| Gazette cartoonist to become Dr. Aislin McGill to award Mosher an honorary degree ALAN HUSTAK -- The Gazette Wednesday, March 21, 2007 |
Gazette editorial cartoonist Terry Mosher will be awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree by McGill
University at its spring convocation on May 31.
It's quite an achievement for a high school dropout whose irreverent pen portraits were once denounced
by a member of Parliament as "a crime against fundamental Canadian values of decency and mutual
respect."
The McGill degree is the latest accolade for Mosher, otherwise known as Aislin, who started drawing for
The Gazette in 1972.
"I got thrown out of high school, so this one especially is quite satisfying, actually," Mosher said yesterday.
"While I expect to be razzed mercilessly by my colleagues, I have been fortunate at The Gazette to work
with editors who understand what it is I do as a cartoonist by leaving me alone.
"It is nice to be recognized like this by my own community, but as my wife, Mary, always reminds me, praise
is very nice as long as you don't inhale too much."
Mosher began his career as a street artist in Quebec City in the early 1960s while he studied at the Ecole
des beaux arts.
He later worked for the Montreal Star before joining The Gazette.
Mosher has won two National Newspaper Awards for his work. In 1985, he became the youngest person to
be inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. In 1997, he and his counterpart at La Presse, Serge
Chapleau, had a joint retrospective of their work at the McCord Museum.
Mosher's work has appeared in 40 books. He was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada in 2003.
University at its spring convocation on May 31.
It's quite an achievement for a high school dropout whose irreverent pen portraits were once denounced
by a member of Parliament as "a crime against fundamental Canadian values of decency and mutual
respect."
The McGill degree is the latest accolade for Mosher, otherwise known as Aislin, who started drawing for
The Gazette in 1972.
"I got thrown out of high school, so this one especially is quite satisfying, actually," Mosher said yesterday.
"While I expect to be razzed mercilessly by my colleagues, I have been fortunate at The Gazette to work
with editors who understand what it is I do as a cartoonist by leaving me alone.
"It is nice to be recognized like this by my own community, but as my wife, Mary, always reminds me, praise
is very nice as long as you don't inhale too much."
Mosher began his career as a street artist in Quebec City in the early 1960s while he studied at the Ecole
des beaux arts.
He later worked for the Montreal Star before joining The Gazette.
Mosher has won two National Newspaper Awards for his work. In 1985, he became the youngest person to
be inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. In 1997, he and his counterpart at La Presse, Serge
Chapleau, had a joint retrospective of their work at the McCord Museum.
Mosher's work has appeared in 40 books. He was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada in 2003.
