UNB Professor Gets Legacy Award For Work On Multiculturalism And Immigration
FREDERICTON – The New Brunswick Multicultural Council (NBMC) awarded University of New Brunswick economics professor Constantine Passaris the Legacy Prize on Thursday for his work on multiculturalism and immigration.
The award ceremony took place at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
Passaris has worked for four decades to promote multiculturalism and immigration in New Brunswick, and is the Founding President Emeritus of the NBMC.
“The NBMC is an institution that has stood the test of time. It remains as relevant and pertinent today as it was three and a half decades ago when it was founded,” Passaris said in a release. “In this age of globalization, multiculturalism is New Brunswick’s secret weapon. It is the key for forging new trade relationships around the world, attracting foreign investment, empowering our human resources, growing our population, energizing our provincial economy and creating new employment opportunities for all New Brunswickers.”
His work also goes beyond the province, serving as an Onassis Foundation fellow, a research affiliate of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy at the University of Lethbridge, and a member of the Academic Scientific Board of the International Institute of Advanced Economic and Social Studies in Italy.
“The NBMC Legacy Award is designed to recognize individuals or organizations who have made sustained efforts and enduring contributions to the multicultural fabric of the province,” said NBMC’s executive director Alex LeBlanc. “Dr. Passaris was a true pioneer for the province and he has laid the critical foundation through decades of work for New Brunswick to grow through immigration in the years ahead.”
Passaris has also served as a member of the Economic Council of Canada, chairman of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Human Rights Center at Saint Thomas University, chairman of the New Brunswick Advisory Board on Population Growth, and as an advisor to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.