Eli Bornstein and Elizabeth Brewster to receive Saskatchewan Order of Merit

Two University of Saskatchewan College of Arts and Science emeriti professors— Department of Art Professor Emeritus Eli Bornstein and Department of English Professor Emeritus Elizabeth Brewster—are to receive the 2008 Saskatchewan Order of Merit for 2008, the province’s highest honour. They will be invested during a ceremony to be held Nov. 19.

Eli Bornstein, B.S. and M.Sc. (University of Wisconsin) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was head of the Department of Art at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon from 1963 to 1972, and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) upon his retirement from teaching in 1990. Bornstein is known for his Structurist reliefs and sculptures, and was the founder of an international art annual, The Structurist. His works have been exhibited and collected internationally, as well as in Canada and the U.S. In 2004, a large-scale paneled artwork by Bornstein was installed on the façade of the Canadian Light Source building. On the occasion of its unveiling, U of S President Peter MacKinnon commented, "Eli Bornstein's longstanding relationship with the university, his status as a senior Canadian artist, and his interest in the relationship between art and science make it fitting for his art to be showcased at the CLS."

Elizabeth Brewster, B.A. (New Brunswick), M.A. (Radcliffe), B.L.S. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Indiana), D.Lit. (New Brunswick), was born in Chipman, Ontario. She has produced twenty-seven books, including two novels, three books of short stories, two collections of essays and stories, and over twenty collections of poems. She was a founder of The Fiddlehead, Canada's longest living literary journal. Since her retirement in 1990, she has published nine books, including her collected works—Collected Poems of Elizabeth Brewster (2003). In 1995, her book, Footnotes to the Book of Job was nominated for a Governor General's Award. Jacob’s Dream was awarded a 2003 Saskatchewan Book Award in Poetry. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts from the Saskatchewan Arts Board (1995).

Other recipients of the 2008 Order of Merit include Leslie and Irene Dube of Saskatoon, co-founders of the Concorde Group of Companies and philanthropists; Edward Bayda of Regina, the retired chief justice of Saskatchewan, who lives in Regina; Antoine (Tony) Cote, elder, veteran and retired chief of the Cote First Nation, who lives in Regina; Bob Ellard of Calgary, architect, athlete and volunteer; and Gavin Semple, owner and president of the Brandt Group of Companies and community supporter, who lives in Regina.