, signed by about 100 faculty and staff from the school’s Saint John and Fredericton campuses.

The letter states it would be "impossible" to forget Graham’s proposed changes to post-secondary education.

Graham’s government was forced by widespread protests to back away from changes recommended in a controversial report, including changing the UNB satellite campus in Saint John into a polytechnic institution.

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- The Canadian Press